In the DOS-based OrCAD, you don't have to isolate your own choices. You simply include ALL the libraries, and, within less than a frame-time for your monitor, if you're using a 16 MHz 386SX (which I was when I first got this stuff [Compaq Notebook] it finds the part and places it. Of course it's quicker on today's machines, but you won't notice, since 100x as fast as you can notice, and 10000 tiems as fast are not easily discernible.

I've worked using Cadence and Mentor and Altium's software, and have 'em here, too, but if I want to get the job done within this life, I use, and recommend to others, the DOS-OrCAD tools, because they're fast and because they're FREE.

The "support" for the EMA-supported Windows-based OrCAD tools is like the support for any Windows product. If you can understand the agent they give you, and if you can understand him/her, there's still only barely a communication opportunity, since they don't know what you might be wanting to do. As always, a few of them have enough experience to help you, but you have to take your chances.

Support for DOS-OrCAD is like the support for SDCC, but one of the OrCAD founders, and the author of several of the tools, is a participant in that discussion group.

RE