Using with LayoutEditor

Requirements

The current FreeRouting program is a native C++ binary. It is included in the LayoutEditor package as freeRouting next to the LayoutEditor executable. No Java runtime is required, and no extra installer is needed.

Older LayoutEditor packages shipped a Java freeRouting.jar. That path is obsolete; version 2.0.0 replaces it. To obtain or build FreeRouting yourself, see Getting FreeRouting.

Usage

The first time you press Auto-Router in the LayoutEditor, the setup dialog shown below opens. After you have autorouted once, open the same dialog with a shift left mouse click on the button.

Inside the dialog choose Routing with FreeRouting, input format dsn and output format ses. From then on the Auto-Router trigger writes a Specctra dsn file, starts freeRouting, and imports the matching ses session when FreeRouting exits.

The editor and the router exchange the same pair of files you would use by hand: a Specctra Design File (dsn) out, a Specctra Session File (ses) back. The formats are documented on layouteditor.org as DSN and SES. The Auto-Router itself is described under Place & Route.

You can also run freeRouting on its own: export dsn from the LayoutEditor, autoroute in FreeRouting, export ses, then import that session in the editor.