PowerLogic 1.2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

   Introduction
      I    Installation 
      II   Contacting PADS Software, Inc.
      III  The README.TXT file
      IV   What's New in PowerLogic 1.2
      V    Corrected Defects
      VI   Frequently Asked Questions
      
   Installation Notes
      I    General
      II   Using Multiple Versions of PowerLogic
      III  PADS-PowerSuite Demo

   Latest Advisories
      I    Last Minute Advisories
      II   New PADS Libraries
      III  Loading Older Databases
      IV   Compatibility Issues


============
Introduction
============

   This file contains the latest installation notes and other
   pertinent information regarding the installation and the use of
   PADS-PowerLogic 1.2. Carefully review the changes to PowerLogic
   that are listed in the "PowerLogic 1.2 Update Guide" topic of the
   PowerLogic On-line Help. Application notes for each new area of the 
   software are available in the Advisories On-line Help file.

   I. Installation
   --------------------

   Press F1 during installation for complete on-line help on the installation 
   process. You can also access on-line help prior to installation by 
   choosing the Help button on the Autorun screen that appears when you 
   insert the CD into the CD drive.

   II. Contacting PADS Software, Inc.
   ----------------------------------

   Mailing and Shipping Address:
      PADS Software, Inc.
      165 Forest St.
      Marlborough, MA 01752
      USA

   Telephone and Fax Numbers:
      Telephone: (508)485-4300
      Fax: (508)485-7171

   Domestic Sales Telephone and Fax Numbers:
      Telephone: (800)554-7253 ext. 1
      Fax: (508)229-2594
      E-mail: nsales@pads.com

   International Sales Telephone and Fax Numbers:
      Telephone: (508)485-4300
      Fax: (508)485-9580
      E-mail: isales@pads.com

   Technical Support:
      The PADS Software Technical Support Department is staffed
      from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM EST.
      Telephone: (508)485-0671
      Fax: (508)485-7171
      BBS: (508)485-2171
      Web: www.pads.com
           See our Customer Support page to e-mail technical support.

   Web site:
      www.pads.com
 
   III. The README.TXT File
   ------------------------

   The installation program copies README.TXT (this file) to your 
   \padspwr\powerlogic directory. 

   IV. What's New in PowerLogic 1.2
   --------------------------------

   This section lists new features in 1.2. For more information on 
   what's new in PowerLogic 1.2, see the "PowerLogic 1.2 Update Guide" 
   topic in the PowerLogic On-line Help. Some of the improvements 
   and issues addressed in version 1.2 include:

   * Support to allow the linking and embedding of PowerLogic designs 
     into OLE-compliant applications is included.

   * Improvements in forward annotation which reduce the amount of 
     unrouting when applying an ECO to a PCB design.

   * A new command to manage the Pin Decal List is included.

   * A new dialog box in the Part Editor that lets you rename modified CAE decals
     when you save the part.

   * Improved support of alphanumeric reference designators. You can create an
     alphanumeric reference designator prefix, such as J1A.

   V.  Corrected Defects
   ----------------------

   For a complete list of corrected defects, see the "What's Corrected 
   in PowerLogic 1.2" topic in the Advisories On-line Help.  Corrected
   defects are also listed on the Customer Support page of PADS' Web 
   site. Advisories added after the software was released to market 
   are marked with an asterisk (*).

   VI. Frequently Asked Questions
   ------------------------------

   Access a "Frequently Asked Questions" topic in the PowerLogic On-line
   Help. PADS periodically updates the frequently asked questions and
   places them on the Customer Support page of PADS' Web site.

==================
Installation Notes
==================
 
   I. General
   ----------

   If you receive the "SystemDir entry in INI file is wrong. 
   Aborting" error message when starting PowerLogic, it usually 
   indicates the absence of a powerlogic.ini file in the \windows 
   or \winnt directory. Reinstall PowerPCB.

