Recommend program for layouts with color

[kpw802]

I've been doing some amp building with Loosechange and have been using ExpressPCB which has been great but I am frustrated by the lack of color.  A relative newbie like me could really use the color coded reminders on the wiring, particularly when working on layouts, to deal, say with plates and grid wiring.

Any suggestions?  Something that will let me pull an ExpressPCB doc in and color it up?  Or a better, maybe, dare I say it, not freeware program that does this?
Thanks in advance.

[tubenit]

That's an easy fix. I simply scan the ExpressSCH into bitmap then convert to GIF and use paint to color wiring or anything else.  For example I tend to put yellow in the caps and use orange for resistors. I will use red for plates and green for cathodes etc.....

I did not finish this layout or even do a good job of drawing lines but you can get the idea.

With respect, Tubenit

[tubesornothing]

I use visio. Most people use ExpressSCH, but there are a few of us that use visio, and if you do a search there will be some library files.  It has color.

Keep in mind that a lot of the schematics on this site are ExpressSCH, so if you want to do them in another tool, you will probably have to start from scratch.

[Fresh_Start]

Don't have to start from scratch.  JSchem, written by forum member Heinz, can read in ExpressSCH files and has color!  Frankly, it works better in terms of lining things up on the grid too.

http://www.el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=1362.0

OTOH Visio lets you do an actual scale drawing of the entire chassis, provided you have stencils for all of the appropriate parts.  Using layers in Visio is great because you can select which ones display and which ones print.  I typically have:
chassis (holes)
plates
chassis components (pots, switches, etc)
boards
board components
electrical connections

You get the idea.  I do usually layout the board on a separate sheet, then copy & paste it into the sheet with the chassis and everything else.

If you need components and/or a layout to use as a starting point, several of us here have been developing libraries of stencils, etc.  They're just an email away

Chip