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Whats New for 2025

December

Monday 29 December 2025

Adding Copper Pours Filling the PCB

This should save you a lot of time if you want to add a copper pour to either side of the PCB and have the copper pour fill the PCB.

 

Thursday 17 December 2025

Fix for layer errors opening old designs.  (older than probably 3 years).

 

Saturday 6 December 2025

Rounded copper pour rectangles not filled correctly. Rounding ignored.

Monday 1 December 2025

Navigator selects footprint for selected symbol when switching tab from schematic to PCB, likewise

Navigator selects symbol for selected footprint when switching tab from PCB to schematic.

 

 

November

 

Wednesday 26 November 2025

Windows on ARM64

DEX now works on ARM64 processors. e.g. Microsoft Surface Pro etc.

The installer uses NGEN.

"Ngen arm64" refers to the Native Generator, a tool that creates native machine code for ARM64 processors from .NET assemblies. This process is used to improve the startup performance of applications by pre-compiling the code, so it doesn't need to be compiled to native code at runtime by the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler. For example, recent versions of the .NET NGen tool support generating native images for ARM64 systems.

How it works

•Initial compilation: When a .NET application is built, the code is compiled into an Intermediate Language (IL) that is platform-agnostic.

•Runtime compilation: At runtime, the .NET Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler converts the IL into native machine code for the specific CPU architecture the application is running on (e.g., ARM64 or x64).

•NGEN optimization: NGen runs ahead of time to pre-compile the IL into native ARM64 code. This native image is then stored on disk.

•Faster execution: When the application starts, it loads the pre-compiled native image directly, which is faster than waiting for the JIT compiler to compile the code on the fly.

Benefits and use cases

•Improved startup performance: The primary benefit is a faster application startup time because the JIT compilation step is skipped.

•ARM64 systems: This process is crucial for ARM64-based systems, which are becoming more common in devices like Windows 11 laptops and servers.

 

•Fixed minor bugs.

•Some code optimization.

Thursday 12 November 2025

•Fixed error in the Navigator Panel not displaying part values correctly.

•Fixed false positive errors with rounded pads.

Wednesday 5 November 2025

Creating a New Part/Project

You now have an option to reload or ignore any saved template files.

 

Saturday 1 November 2025

Speed increases for save.

Speed increases for drawing.

October

Thurday 23 October 2025

Thurday 9 October 2025

Improved DRC Errors Panel

Tuesday 7 October 2025

New Minimize Pads Editor

Sunday 5 October 2025

Optimized Properties Panel Layout

 

Friday 3 October 2025

 

Thursday 2 October 2025

Adding Parts May Unroutes the PCB

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September

 

Thursday 18 September 2025

Parts not on the PCB Highlighted

Parts Over Hole Flagged

Overlapping Parts Flagged

Parts Over Cutouts Flagged

Moving Parts That Overlay Others Flagged

Layer Panel Reorganized

Various User Interface Tweaks

•Cuts and holes not dimmed.

•Adding cutouts no longer leaves the PC filled.

•Add new PCB borders  no longer leaves the PC filled.

•Design Checker Rules expanded and accuracy improved.

Wednesday 17 September 2025

Overlapping Footprints

I have often observed many designs where the user has accidentally overlaid footprints over others. This previous was sometimes a devil to detect visually. Now it is done automatically and is a great boon for manual layout of your parts.

Try it on your existing designs.

To fix the overlapping error, simply drag the offending footprints away from each other.

Automatic detection of overlapping footprint by the Design Rule Checker.

Monday 8 September 2025

Footprints

Improved visualization and auto-positioning.

Sub-Picking

Holding down the shift or the control key sets the pick mode to sub-picking. Releasing the shift or the control key sets the pick mode back to normal picking.

Monday 1 September 2025

Improved Interface for Footprint References, Courtyards, Silkscreens, and Placement Points

All screen-shots are the view in the Footprint Designer. Hidden items are visible in the Footprint Designer but are not visible when the part is place on a PCB.

