Preferences Gerber

The GERBER tab sets the default values for Gerber objects. It controls how Gerber files are plotted, how the Gerber geometry is built, how Gerber files are exported, and how the Gerber Editor works.

Where to find it

• Menu: Edit > Preferences (shortcut: Shift+P).
• Tab: GERBER. See Preferences Overview.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Preferences-Gerber-1.png — the GERBER tab with the General group visible, with the Plot, Solid, M-Color and Clean Apertures check boxes.

Quick start

1. Select Edit > Preferences, then select the GERBER tab.
2. In the General group, check Plot and Solid to plot Gerber objects as solid polygons.
3. In the Export group, set the number of digits for the Gerber coordinates.
4. Select Apply to use the values now. Select Save to keep them.

Parameters

Each table lists every control of one group. The Key column shows the key in defaults.py.

General

Source file: appGUI/preferences/gerber/GerberGenPrefGroupUI.py.

This group controls the plot of a Gerber object, the colors, and the Gerber import options.

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
Plot	Plot (show) this object.	True	On or off	gerber_plot
Solid	Solid color polygons.	True	On or off	gerber_solid
M-Color	Draw polygons in different colors.	False	On or off	gerber_multicolored
Units	The units used in the Gerber file.	'IN'	Inch = IN; mm = MM	gerber_def_units
Zeros	This sets the type of Gerber zeros. If LZ then Leading Zeros are removed and Trailing Zeros are kept. If TZ is checked then Trailing Zeros are removed and Leading Zeros are kept.	'L'	LZ = L; TZ = T	gerber_def_zeros
Clean Apertures	Will remove apertures that do not have geometry thus lowering the number of apertures in the Gerber object.	True	On or off	gerber_clean_apertures
Polarity change buffer	Will apply extra buffering for the solid geometry when we have polarity changes. May help loading Gerber files that otherwise do not load correctly.	False	On or off	gerber_extra_buffering
Plot on Select	When active, selecting an object in the Project tab will replot it above the others.	True	On or off	gerber_plot_on_select
Store colors	It will store the set colors for Gerber objects. Those will be used each time the application is started.	True	On or off	gerber_store_color_list
Outline	If checked, the polygon outline will be plotted on canvas. Plotting the outline require more processing power but looks nicer.	True	On or off	gerber_plot_line_enable
Outline	Set the line color for plotted objects.	'#006E20BF'	Color	gerber_plot_line
Fill	Set the fill color for plotted objects. First 6 digits are the color and the last 2 digits are for alpha (transparency) level.	'#BBF268BF'	Color	gerber_plot_fill

The circle settings are in the same group. They set how circles are made of line segments. The same three settings exist in Preferences Excellon and Preferences Geometry.

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
Circles	How each circle is made of straight line segments. Adaptive: each circle gets the number of segments that keeps it within Max Deviation. Fixed: each circle gets the number of segments in Circle Steps.	'adaptive'	Adaptive = adaptive; Fixed = fixed	gerber_circle_steps_mode
Max Deviation	The largest distance, in micrometers (um), between a circle and the straight segments that replace it. A smaller value gives smoother circles and more segments. Used in Adaptive mode.	2.0	Number, 0.01 to 1000.0	gerber_circle_tolerance
Circle Steps	The number of circle steps for the linear approximation of circles. Used in Fixed mode.	64	Whole number, 0 and up	gerber_circle_steps

Options

Source file: appGUI/preferences/gerber/GerberOptPrefGroupUI.py.

This group sets the non-copper area and the bounding box of the Gerber object.

Non-copper regions

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
Boundary Margin	Specify the edge of the PCB by drawing a box around all objects with this minimum distance.	0.1	Number -9999 to 9999	gerber_noncoppermargin
Rounded Geo	Resulting geometry will have rounded corners.	False	On or off	gerber_noncopperrounded

Bounding Box

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
Boundary Margin	Distance of the edges of the box to the nearest polygon.	0.1	Number -9999 to 9999	gerber_bboxmargin
Rounded Geo	If the bounding box is to have rounded corners their radius is equal to the margin.	False	On or off	gerber_bboxrounded

Export

Source file: appGUI/preferences/gerber/GerberExpPrefGroupUI.py.

This group sets the number format of the exported Gerber file. The Int/Decimals row has two boxes. The first box sets the number of digits before the decimal point. The second box sets the number of digits after the decimal point.

