In PCBNEW V5.0.0, under the “Inspect” menu, the “List Nets” function shows many nets with zero pads. When I look at the net list file or the rats nest the nets appear to be connected properly. Also there is a check box for “Show zero pad nets”.
Why are these nets shown as “zero pads”? Do I need to worry about this?
I would be worried.
SAVE the layout, go to Edit->clean up tracks and vias ->delete dangling tracks and see what happens. Maybe you have segments that seem to be connected. They should be shown by the ratsnest, anyway.
I had not started the layout. “Clean up” did not work. I had loaded the netlist more than once, this is probably the source of the problem - but I don’t know why I can’t do that.
I deleted the .pcb file and the backup and then created a new pcb file and the problem went away.
Are zero pad nets normal? If not why is there a check box to show them?
Sorry, I thought you had finished the whole routing. I may have answered to a different question.
In the net listing, try to find out one single net with zero pads. Something like U1-pad6.
Check if this pad belongs to a not connected pin in the schematic.
Keepout zones are net 0 with a net name “”.
Unconnected pins are usually shown as single pad nets (pads=1). What I was seeing was lots of nets with various numbers of pins showing as pads=0. Only the “List nets” screen seemed to show nets as pads=0; nets with the same name appear to be connected correctly in the rats nest and in the netlist file.
It is a weird behaviour.
If I update layout from schematic, all non connected pins generate pads=1
But if I generated a new netlist and import that netlist in the layout, all non connected pins generate pads=0
As the ratsnest, the footprints and all the connections are fine, I’m not going to be worried by now.
Inspect->list nets is a new feature added in version 5.0. Or at least I have not come across this feature in any previous version since 2005.
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