I want to create a stripboard part like the BusBoard Prototype Systems PR3U (https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/BusBoard-Prototype-Systems/PR3U). I suppose I could just start with the standard stripboard and resize it, etc., but that will get tidious very fast. In poking around the fritzing source code I can across the template files used by the Stripboard class (resources/templates/stripboards.xml), but it has exactly one template, for a (now basically unavailable) Radio Shack part. And it in order to make use of the stripboard template feature, one has to edit the source code and recompile (why not provide a mech. where new template file(s) can be added at runtime?).
My questions:
is there any documentation on the format of this template file?
Are there plans for making it possible to add new stripboards / prototyping boards at run time?
I am thinking I might be better off, just writing a program to create a new part, but want to know if there is something i am missing.
I think you’ll need to code your own to do what you want but, perhaps others have the answer you’re looking for.
However, for those interested in a simple (dumb)approach to using perf-boards not included in Fritzing (and recognizing most of the Holes and Copper won’t be needed), the following may be helpful… It won’t facilitate a Breadboard-like graphic, but will enable making a Schematic and a PCB representation that can be arranged as needed…
Make a simple graphic of a row/group section and use the Part called “Copper Image” and load the graphic into it.
Then add a “PinHeader” part (with req’d number of pins) and overlay where needed. Set the pin’s diam to equal the hole in the graphic.
If needing more, simply select and duplicate as needed.
Quick example below showing just a few pins and a resistor…
OK, I have written a program to create “Stripboards”. It is available on GitHub: https://github.com/RobertPHeller/fritzing-Stripboards. It is a pure CLI program (sorry, no pointy-clicky). One defines a board by writing a “subclass” object from the base “class”, GenericStripboard and codes (in Tcl) where all of the holes, copper strips/buses, etc. are. I will be working on the API documentation over the next few days.
Not that I am aware of. I believe the template is likely used by the parts factory code that creates the various strip board types (which likely have the strip types hard coded if they are like headers and ICs) so you would likely need to reverse engineer that code to deduce the format of the template file. I’ve not found either a source of documentation or anyone still responding who is familiar with the code. If anyone knows of any, I expect we would all like to hear about it .
I have a long term plan to create an api that would allow all the parts factory parts (headers, ics, mystery part, probably others) and inspector parameters to be split out of the source via an api of some kind, so people can make parts identical to the ones in core without having to change the source. To do that however we have to get development restarted (and I had been unsuccessful at that for a couple of years). With the restart of development there is hope although so far no progress on this particular project. Before I diverted in to improving the FritzingCheckParts script to be used to filter parts being considered for core, I was working on fixing the parts factory to emit correctly formatted parts (which it doesn’t currently), but the check parts script is considered more important at the moment. Hopefully we will start getting more interest in developing (and thus more help) when the development stuff gets a little further along. At present I think the available manpower is going in to fixing up the web site and possibly the forum, as things are I think in much worse shape than expected.
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