The Marker Browser

KLayout offers a generic concept of storing error markers or related information. This concept is called the "Report database" (RDB). An arbitrary number of report databases can be associated with a layout view. Usually, each database refers to a certain layout but that is not a strict requirement.

A report database primarily is a generic collection of "values", which can be strings or other items. Usually, a value is a collection of geometrical objects which somehow flag some position or drawn geometry. Multiple of such values comprise a "marker item". The report database associates these marker items with additional information:

Marker items are organized into categories. Each marker item must be associated with a category. Categories themselves can be organized hierarchically, i.e. categories can be split into sub-categories. This offers a way of improving the organisation of such categories.

Marker items are usually associated with a cell, i.e. where a error was detected. By default, a marker item is simply associated with the top cell.

The report database uses a proprietary format based on XML which is capable of storing the annotations provided by the database. It is possible however to import Calibre DRC ASCII format files.

The marker browser is a tool to browse a report database associated with a view. The marker browser can be started using the "Marker Browser" function in the "Tools" menu. The marker browser tracks whether a marker has already been visited similar to the "read" flag in a mail client. This allows tracking of a review session. The "visited" state is reflected in the database file.

In the marker browser, use the "Open" button to load a XML database file or import files from other formats. Choose "Reload" to reload a file and "Save As" to write a database in XML format.

The marker browser offers three panels:

Similar to the shape and instance browsers, the marker browser offers navigation buttons to select the next marker, category or cell.

The marker browser supports "tagged values": each marker can be associated with a value that has a name. Such values can be imported from RVE files where they are called properties. Tagged values are generated by certain generators and can represent measurement values or similar. When tagged values are present, they will be shown in the markers list. The markers can be sorted by these values by clicking on the appropriate header.