Autodesk Eagle – How to deal with libraries

We will go inside and have a look at libraries in Autodesk Eagle: how to add a new library, how to make a new library and add parts.

Tag: Project 200b Autodesk Eagle How to deal with libraries. Acoptex.lt

Project resources

• Sketch: None;
• Libraries: None;
• Other attachments: None.

What is a Library?

In case you have a trouble finding the parts you need in free libraries that come with Autodesk EAGLE, then you’ve come to the right website.

Parts form the foundation of all our electronic designs, and by learning to create your own, you’ll level up your engineering skills significantly. It’s not so easy to make your personal parts as it requires plenty of patience to explore all details in datasheet, and you’ll need an excellent attention to detail to make sure you’ve placed your pads precisely.

So, in Autodesk EAGLE, all of the parts that you place on your designs are stored in libraries. These provide an easy way to keep parts organized based on their category. For example, you might have a library for a general category like diodes. From other side some communities like Sparkfun have their own dedicated libraries that contain a variety of parts for various specific projects.

Libraries and the parts within are connected in a simple hierarchy in Autodesk EAGLE. This makes it easy to understand how everything’s connected. Here’s how it’s organized:

Libraries. All of your parts will be stored in your personal library folder in Autodesk EAGLE. Each part will contain a device, symbol, and package.
Devices. Within every library, you’ll have one or multiple devices. These devices include both a schematic symbol and a package in one accessible location.
Symbols. Within every device, you’ll have a symbol, which provides a visual representation of a part for use on a schematic.
Packages. Within every device, you’ll also have a package, which is the physical representation of a part for use in a PCB layout.

How to add new third party library in Autodesk Eagle?

The Autodesk EAGLE has an impressive list of part libraries, which you can explore in the Control Panel view. There are many of libraries located there, some devoted to specific parts like resistors, NPN transistors; others are devoted to specific manufacturers. It’s a great resource! But it’s really difficult to find the right thing.

Instead of using the hundreds of default libraries, you can use the SparkFun EAGLE Libraries or Adafruit EAGLE Libraries, which are filtered down to only include the parts that they are using in designs and they’re constantly updated with new parts.

Let’s have a look how to install and use the SparkFun libraries and Adafruit libraries instead of (or in addition to) the default in Autodesk Eagle.

1.Download the SparkFun Libraries. Go to GitHub repository. Click on Code button and select Download ZIP. Save the SparkFun-Eagle-Libraries-main.zip file somewhere handy. Then extract the folder to My documents->EAGLE->Libraries (it’s your $HOME);

2.Let’s back to the Autodesk EAGLE Control Panel window now. Go to the Options -> Directories. The Libraries row has a link to the directory where the libraries are stored. We can keep the default libraries and add the SparkFun library – just add a semicolon (;) after $HOME\EAGLE\libraries and paste the SparkFun EAGLE Libraries directory location after that, in our case it was $HOME\EAGLE\libraries\SparkFun-Eagle-Libraries-main. Click on OK button. Please note that Mac and Linux users should place a colon (:) between directories instead of the semicolon.

3.When you go back and look at the Libraries tree, there should be SparkFun-Eagle-Libraries-main folder with SparkFun Eagle Libraries included.

4.The last step is to tell EAGLE that, for now at least, we don’t want to use the default libraries. To do this, right click on the Managed Libraries folder, and select Use none.

5.Right-click on the SparkFun-Eagle-Libraries-main folder, and select Use all.

6.Then check the libraries in each of the two folders. Next to them should be either a grey or green dot. A green dot next to a library means it’s in use, a grey dot means it’s not.

7. The Adafruit Eagle Library you can download here. You can also try to add it to your Autodesk EAGLE.

How to make a new library in Autodesk Eagle?

If you want to keep your parts organized, I suggest you to make a new library.

1.Open Autodesk EAGLE, and you’ll be greeted with the Control Panel. Go to File->New->Library to open new Library Window.

2.Before moving any parts or creating any new parts, you need to save your library by selecting File -> Save (or Cmd + S on Mac and Ctrl + S on Windows)

3.Your library is saved, you just need to activate it now. Go back to your Control Panel, right-click your new library, and select Use. You’ll know if your library is ready to go if it has a green dot next to it in your Control Panel.

4.Find the device (part) that you want, right-click on it and select Copy to library. If Copy to library is greyed out it means that it is necessary that you have your (destination) library open in the library editor. This is how Eagle knows which library you want to copy the part to.

5. I will explain how to make a custom part in next article.

Wrapping up

We had a look at libraries in Autodesk Eagle: how to add a new library, how to make a new library and add parts.

If you need more information on PCB and design, check out Printed circuit board and terms used in connection with PCB design and manufacturing

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