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When I download FPGA board files I get this folder structure for the board design files:

  1. assembly
  2. bom
  3. layout
  4. pcb
  5. schematic

An example is the "kit collateral" for the Cyclone 10 GX FPGA development board.

The layout folder contains a BRD file while the schematic folder contains a DSN file. What is the correct program required to open these files? There is also a zip file under layout folder that contains a whole lot of ART files. It is not clear what program should be used to open these. There are no instructions in the download related to what application should be used to open these files.

The same applies to files for many other Intel FPGA development boards as well.

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    \$\begingroup\$ They're often Cadence files. I use Allegro Free Board Viewer to open the .brd files. There's also OpenBoardView. \$\endgroup\$
    – Polynomial
    Commented Jul 26, 2023 at 22:18

2 Answers 2

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You can use Allegro to view these files only(free)，but not able to edit or design.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ ok I see, I did not know that, Allegro and OrCAD are from different vendors I believe but this would still be interesting if it works. Right now the website is giving some wierd error when I try the download of the free software, I shall try again later. \$\endgroup\$
    – quantum231
    Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 13:22
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If I remember right, OrCad use DNS and BRD

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  • \$\begingroup\$ You can probably import the Orcad BRD and DSN files in to your PCB/SCH program. The .ART files are probably Cadence Allegro Gerber files. View one of the .ART files in a text editor and see if they are Gerber files. Of course .ART could also be an Adobe Illustrator file, but unlikely since it's PCB related. \$\endgroup\$
    – qrk
    Commented Jul 26, 2023 at 22:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ @qrk I believe you need to have OrCAD installed on your machine in order to import the files into any other program. They're useless without an OrCAD license, if I remember correctly. One of the MANY reasons I DESPISE Cadence software \$\endgroup\$
    – DerStrom8
    Commented Jul 26, 2023 at 23:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ ok, so I can see that the Altium designer is able to open the DNS file with some boards without error, not sure what is wrong with the other ones. And, the BRD file does not open at all. Since we are talking about OrCAD, it means that a free viewer is not possible? I thought the EDA industry would have some sort of standard format to exchange PCB and schematic data so that other tools can open them for atleast viewing purpose. \$\endgroup\$
    – quantum231
    Commented Jul 27, 2023 at 0:06
  • \$\begingroup\$ Most definitely not!!! Every file type is very proprietary (except kikad). Whenever importing cross platform, expect errors and misbehavior. The libraries won't follow properly. If you need to do a small modif, it can be done, but any significant work should be done with the original software. \$\endgroup\$
    – Julien
    Commented Jul 27, 2023 at 10:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ So OrCAD offer no free program that can be used to view these files even? \$\endgroup\$
    – quantum231
    Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 0:50

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