Footprint References

Courtyards

Silkscreens

Placement Points

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August

Friday 29 August 2025

Editing Courtyards

In this video, I’ll explain courtyards in PCB design and show you how to edit them. A courtyard is the area a footprint occupies on the PCB, plus the clearance space around it. It prevents overlaps and is used by the design rule checker and auto layout.

Wednesday 27 August 2025

Reorganized Silkscreen and Courtyard Editor

This makes the flow of design changes from top to bottom more intuitive. Try it!

Added Show/Hide Parts to the 3D Context Menu (right click)

Quickly Renumber Pads in a Footprint - point and click

Want to renumber pads on a footprint fast? Just click Renumber in the Footprint ribbon tab, then click each pad in the order you want. Each one gets the next number automatically, and the last pad is filled in for you. Super quick, flexible, and easy—give it a try on your own footprint!

Hide/Show Automatic Silkscreen

Sunday 24 August 2025

Reorder Pads/Devices

You can now reorder by clicking in any of the 4 quadrants of the sort order display.

Why was this added? Simply because it felt natural to let users click on the control to set the sort order.

It wasn’t strictly necessary, and in many traditional approaches you’ll often hear: “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”

But with DEX, the philosophy is different: if there’s a way to make the experience smoother and more intuitive for the user, then go for it. Good design means going beyond “just working” — it’s about making things easier and more enjoyable to use.

Multiple 2D and 3D Viewports

In this video, I’ll show you how DEX lets you view your PCB in 2D and 3D at the same time using multiple viewports. You can easily pan, zoom, and rotate in each view, and even split the 3D view into different layouts—like side by side, one main view with two smaller ones, or a four-way split. These options make it simple to visualize your PCB from every angle, and they make working with your design not just easier—but way more fun!

Wednesday 13 August 2025

Properties Editors Redesigned

Footprint Placement Point

Courtyard

Silkscreen

Tuesday 12 August 2025

Multiple 3D Views

Monday 4 August 2025

3D Model Properties Editor

Friday 1 August 2025

Import 3D Into Footprints

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July

Monday 26 July 2025

Faster For Layout

New Splash Screen

Wednesday 23 July 2025

Auto-Panning

 

Monday 21 July 2025

Pad Name Sorting

Added Saw-Tooth option. Sorts pads as seen on DIP and SOIC devices.

Monday 14 July 2025

Docking Panels

 

Tuesday 8 July 2025

Tooltips and UI Layout

Monday 7 July 2025

Extended Tooltips

Extended tooltips added to the 668+ buttons in the Ribbon Menu.

Improved appearance for tooltips.

 

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June

Monday 30 June 2025

CNC Output

Improved files with comments.

•Creating a CNC File

•CNC Viewer

•CNC Online Viewer

•Codes

•G Codes

•M Codes

Thursday 26 June 2025

Gerber Files for Panelized PCBs

Sunday 21 June 2025

Minimize Pads

Saturday 21 June 2025

Fixed 3D view of auto-minimized pads.

 

Friday 20 June 2025

Renumber Pads

You can now reorder pad numbers in the Part Editor or the Project Editor (selected device)

 

Monday 16 June 2025

Fixed Gerber Viewer Layers on/off.

Improved Auto-minimize Pads

Improves routing.

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Improved Layout for Number Edits with Thumbwheels

Improved text scale for displays

PCB Panelization

Added interactive controls.Try it!

Improved layout.

Saturday 7 June 2025

Non-Circular Inner Pads

 

Sunday 1 June 2025

Settings Now Display Units

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May

Saturday 31 May 2025

Grid Now Draws Inside Pad and Via Holes

Tuesday 27 May 2025

Viewport Input Controls

Correct sizing of viewport input controls when text scaled: for instance in 4K viewports.

Saturday 24 May 2025

Adding Rectangles to Schematics and PCBs

 

Tuesday 20 May 2025

Better display for displays with text scaling. For example displays 3840x2160 pixels with Scale of 150%

Works great on Apple MacBook Pro M4

Friday 16 May 2025

Updated Parts Catalog

Friday 2 May 2025

This video tutorial demonstrates how to use the AutoTRAX DEX PCB designer on macOS. It guides users through starting the application, navigating its interface, and utilizing various features, such as viewing designs in 3-D, accessing schematics, and managing window sizes. The tutorial emphasizes the software's compatibility with macOS and encourages viewers to download DEX for personal use, concluding with wishes for an enjoyable experience using the software.

