PCB Artist is an easy-to-use, powerful and handy application that enables you to design circuit boards. It has two main advantages that make it truly appealing: it is free and it includes a really comprehensive library of board components and layouts.
In conjunction with the complete library of board components and layouts, the neat and straightforward interface of this intuitive tool makes creating circuit boards a really easy job that can be performed with little effort even by complete beginners. Though easy-to-use and free, it is also feature-rich and powerful. Besides the extensive library it also supports a large variety of functions and features such as "Multi-Page Schematic" and "Netlist Import". Anyway, these are just two mere examples of the many features that this powerful tool supports.
PCB Artist is also pretty lightweight, neat and resource-friendly, so it will run perfectly fine on older computers as well. It also includes some handy tutorials that explain the overall design process as well as the more complex part creation task.
In conclusion, PCB Artist is a really nice tool. It has no flaws, it is free, and it makes designing circuit boards a really simple task.
v1.4 [Apr 7, 2011]
Version 1.4:
Expanded Measuring Tool
The Measure tool is now expanded with more features and capabilities.
Edit Component Values
The user can now edit the values of all components at once from Setting>Component Values from the main menu.
DXF Output
More layers can be specified for DXF export than where previously available.
Improved Bill Of Materials Report
From Output>Reports, reference designators are now consolidated in the same line item in the default report.
Report Commands
New switches to enable multiple component ref names on one line. The column switches are:
Newline After Column
Collate this Column
Join Next Column
A Copy button has been added to copy columns, and you can add a column that is just a text string on all rows.
Description Value Position
You can now display the part description in a component value position. This can be done by adding a value position in the symbol, or on the component in a design.
Project View
On the context menu when selecting a schematic design, "Delete" has been renamed to "Remove From Project". New options added to "Rename" and "Duplicate”.
Change Component Previews
The Properties dialog in the component tab when the Change button is used, a dialog will appear and show previews of the schematic and pcb Symbols.
Add Component
New Interaction Preference for Add Component, "Esc returns to dialog". There is a new "Cancel Mode" option on context menu, to always exit rather than return to dialog.
Now has a "Cancel Move" option to place the pasted items at their original positions.
