When did GC-Prevue stop being free?

Just downloaded GC-Prevue free, gcprevue.zip. So, whats your problem?

It seems I have one!

At:

I get:

Dear Customers,

"Thank you for your interest in GC-Prevue. GC-Prevue is no longer offered free of charge. We understand this may be disappointing to our customer but offering a free product has its costs. GraphiCode feels GC-Prevue is an important tool that customers find value in using. As such we have decided to charge a small fee of $50 a year (less than 14 cents a day) to cover the costs associated with the ongoing development and support of GC-Prevue. To help offset the pain to our customers we have enhanced the product to offer more functionality than was previously offered in GC-Prevue including DXF import, Measure Mode and the Dimensioning and Markup feature. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns."

The gcpreview I've got is time-limited saying I have to download a fresh new version.

What version did you download? And from where?

I've not tried the Windows version, but am generally happy with:

{the web page is pretty old}

I've not tried the Windows version, but am generally happy with:

{the web page is pretty old}

Thanks, in my search I had come across this viewer.

I was hoping to find a viewer that could provide clearance info.

My people use Viewmate, but I don't know much about it myself.

--
John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 
picosecond timing   precision measurement  

From their site. Not the big green download button, but the smaller free one. Inside the msi: [WinXP] MajorVer=5 MinorVer=1 MinorVerMax=2 BuildNo=2600 PlatformId=2

and at the top:version 1.000.000

I did NOT install the pack, just checked the zip file.

You must have a cached version of that page.

I can only see an orange "Pay/download" button.

Gerbv appears to work OK

There is also a web based viewer where you upload your gerber file online. Very quick and easy for just taking a look....

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. 
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Thanks, I'll take a look

I just discovered the same thing... after looking around for a while, I discovered this:

I read lots of positive comments, but haven't tried it yet. Sure looks interesting.

-Peter

Kicad

is free and has a gerber viever. Not as good as gcprevue (can't handle my drill files) but it works.

I'm not sure what to make of this package. It seems a viewer and sales portal where you enter your PCB and you get back a supplier and a price.

I was hoping for a means of checking for minimum clearance and drawn lines. None of the tools give this facility. The DFM rules simply simply give a pass or fail on a design with little help.

--
Mike Perkins 
Video Solutions Ltd 

Many thanks, this has a weird interface, I'm not sure the origin of this GUI style.

However it doesn't seem to have any check for track clearances etc.

--
Mike Perkins 
Video Solutions Ltd 

I use Viewmate. I may be using it wrong, but it doesn't work so well with drill files. At least compared to GC-preview, which I used in the past. Still the price is right.

George H.

Many thanks, as with others it doesn't do a DRC on the gerbers.

--
Mike Perkins 
Video Solutions Ltd 

I received a drill file for a panel of my boards which included a drill cod e of M70 which did not appear in the drill file I provided with the art wor k for the individual board. Gerbv refuses to read this file until I remove the M70 code. I haven't tried the M70 code with any other Gerber viewer. I also was never able to find out exactly what M70 means or what it does. Google doesn't provide much info and it is contradictory.

Rick C.

Doesn't your layout package provide clearance checking? Or are you looking for a second opinion?

Rick C.