Easter is all about discovering hidden surprises — so today, we’re sharing a few underrated features and shortcuts in PCB‑Investigator that even experienced PCB‑Investigator users may overlook.
🥚 1. Extra details in the Property Dialog
If you enlarge the Property Dialog, the last tab reveals additional info: pin sizes and exact board coordinates. Ideal for precise checks and validation.
🥚 2. Speed up start times by disabling unused plugins
In the Options, you can deactivate individual plugins.
If you don’t use certain licensed functions, simply disable them to reduce startup time.
🥚 3. Faster stencil generation with one simple trick
Use Edit → Set Package Group to automatically set the package group.
This delivers clean stencil suggestions without manual sorting.
🥚 4. Add your own tooltip properties
Under Options → Additional Tooltip Properties, you can add custom fields to build dynamic, company-specific tooltips.
Note: A maximum of 5 properties is shown to keep things tidy.
🥚 5. Quick 3D view via shortcut
With the Zoom Tool active + CTRL, components instantly switch to a 3D perspective.
Move your mouse to rotate the view — perfect for quick visual inspections.
🥚 Bonus: Set the origin before panel creation
When moving the origin, PCB-Investigator can set X/Y datum values, which may influence panel output.
Best practice: Always define the origin before creating your panel to avoid coordinate surprises.
