Reference manual

This document is Copyright © 2010-2018 by it’s contributors as listed below. You may distribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either the GNU General Public License (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), version 3.0 or later.

All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors

The KiCad Team.

Feedback

Please direct any bug reports, suggestions or new versions to here:

Publication date and software version

Published on February 24, 2018.

Introduction to GerbView

GerbView is a Gerber file (RS-274X format) and Excellon drill file viewer. Up to 32 files can be displayed at once.

For more information about the Gerber file format please read the Gerber File Format Specification. Details about drill file format can be found at the Excellon format description.

Interface

Main window

gerbview_main_screen_png

Top toolbar

gerbview_top_toolbar_png

delete_gerber_png

Clear all layers

load_gerber_png

Load Gerber files

gerbview_drill_file_png

Load Excellon drill files

sheetset_png

Set page size

print_button_png

Print

zoom_redraw_png

Redraw view

zoom_in_png zoom_out_png

Zoom in or out

zoom_fit_in_page_png

Zoom auto (zoom fit)

zoom_area_png

Zoom to selection

gerbview_top_layer_png

Select active layer

gerbview_top_info_png

Display info about active layer

gerbview_x2_component_png

Highlight items belonging to selected component (Gerber X2)

gerbview_x2_net_png

Highlight items belonging to selected net (Gerber X2)

gerbview_x2_attributeo_png

Highlight items with the selected attribute (Gerber X2)

gerbview_top_dcode_png

Highlight items of selected D Code on the active layer

Left toolbar

gerbview_left_toolbar_png

cursor_png

Select items

measurement_png

Measure between two points

grid_png

Toggle grid visibility

polar_coord_png

Toggle polar coordinates display

unit_inch_png unit_mm_png

Select inch or millimeter units

cursor_shape_png

Toggle full-screen cursor

pad_sketch_png

Display flashed items in sketch (outline) mode

track_sketch_png

Display lines in sketch (outline) mode

opt_show_polygon_png

Display polygons in sketch (outline) mode

gerbview_show_negative_objects_png

Show negative objects in ghost color

show_dcodenumber_png

Show/hide D Codes

gbr_select_mode2_png

Display layers in diff(compare) mode

contrast_mode_png

Display current layer in high-contrast mode

layers_manager_png

Show/hide layer manager

Layers Manager

gerbview_layer_manager_png

The Layers Manager controls and displays visibility of all layers. An arrow indicates the active layer, and each layer can be shown or hidden with the checkboxes.

Mouse button assignments:

  • Left click: select the active layer

  • Right click: show/hide/sort layers options

  • Middle click or double click (on color swatch): select the layer color

The Layers tab allows you to control the visibility and color of all loaded Gerber and drill layers. The Items tab allows you to control the color and display of the grid, D Codes, and negative objects.

Commands in menu bar

File menu

gerbview_file_menu_png
  • Export to Pcbnew is a limited capability to export Gerber files into Pcbnew. The final result depends on what features of the RS-274X format are used in the original Gerber files: rasterized items cannot be converted (typically negative objects), flashed items are converted to vias, lines are converted to track segments (or graphic lines for non-copper layers).

Preferences menu

gerbview_preferences_menu_png

Toolsets

GerbView now supports the modern graphics toolset that is available in PcbNew. Enabling the modern toolset brings new features and better performance. You can select which toolset to use in the preferences menu. Using the Modern (Accelerated) toolset is recommended if your graphics card supports it (requires OpenGL 2.0). If your graphics card does not support the Accelerated toolset, you can still use the new features by selecting the Modern (Fallback) toolset.

Using the Legacy toolset is only recommended if you notice that the Modern toolset does not support a feature you need or if it does not render a Gerber file correctly. If you notice such a problem, please notify the KiCad developers so that it can be fixed in a future release.

The Legacy toolset will be removed in a future version of GerbView.

Miscellaneous menu

gerbview_misc_menu_png
  • List DCodes shows the D Code information for all layers.

  • Show Source displays the Gerber file contents of the active layer in a text editor.

  • Clear Current Layer erases the contents of the active layer.

  • Set Text Editor…​ allows you to choose which program to show source with.

Display modes

GerbView has three display modes which are useful for different situations or requirements.

Stacked mode and Transparency mode provide a better graphical experience, but may be slower then Raw mode on some computers.

Raw mode

This mode is selected by gbr_select_mode0_png. Each file and each item in the file are drawn in the order files are loaded. However, the active layer is drawn last.

When Gerber files have negative items (drawn in black), artifacts may be visible on already-drawn layers.

gerbview_mode_raw_stack_png

Stacked mode

Invoked by gbr_select_mode1_png, each file is drawn in the order files are loaded. Again, the active layer is drawn last.

When Gerber files have negative items (drawn in black) there are no artifacts on already-drawn layers because this mode draws each file in a local buffer before it is shown on screen.

gerbview_mode_raw_stack_png

Transparency mode

Use gbr_select_mode2_png to display in this mode, where no artifacts are present and layers are blended together with the active layer on top.

gerbview_mode_transparency_png

Layer occlusion

In raw or stacked mode, the active layer will be on top of other layers and hide items below it.

Here, layer 1 (green) is the active layer (note the triangle next to it) and so it is drawn on top of layer 2 (blue):

gerbview_layer_select_1_png

Making layer 2 (blue) the active layer brings it to the top:

gerbview_layer_select_2_png

Moving items

When using the legacy toolset, items may be selected by holding down the left mouse button and drawing a rectangle. Releasing the button picks up the items. A click of the left mouse button places the items.

This behavior is deprecated and not available in the modern toolsets.

Printing

To print layers, use the print_button_png icon or the File → Print menu.

Be sure items are inside the printable area. Use sheetset_png to select a suitable page format.

Note that many photoplotters support a large plottable area, much bigger than the page sizes used by most printers. Moving the entire layer set may be required.