Most of the time, footprints either have all pins or all top-side pads. So, you will be drawing the footprint using only the top (component) layer and may use the other layers for reference. I.e. if your spec has all measurements from a specific point, you could draw two lines on the solder side that pass through that point (i.e. making a cross or grid-axes), then draw lines on some other layer that are known distances away from an axis. Since they're on other layers, you can hide them by disabling the layer, and they're conveniently colored differently.
If the component has pins/pads on a grid, it's convenient to set your grid to match beforehand too. For example, 0.5mm pitch QFPs I'd start with an 0.5mm grid (or 0.25mm if I need staggering). My getting started guide has a short tutorial on creating footprints, but it's a very simple footprint: http://www.delorie.com/pcb/docs/gs/gs.html#Blinker-Board _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list geda-user@moria.seul.org http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user