DELETE

Function

Deletes objects and elements.

Syntax

DELETE *..
DELETE SIGNALS

Mouse

Right button deletes the group.

Keyboard

Shift deletes higher level object (see note).
Ctrl deletes a wire joint.

The DELETE command is used to delete the object selected by the mouse.

Clicking the right mouse button deletes a previously defined GROUP.

After deleting a group it is possible that airwires which have been newly created due to the removal of a component may be "left over", because they have not been part of the original group. In such a case you should re-calculate the airwires with the RATSNEST command.

With active Forward&Back Annotation, no wires or vias can be deleted from a signal that is connected to components in a board. Also, no components can be deleted that have signals connected to them. Modifications like these have to be done in the schematic.

Use the RIPUP command to convert an already routed connection back into an airwire.

The DELETE command has no effect on layers that are not visible (refer to DISPLAY).

The DRC might generate error polygons which can only be deleted with DRC CLEAR.

Deleting Wire Joints

If the DELETE command, with the Ctrl key pressed, is applied to the joining point of two wires, these wires are combined to form one straight wire. For this to work the two wires must be in the same layer and have the same width and line style, and must both have round endings (in case of arcs).

Deleting Polygon Corners

The DELETE command deletes one corner at a time from a polygon. The whole polygon is deleted if there are only three corners left.

Deleting Components

Components can be deleted only if the tOrigins layer (or bOrigins with mirrored components) is visible and if (with active Forward&Back Annotation) no signals are connected to the component (see also REPLACE). Please note that an element may appear to be not connected (no airwires or wires leading to any of it's pads), while in fact it is connected to a supply voltage through an implicit power pin. In such a case you can only delete the corresponding part in the schematic.

Deleting Junctions, Nets, and Buses

The following rules apply:

• If a bus is split into two parts, both keep the initial name.
• If a net is split into two parts, the larger one keeps the initial name while the smaller one gets a new (generated) name.
• After the DELETE command, labels belong to the segment next to them.
• If a junction point is deleted, the net is separated at this location. Please check the names of the segments with the SHOW command.

If the last supply symbol of a given type is deleted from a net segment that has the same name as the deleted supply pin, that segment is given a newly generated name (if there are no other supply symbols still attached to that segment) or the name of one of the remaining supply symbols.

Deleting Signals

If you select wires (tracks) or vias belonging to a signal with the DELETE command three cases have to be considered:

• The signal is split into two parts. EAGLE will generate a new name for the smaller part of the signal and keep the previous name for the larger one.
• The signal is deleted from one end. The remaining part of the signal will keep the previous name.
• The signal had only one airwire. It will be deleted completely and its name won't exist any longer.

Deleting higher level objects

If the Shift key is pressed when clicking on an object, the object that is hierarchically above the selected one will be deleted. This applies to the following objects:

Gate	Deletes the entire part containing this gate (even if the gates are spread over several sheets). If f/b annotation is active, the wires connected to the element in the board will not be ripped up (as opposed to deleting a single gate), except for those cases where a pin of the deleted part is only connected directly to one single other pin and no net wire
Polygon Wire	Deletes the entire polygon
Net/Bus Wire	Deletes the entire net or bus segment

Deleting all Signals

DELETE SIGNALS can be used to delete all signals on a board. This is useful if you want to read a new or changed netlist (see EXPORT). Only those signals are deleted which are connected to pads.

Don't forget: Deleting can be reversed by the UNDO command!