   PowerLogic 1.2 was developed for use on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0.

   PowerLogic 1.2 is available on CD only.

   II. Using Multiple Versions of PowerLogic
   -----------------------------------------
   If you own a previous version of PowerLogic and want to continue to use it and
   install the latest version, use one of the methods documented in this section,
   depending on which version you have installed, to setup multiple versions
   of PowerLogic. 

   This version of PowerLogic uses the same directory structure, .exe 
   filenames, and .ini filenames as previous versions. Before installing this
   version, you must make some system modifications to avoid overwriting 
   the current version. 

   Do not use a previous powerlogic.ini file with the latest version of PowerLogic 
   and vice-versa. The file structure has changed. Using an older powerlogic.ini 
   with the latest PowerLogic version or the latest powerlogic.ini with a previous 
   PowerLogic version may cause system failure and other anomalies. 

       Method 1: If using PowerLogic 1.1

         1) In Windows Explorer, go to the \windows directory (for Windows 95) or 
            the \winnt directory (for Windows NT).
         2) Move the powerlogic.ini file from this directory to the \padspwr\powerlogic 
            directory (or directory where PowerLogic 1.1 is located).

       Installing PowerLogic 1.2

         1) Install PowerLogic 1.2. During installation, you need to specify 
            the location into which to install PowerLogic. You must specify a
            different directory than the existing version of PowerLogic. For example,
            if PowerLogic 1.1 is installed in c:\padspwr (the default directory),
            then install PowerLogic 1.2 into a different directory, such as c:\padspwr12.

         Note: Do not use spaces in directory names.

         2) When installing PowerLogic, you are prompted to select a program group 
            into which to install PowerLogic. Do not install to the same program 
            group you used for a previous PowerLogic installation. For example, if 
            PowerLogic 1.1 is installed in PADS-PowerLogic, install PowerLogic 1.2
            into PowerLogic1.2.
         3) When installation completes, in Windows Explorer, go to the \windows 
            directory (for Windows 95) or the \winnt directory (for Windows NT).
         4) Move the powerlogic.ini file from this directory to the directory you 
            just installed PowerLogic 1.2 into (c:\padspwr12\powerlogic in this 
            example). 

     Method 2: For PowerLogic 1.0

         1) Rename the existing powerlogic.exe to a new name, for example, rename 
            powerlogic.exe to plogic10.exe.
         2) Rename the previous powerlogic.ini file in your \windows (for Windows 95) 
            or \winnt (for Windows NT) directories to match the renamed PowerLogic 
            executable; for example, rename powerlogic.ini to plogic10.ini.
         3) Modify your existing PowerLogic icon to reflect the new executable names 
            for plogic10.exe.

       Installing PowerLogic 1.2

         1) Install PowerLogic 1.2. During installation, you need to specify the
            location into which to install PowerLogic. You must specify a different
            directory than the existing version of PowerLogic. For example, if 
            PowerLogic 1.0 is installed in c:\padspwr (the default directory), then install 
            PowerLogic 1.2 into a different directory, such as c:\padspwr12.

         Note: Do not use spaces in directory names.

         2) When installing PowerLogic, you are prompted to select a program group into which 
            to install PowerLogic. Do not install to the same program group you used for a 
            previous PowerLogic installation. For example, if PowerLogic 1.0 is installed in 
            PADS-PowerLogic, install PowerLogic 1.2 into PowerLogic1.2.

   III.  PADS-PowerSuite Demo
   --------------------------

   The PowerLogic CD contains a multimedia presentation of PADS 
   Software's PowerSuite product integration tools. You can run this 
   presentation by selecting the PowerSuite Demo button from the Autorun
   screen or by double-clicking on pads.exe in the \Demo directory of 
   the CD. A PC with a sound card is recommended.