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April

Saturday 26 April 2025

iOS, iPadOS and macOS

Tuesday 22 April 2025

Updated Parts Catalog

Tuesday 15 April 2025

Fix for font size.

Setting the Height of Selected Text

Works with all text items, including part references, part IDs, symbol terminal value and pad name etc. The same control sets line and border widths.

Wednesday 9 April 2025

Fix for the footprint value text in 3D being too large.

March

Friday 28 March 2025

Improved fill

Improvements to both linear and radial fill.

Saturday 22 March 2025

Fix for the pen editor sometimes (rarely) updating the wrong entities.

Monday 17 March 2025

Line End Point Manipulator

The line endpoint manipulators are now fixed size of seven pixels.

Color-bar Line Width Thumb-wheel

Improved thumb-wheel scale makes changing the language easier.

 

Monday 10 March 2025

Fix for popup dialog saying cannot import SVG.

 

Monday 10 March 2025

Fix for popup dialog saying cannot import SVG.

 

Monday 3 March 2025

Fix for small internal errors.

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February

Saturday 22 February 2025

Internal bug fixes.

 

Sunday 16 February 2025

Creating a Complex PCB Shape

Have you ever wanted to create a complex PCB shape but found it too tricky with your current PCB design software? Well, check out this video! It’ll show you how to do it.

Combining Shapes to Make a PCB

In this video I am going to show you how to create a complex PCB shape by combining several different graphical objects with the current PCB border.

Combing Shapes

I’m going to show you how to combine objects and create a brand-new object. There are three different ways to do this, and I’ll walk you through each one step by step.

Saturday 15 February 2025

Graphics

Lines can be line segments or lines with no end/start points.

 

 

Thursday 13 February 2025

Dragging Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Graphics on to a Graphical Sheet

A SVG graphics is a vector file and produces excellent quality whatever the magnification. Find out more...

A great source of free SVG images is https://www.svgrepo.com/

Once placed, the graphics is in a group. Sub-pick to select internal items to edit them.

Note: What appears to be a thick line may be a filled shape with an outline.

You need to download them first. You can also:

1.Drag them from the website into a Windows Explorer directory. then:

2.Select and drag from the Windows Explorer directory onto a AutoTRAX DEX graphical viewport.

2D Boolean Operation on Entities*

You can now combine several entities into a single entity.

*Does not apply to:

o copper pours

Sunday 2 February 2025

Combining Shapes to Make a PCB

This video shows you how to create a complex PCB shape by combining several different graphical objects with the current PCB border.

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January

Wednesday 25 January 2025

Reflection Surfaces and Shadows in 3D

You can now turn on/off reflective surfaces and shadows. This gives the 3D a different look.

Tuesday 25 January 2025

Removed occasional flashing of number input when adding lines etc.

Monday 24 January 2025

Reflection Surfaces in 3D

You can now turn on/off reflective surfaces.

 

 

Fix for footprints that have footprint references way-out of position.

 

Friday 17 January 2025

Shapes

Friday 10 January 2025

Compound Curve Shapes

•The PCB Border

•PCB Cutouts

•Copper Pours

•Keepouts

•No Mask Areas

•Pads

•Split Power Planes

Each can be a:

•Rectangle

•Ellipse

•Polygon

•Piecewise Bezier

•Graphics Path (Shape)

You can convert between the shapes using the object's properties editor.

Combining Shapes

You can combine:

•Rectangles

•Ellipses

•Closed curves

•Compound Shapes

oThe PCB Border

oPCB Cutouts

oCopper Pours

oKeepouts

oNo Mask Areas

oPads

Converting Shapes

Wednesday 1 January 2025

Improved quality of arc segments in polylines.

 

bugs where via sizes incorrectly sized when manually routing.

•Improved Track Properties Editor.

•Improved Via Default Properties Editor.

Whats New for 2024