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I wonder how many years it will be before LTSpice isn't the best option out there for free circuit simulation. It really is horrible to use.
by klysm 4y ago
I wonder how many years it will be before LTSpice isn't the best option out there for free circuit simulation. It really is horrible to use.
- otter-rock 4y agoIs this about the GUI? It's a thin wrapper over the command line program. Use the keyboard shortcuts. I don't see a contender on the horizon.
- Sanzig 4y agoI hear this criticism a lot. Am I the only one who likes the LTSpice GUI? Yeah, it's clunky at first, looks straight out of 1995, and you have to break out SPICE directives for features that really ought to have UI wrappers by now. But once you're used to using it and memorize the keyboard shortcuts it's a breeze. I can capture a schematic faster in LTSpice than in any other tool. To put it another way, it's certainly less intuitive than most software, but it's an order of magnitude more intuitive than, say, Vim.
- OJFord 4y ago> more intuitive than, say, Vim. I assume you mean to a complete newcomer? Where vim really shines in this context is once you've learnt a little bit, and then so much starts coming for free.
- IshKebab 4y agoI mean, to be fair you're agreeing that it's old, clunky and incomplete and isn't quite as unintuitive as one of the most unintuitive programs in existence. I think you're both right. It's pretty bad compared to good GUIs, but it's better than all the competition (the free competition at least)! That's just not saying much.
- otter-rock 4y agoI also like the interface because it's fast to use the hotkey-mouse combo. Try putting a ".meas" directive on the schematic and then right-click it. There might be more UI than you think, but it's still not comprehensive. The best way to make it feel intuitive imo is to try any spice without the GUI.
- klysm 4y agoI don't care about the appearance of the GUI. It just doesn't follow conventions. I understand that those were probably established after it was created, but it's very painful to use after any kind of time off it. The keyboard shortcuts suck.
- hulitu 4y agoThe keyboard shortcuts suck in every Windows program so i would not blame LTSpice for that. It is still ok that it does not have a ribbon and ribbon style shortcuts.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- otter-rock 4y agoI think it's sort of like how Linux feels unconventional if you're coming from Windows or Mac. It's technically not, but that's a useless fact because it is for you. Anyone could make an alternate GUI for any spice, but I've never seen it. Unless you count running spice from a PCB tool like kicad, where it's an afterthought. The hotkeys are at least configurable, btw. And there's an official cheat sheet for the defaults. https://www.analog.com/en/technical-articles/ltspice-keyboard-shortcuts.html https://www.analog.com/en/technical-articles/ltspice-keyboar...
- zbrozek 4y agoIt's not beautiful, but it is very productive. I'm quite happy with the tool and am not really seeking an alternative.
- hulitu 4y agoI don't find it worse than others. It is a bit different but it does its job well. And the GUI, thank god, remained the same. The buttons are a bit small thought.
- heroiccocoa 4y agohttps://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html https://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html is great for creating quick and simple intuitive simulations, and visualizing the model
- klysm 4y agoYeah I love falstad and use it all the time to sketch things out but I don’t trust it to be accurate