=================
Latest Advisories
=================

   I. Last Minute Advisories
   -------------------------
   
   Advisories for PowerLogic are available in the Advisories On-line 
   Help file, advise.hlp. You can access this file from the PowerLogic
   On-line Help or from the distribution CD. You can view them by 
   category. Advisories are also listed on the Customer Support
   page of PADS' Web site. Additional advisories are listed below:

   * Toolbar Docking. 
     The docking status of toolbars is not always correctly saved. For
     example, if your toolbars are floating when you close PowerLogic, 
     they may be docked the next time you start PowerLogic. 

   * Toolbar Docking and In-Place Activations of Embedded Objects.
     Do not undock (or float) toolbars when in-place editing an
     embedded PowerLogic object. Unexpected results may occur,
     including data loss and abnormal terminations. In-place editing
     occurs when you select the embedded object and choose Edit from 
     the pop-up menu. 

   * If your color printer is not set as the Default printer in the 
     Windows Print Manager, sheet setup in Print/Plot does not always see 
     the color palette. Set the color printer you want to use as the 
     Default printer to correct the problem.

   II. New PADS Libraries
   ----------------------
   
   Updated PADS Libraries are provided with PowerLogic 1.1 and 1.2. 
   These libraries are newer than those shipped with PowerLogic 1.0 and 
   PowerPCB 1.6 and are designed to work with PowerLogic 1.1
   and greater and PowerPCB 2.0 and greater. The file extensions 
   for the new libraries have the number two appended to the file
   extension to differentiate them from the older libraries. The previous
   libraries are not compatible with PowerLogic 1.1 and 1.2. 
   PowerLogic 1.2 includes a converter that easily upgrades your 
   existing libraries to the new format. The new libraries are 
   not backward compatible. See the "Library Conversion Utility" 
   topic in the PowerLogic Installation and Security On-line Help 
   for more information. 

   Note: If you updated your libraries in version 1.1, you do not
         need to update your libraries for version 1.2

   III. Loading PADS-Logic Databases
   --------------------------------

   PowerLogic 1.2 can read .sch files from all previous versions of PADS-Logic 
   and PowerLogic. When you load a PADS-Logic .sch database into 
   PowerLogic 1.2, the file is automatically checked for errors using a database 
   integrity test.  This test reviews values in the file and indicates if errors 
   exist. The database integrity test attempts to correct errors and displays 
   errors and warnings it encounters in your default text editor. Once you save 
   the file in PowerLogic 1.2, the integrity test does not run when you reload 
   the file. You can run the integrity test at any time using the "I" 
   modeless command.

   Once a .sch file from PADS-Logic is loaded and saved in PowerLogic 1.2, you 
   can export the database to an ASCII file that is backward compatible 
   with PADS-Logic 4.0. See the PowerLogic On-line Help for more information.

   IV. Compatibility Issues
   ------------------------

   PowerLogic 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 .sch databases are bidirectionally compatible without 
   any file translation.

   PowerLogic lets you create up to 100 unique pin decals; PADS-Logic 4
   only permitted 20 pin decals. If a schematic is created in PowerLogic 1.2
   that includes more than 20 pin decals, PowerLogic will not permit an
   ASCII Export to PADS-Logic 4.
 
   Print/Plot settings, Hierarchical Rules, and Layer Setup are not saved 
   when exporting to PADS-Logic 4.0 ASCII format since PADS-Logic 
   does not support this information.

   Hierarchical rules and layer setup information in PowerLogic 1.2 is  
   only used when netlisting with rules to PADS-PowerPCB 2.0 or greater.
   Use the Netlist With Rules option in Reports. See the PowerLogic On-line 
   Help for more information.

   PowerLogic 1.2 can cross-probe only with PowerPCB 2.0 or greater using the 
   PowerPCB OLE Connection command in the Tools menu.  The IPC command that was
   used to cross-probe with PowerPCB 1.6 and earlier versions has been removed.

   You cannot transfer PADS-Logic macros to PowerLogic.

   
END 4/22/98 