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In Altium schematic editor, select one component, and press "M", then "S" (move the selected object), when you press the mouse button now(anywhere on the sheet, even not on the component), the cursor will snap to the component automatically. But in PCB editor, the cursor won't snap automatically, is there any "settings" to make it behave the same in the schematic editor?


Update:

Let me explain in details. Actually, I'm using two displays, one show the schematic, another show the PCB, and I check the "Cross Select Mode" under the "Tools" menu. So, when I select one component on the schematic, the component with same designator will be selected on in the PCB editor, but the selected component may not be visible on current screen, such as if you don't zoom the board to fit to your screen. Now when I press "M,S" in the PCB editor, I want the mouse snap to the selected component without navigating to it manually. This will make the component placement more easy.

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2 Answers 2

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Sounds like your grid size is too small on the PCB. If you change your grid size on your PCB to something higher, you should be able to snap to whatever the grid size is.

If you press G when in the PCB editor, and you change your grid to something large, like 100 mil, and zoom in so you can see the grid, you'll see that your components snap to the grid in 100 mil intervals.

If you change your grid smaller, like 10 mil, then the snapping will happen for every 10 mil grids.

Edit

So after the comments explained more, I have a similar setup, where I either split screen between Schematic/PCB or have each on its own monitor.

This is the way that I do it.

Select component in Schematic (this highlights the component in PCB editor). Move cursor to PCB editor windows, and drag the window. This is to switch the context menu from Schematic editor to PCB while keeping the component selected. If you left click, you may lose the selection.

Go to tools->component placement->reposition selected components (I have a keyboard macro that does this automatically, so its faster).

This will now move the selected component no matter where it is.

Additional, you can select multiple components in the schematic editor, and use the same method, and it will automatically switch to the next component after you have placed it. So if you are placing a micro + decoupling caps, you can do it all in more or less one go. It will also remember the selection order as well.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Umm, I mean the cursor won't snap to the component to be moved, not mean make the component snap to grid. \$\endgroup\$
    – diverger
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 2:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ @diverger Do you care if the component moves to your mouse or do you want your mouse to move the component ? There is a way to move the component to your mouse, regardless of the distance between cursor and component \$\endgroup\$
    – efox29
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 3:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ I mean cursor <-> component, not grid <-> component. I don't care the grid. Let me explain in detail. The selected component may not be visible on current screen, such as if you don't zoom the board to fit to your screen. Actually, I'm use two displays, one show the schematic, another show the PCB, and I check the "Cross Select Mode" under the "Tools" menu. So, when I select one component on the schematic, and when I press "M,S" in the PCB editor, I want the mouse snap to the selected component without navigating to it manually.This will make the component placement more easy. \$\endgroup\$
    – diverger
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 6:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ Your means need the distance between the component and the cursor short than one grid or so, right? \$\endgroup\$
    – diverger
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 7:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ @diverger additionally, if you know the component designator, you can press J C and enter the designator, and it will take you to the component. \$\endgroup\$
    – efox29
    Commented Dec 1, 2015 at 1:41
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Unfortunately I don't have a solution for you, but I can tell you why it is that way..

In the PCB editor, if you want to move something with reference to another object/measurement/distance, you can select the component, M, S, then click where you pick up the reference, then click where your reference ends. That allows you to easily move components in relation to the width or spacing of something else on the board.

If your component is complex, it also allows you to pick the feature of the object you're moving as a reference, rather than be stuck with the part's origin.

These issues don't really come up in the schematic editor though.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Maybe this just what the Altium guys want. It is designed to behave this :). \$\endgroup\$
    – diverger
    Commented Nov 30, 2015 at 3:03

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