When routing I have to place pads for wire jumpers so I place in eeschema then import the net onto Pcbnew, but when I move the pad to the location I have no indication if the pad clearance is interfering with a track or other. I have place in the Default canvas instead, even using the DRC in OpenGL is a hit and miss affair.
Is there a way to view the pad clearance either globally on OpenGL canvas or at least when moving a pad.
Yes during part placement there is no drc check. (Yes it would be nice to have at least highlight violations or something similar)
But you could look at this post. There we showed how you could use vias to achieve something similar as to what you want to achieve.
Sorry you lost me? I think there is some confusion. I just want to place a pad for example and know that it will not interfere. Lets say you just added 10 jumper pads to a board and didn’t continually do a DRC for example:
-You have done 10 Pads with tracks
-You now DRC and possibly find 10 arrow violation. Which pads are the problem.
I’ve added another screenshot hopefully makes clearer but as you said in the beginging from what I understand it’s a NO! 
You can’t exclude things from DRC.
And @Rene_Poschl linked a thread were the solution has been to create jumper-wire symbols and ‘special’ footprints to go with (different ‘long’ PTH pad footprints like one would have for through hole resistors) and then placing them in the schematic and later in the layout = no more DRC violations.
Price to pay = more work in the schematic editor.
PS: and that the clearance for pads in the openGL canvas isn’t visible must be a bug in it’s current state, as the canvas does allow placing of pads/footprints closer than clearances would allow.
This is probably be worked on though and will probably be solved by not being able to move pads of alien nets closer together than the clearance would allow.
For now, if you want to avoid this problem you have to use a hybrid of OpenGL and Legacy canvas.
[quote=“Joan_Sparky, post:4, topic:4911, full:true”]
You can’t exclude things from DRC.
OK, I’ve been explaining myself badly, DRC was a bad example. But in it I’ve found what I needed.
And @Rene_Poschl linked a thread were the solution has been to create jumper-wire symbols and ‘special’ footprints to go with (different ‘long’ PTH pad footprints like one would have for through hole resistors) and then placing them in the schematic and later in the layout = no more DRC violations.Price to pay = more work in the schematic editor.
I’ve read it again and if I’m correct it’s what I’ve been doing all along, Jumper pads, never had an issue. Again original question bad example on my part. However, I realised (Never new what a VIA actually is, long story) that by changing its size and drill hole it acts/is a pad, hence I don’t have to use jumper pads on eeschema. Cleaner schematic.
Only negative to the VIA as read is that it is Masked and you have to scrape the mask off.
PS: and that the clearance for pads in the openGL canvas isn’t visible must be a bug in it’s current state, as the canvas does allow placing of pads/footprints closer than clearances would allow.This is probably be worked on though and will probably be solved by not being able to move pads of alien nets closer together than the clearance would allow.
This is basically it. If I place a resistor close to another foot print I want to see how close or far to place it as in the Default canvas without having to guesstimate as in the OpenGL canvas.
For now, if you want to avoid this problem you have to use a hybrid of OpenGL and Legacy canvas.
It’s what I do now, flip between OpenGL and Default canvas when placing or moving footprints. I was hoping for a setting or short cut key that would show the clearance
Thanks.
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There is a way to achieve this during gerber export:
If you want you can use the option “do not tent vias”. This removes the solder-mask from all vias.
(i think there is no way to remove solder-mask form some vias.)
Thanks, I just gave a quick test exporting to gerber > then print preview. Looks like it will work. I’ll just have to remember to go that way when it comes to masks.
Thanks.
