Formats and compatibility

Common inputs

• KiCad: Native support for modern releases (.kicad_pcb, .kicad_sch, .kicad_pro) and legacy versions (.brd, .sch, .pro), preserving multi-sheet hierarchies and embedded symbol tables.
• Altium Designer & Protel: Direct parsing of compound stream PcbDoc / SchDoc, ASCII exports, and Protel 99 SE .ddb database archives containing multiple board and schematic members.
• PADS & Mentor Xpedition: Direct parsing for PADS Logic ASCII schematics and Layout binary boards, as well as Mentor Xpedition designs and footprint geometries.
• Cadence OrCAD & Allegro: Native extraction for OrCAD DSN hierarchical schematics and Cadence physical geometry, bridging cross-sheet signal tracing.
• EAGLE: Full support for modern XML formats (v6+) and legacy v5.11 binary .brd / .sch files, maintaining package footprints and pad geometries.
• EasyEDA: Native import for Standard and Professional edition project containers and standalone design files.
• Vector PDF: Crisp vector rendering of multi-page schematics with live text-layer selection and search.

Other formats and detection

The importer suite also extends to PADS (Logic ASCII and Layout binary), Cadence / OrCAD (DSN hierarchical schematics), Mentor Xpedition, and LTspice (ASC / ASY topologies).

Formats are detected through binary magic headers and structural AST inspection rather than file extensions alone. If a proprietary variant uses vendor-locked encrypted blobs, export standard open interchange data (such as IPC-2581, EDIF, ASCII, or vector PDF) from the parent suite for frictionless inspection.

Legacy EAGLE notes

Binary parsing is calibrated against EAGLE 5.11 structures. Because older CadSoft releases stored dynamic polygon fills differently from modern CAD tools, rendered copper reflects the contours saved inside the file.

When opening a standalone .brd or .sch where the companion drawing was not automatically detected, use Open Companion to load the counterpart and restore bidirectional cross-probing.

Check an import

After importing complex hardware, verify baseline metrics in the left navigation and properties inspector: board boundaries, layer stackup count, component inventory, and net totals. Spot-check dense BGA fields, differential pairs, and connector pin allocations.

If an import encounters unsupported vendor macros or missing local library symbols, non-intrusive notices appear in the inspector. Click View Diagnostics to export a sanitized technical summary that never leaks proprietary net names or design geometry.