Being relatively new to Eagle, there’s one thing I still find difficult and that is to find a part when I don’t know what library it’s in.
Sometimes parts are grouped by manufacturer, sometimes by type (linear, 7400 series, etc.)
Seems to me like the main problem with Eagle libraries is that you have to know what library the part is in a priori. Otherwise, you just grope through lots and lots of libraries and parts lists.
Sometimes, I want to know if the same part number is represented in multiple libraries from different sources - perhaps there’s an implementation of a part in one library that doesn’t have the package type I need, but another might. There are multiple implementations of the same AVR, for example, in various libraries.
I would like to find out from all you Eagle users how you approach these questions and how, on a day to day basis, you go about finding parts in Eagle’s library?
You can use an asterisk as a wildcard when searching for parts. For example, if you’re looking for a 7805 regulator and you search for ‘7805*’ instead of just ‘7805’, you’ll have better luck finding it because all the package types will be included in the search. You can use the wildcard in the middle (or in front) too. If you’re looking for a 74XXX series logic IC, you can use the * to include all the variants of it (ie. ‘74XXX’, or '74XXX*’). If you can’t find something, just throw some wildcards in. Always double check the part and footprint for accuracy, though.
Great. Appreciate the response. I realize that I’ve been adding parts mainly by visually searching for them from the library in the control panel.
Is there any way to do the search from the Libraries tree in the control panel, or is all searching done only from the add command line of the schematic editor? I can’t find a search mechanism in the control panel - likely isn’t one.
Just to add, I always put the asterisk before and after, so ‘7805’ and make the search as simple as possible, since there’s no standard naming convention, you get bizarre stuff before and after names that might only mean something to the original creator.
Also remember to hit enter on a blank line to get the full list back. That threw me at the beginning.
I don’t know of anyway to search on a part in the Control Panel.