Data Sheet

LABCENTER ELECTRONICS LTD.
52
The Design Explorer
The Design Explorer has two distinct modes; partlist mode and netlist mode. The former will
show a physical representation of the sheets (the components on a sheet) whilst the latter will
show how the design is organized into groups of connections (nets). You can switch between
the two modes via the Design Explorer Icons.
Design Explorer icon bar
Since we are in partslist mode by default let’s look at what we can do from there. You may
remember that earlier in this topic we discussed how to check the packaging for a single part.
The Design Explorer shows us the bigger picture and allows us to make a global check of the
packagings on the design at a glance. All of the footprints used are displayed beside their
schematic reference at the far right hand side of the right hand pane so all we need to do is
scan down the list to make sure everything is packaged, switch sheets (via the left hand pane)
and repeat the process. If a part on the schematic did not have a footprint assigned it would
have bright red text stating 'MISSING' in this field to highlight the potential problem.
A quick scan will immediately show that we do not have a packaging associated with the LED
schematic part. Right click on the Design Explorer on the line with the LED and select Goto
Schematic Part from the context menu