Settings profiles

What a profile is

A profile is a named bundle of settings for one company or project. Switch between profiles using the combo in the header; manage them (create / duplicate / rename / delete / import / export a .json file) and edit their contents via ⚙ → Settings…. A "Default" profile is created on first run.

Managing profiles

• Switch: pick a different profile from the header combo. The change is immediate; the active profile is remembered between launches.
• Create / duplicate / rename / delete: use the profile management controls in the Settings dialog.
• Share across machines or a team: export the active profile to a .json file, then import it on the other machine. Profiles are plain JSON; safe to keep in version control.

What you can configure

The Settings dialog has one tab per group:

• General — default unit for the Units section, coordinate precision.
• Layers — layer names for: holes created without an explicit layer, pin-number text, DUT-array rectangles, clearance-violation highlights.
• Holes — default rectangle width and height for Circle → Rectangle, and the pin-text size ratio (label height = hole size × ratio).
• Excel columns — the accepted header names (aliases) for each logical column. The defaults are x / cx, y / cy, r / radius, w / width, h / height, pin no. / no, layer / l — add your own to match your spreadsheets. Matching is case-insensitive. See Operations › Excel data format.
• Clearance (DRC) — default minimum clearance, arc / circle polygon resolution, highlight line width, candidate-region tuning (expand factor), debug-DXF settings.
• DUT Array — default chip width and height, rows, columns, coordinate rounding.
• Output — CSV encoding, pin-number column name, export folder, and the export coordinate transform (scale, offset x/y, mirror x/y) applied by CAD → CSV. Defaults are identity (no change).

Where the files live

Profiles are JSON files under %LOCALAPPDATA%\PlateDesignTools\profiles\, one file per profile. The currently active profile name is stored separately. You can edit a profile from inside the app (recommended) or by hand in a text editor — the app re-reads the file on the next operation.

Files & logs

• Exported CSV / DXF files default to your Downloads folder; set a fixed folder under Settings → Output.
• Settings profiles: %LOCALAPPDATA%\PlateDesignTools\profiles\.
• Rotating log: %LOCALAPPDATA%\PlateDesignTools\logs\app.log — attach this if you report a problem. ⚙ → Show log displays recent entries live.

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