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
Units	The units used in the Gerber file.	'IN'	Inch = IN; mm = MM	gerber_exp_units
Int/Decimals	This numbers signify the number of digits in the whole part of Gerber coordinates.	2	Number 0 to 9	gerber_exp_integer
Int/Decimals	This numbers signify the number of digits in the decimal part of Gerber coordinates.	4	Number 0 to 9	gerber_exp_decimals
Zeros	This sets the type of Gerber zeros. If LZ then Leading Zeros are removed and Trailing Zeros are kept. If TZ is checked then Trailing Zeros are removed and Leading Zeros are kept.	'L'	LZ = L; TZ = T	gerber_exp_zeros

Editor

Source file: appGUI/preferences/gerber/GerberEditorPrefGroupUI.py.

This group sets the defaults of the Gerber Editor. The rows include the array settings (linear and circular arrays) and the default values of the editor tools.

See Gerber Editor.

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
Selection limit	Set the number of selected Gerber geometry items above which the utility geometry becomes just a selection rectangle. Increases the performance when moving a large number of geometric elements.	30	Number 0 to 10000	gerber_editor_sel_limit
New Aperture code	Code for the new aperture	10	Number 10 to 99	gerber_editor_newcode
New Aperture size	Size for the new aperture	0.8	Number 0 to 100	gerber_editor_newsize
New Aperture type	Type for the new aperture. Can be 'C', 'R' or 'O'.	'C'	List: C, R, O	gerber_editor_newtype
Nr of pads	Specify how many pads to be in the array.	5	Number 0 to 10000	gerber_editor_array_size
Aperture Dimensions	Diameters of the tools, separated by comma. The value of the diameter has to use the dot decimals separator. Valid values: 0.3, 1.0	"0.5, 0.5"	Pair x,y (number or expression)	gerber_editor_newdim
Load	How the editor loads a Gerber object that has clear (negative) features. - Regions: Load the object as one region aperture (0), with one polygon for each solid area. Fast. - Apertures: Keep the apertures. Slow load.	0	List: Regions, Apertures	gerber_editor_load
Linear Direction	Direction on which the linear array is oriented: - 'X' - horizontal axis - 'Y' - vertical axis or - 'Angle' - a custom angle for the array inclination	'X'	X = X; Y = Y; Angle = A	gerber_editor_lin_dir
Pitch	Pitch = Distance between elements of the array.	0.1	Number	gerber_editor_lin_pitch
Angle	Angle at which each element in circular array is placed.	0.0	Number -360 to 360	gerber_editor_lin_angle
Circular Direction	Direction for circular array. Can be CW = clockwise or CCW = counter clockwise.	'CW'	CW = CW; CCW = CCW	gerber_editor_circ_dir
Circular Angle	Angle at which each element in circular array is placed.	0.0	Number -360 to 360	gerber_editor_circ_angle
Buffer distance	Distance at which to buffer the Gerber element.	0.1	Number -10000 to 10000	gerber_editor_buff_f
Scale factor	Factor to scale the Gerber element.	1.0	Number 0 to 10000	gerber_editor_scale_f
Threshold low	Threshold value under which the apertures are not marked.	0.0	Number 0 to 10000	gerber_editor_ma_low
Threshold high	Threshold value over which the apertures are not marked.	1.0	Number 0 to 10000	gerber_editor_ma_high

Adv. Options

Source file: appGUI/preferences/gerber/GerberAdvOptPrefGroupUI.py.

This group sets the advanced options of the Gerber import. The tooltips warn not to change these values unless you know their effect.

Option	Description	Default	Choices	Key
"Follow"	Generate a 'Follow' geometry. This means that it will cut through the middle of the trace.	False	On or off	gerber_follow
Table Show/Hide	Toggle the display of the Tools Table.	False	On or off	gerber_aperture_display
Buffering	How the Gerber polygons are buffered on load. None: the fastest load, but the display is less good. Full: slower load, better display.	'full'	None = no; Full = full	gerber_buffering
Delayed Buffering	When checked it will do the buffering in background.	True	On or off	gerber_delayed_buffering
Simplify	When checked, all the Gerber polygons are simplified on load, at the tolerance below. Change it only if you know the effect.	False	On or off	gerber_simplification
Tolerance	Tolerance for polygon simplification.	0.0005	Number 0.0 to 0.01	gerber_simp_tolerance

Advanced

• Clean Apertures (General) removes apertures without geometry. This lowers the number of apertures in the object.

See also

• Gerber Object
• Gerber Editor
• Importing Files
• Exporting Files
• Preferences Overview
• Preferences General
• Preferences Excellon
• Preferences Geometry
• Preferences CNCJob
• Preferences Plugins
• Preferences Utilities