Malcolm Lear continues to update this PCB design software. At the time of writing, version 7.47 has been released. Here’s a list of revisions in recent versions:
7.45 Changes made to correctly export and render finger pads composed of multiple polygons. NC drill correctly determines finger pads on single layer boards.
7.46 Revised order of editing control bits in the assembler code. Replacement bombsight symbol created to replace the pad version due to its imminent deprication (bombsight is not really a pad).
Edit mode order revised when dealing with finger pads, now: corner > whole > pad > corner. When finger pads are edited such that they become tracks, editing mode change is: pad > corner.
Polygon control directives in the Reference/ID field such as: ‘ko’,’bg’,’pwr’, and ‘gnd’ now automatically switch visibility off. Drill hole sizes correctly selecting on finger pads (via size was not masked out).
Finger pad edit mode always deselected by finger pad detect routine. Finger pad holes and slots only appear on correctly identified finger pads. Finger pad hole slot size and shape can only be modified on correctly identifed finger pads.
7.47 Automatic Gerber export element and drill file logic for 4 or 6 layer boards was a mess, with many issues including missing intermediate through hole pads and incorrect drill files. All these issues and many more have been addressed with a major rewrite of the export routines. After this rewrite a crosscheck of export behavior was performed against the previous release using a complex 2 layer board to ensure correct operation. Input checks are now perfomed to ensure only legal layers for vias and elements can be entered.
Solder resist, solder paste and plating masks can now be created by polygons (zero width tracks) and can be edited as finger pads. Auto resist layer for older designs is now 5 mil larger than the pad. Thermal pads are not drilled.
Download Lear PCB Design from the Graphics programs page on my website at http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/graphics/index.html