Use manual tools, Basic routing (called Quick routing in older builds), or Trace's advanced placement and routing according to the task. Automated engines act on the whole board; requesting one-part placement or one-net routing is not permission for a global run.
Prepare the Board
Save the schematic and board, resolve footprint assignments, and review Update PCB from Schematic. Then check:
- Board outline, cutouts, holes, layers, stackup, and manufacturing rules.
- Footprint/pad identity and nets, existing copper, keepouts, and unrouted connections.
- Actual enclosure openings, mounting, internal versus external access, component height, and thermal requirements.
- Exact approved position, rotation, side, and coordinate origin for anything fixed.
An allowed region is not an exact position, rotation and side. A connector name does not prove edge access, and a copper keepout is not a probe-clearance check. Verify the approved position, rotation and side before protecting a component.
Classify Components in Native Trace
- Open Layout Classification from the board controls or Edit in Layout panel on the layout settings card.
- Search by reference, value, or footprint and focus a row to inspect its placement.
- Mark approved fixed placements Protected; mark components that may move Unplaced. Use bulk selection only after checking the selected references.
- Click Done to apply the staged choices. If closing with unsaved choices, choose whether to discard the draft.
- Reopen the panel and check the saved classification before running placement.
Protected and Unplaced are layout roles, not the editor's Lock flag. Being inside the outline does not make a footprint Protected. Unclassified footprints are treated as Unplaced; there is no Auto choice in this panel.
If every footprint is Protected, placement is blocked because nothing may move. Route only remains possible and does not require protecting every component.
Use Basic Routing
Basic routing is the free routing option, not automated placement. It processes board data through Trace's routing service; “free” does not mean offline or exempt from project permissions. The assistant request itself still uses metered AI.
In compatible native and plugin builds:
- Ask the assistant to route the board using basic routing. Native Trace also offers Basic Routing in the board editor; older builds can label that action Cloud Autoroute.
- Review the Basic routing card's board facts and suggested settings:
- Passes: how much routing effort to allow.
- Vias: how strongly to avoid vias, not a hard maximum.
- Tidy the traces afterwards: additional optimization after routing.
- Expand More to choose Board's widths from netclass rules or One width for routed traces, and select any net classes to Leave unrouted.
- Check that skipped classes really will be connected by the intended copper pours or other work. Choosing to skip ground is not proof that a ground plane exists.
- Choose Route board, or Not now to close the settings without starting.
- Follow elapsed time, routing/tidying progress, connection counts and board updates. Where live updates are supported, completed passes appear on the board; some sessions apply only at the end.
- Review the final status, remaining connections and actual saved board. Refill intended zones and run the host's DRC.
The router can stop when no further improvement is found and still leave connections unrouted. Completed is not a DRC pass; Partly routed needs further work. Skipped classes must be reviewed separately even if the routed subset is complete.
Stop Basic Routing
Use Stop on the card to keep the last applied routing where supported. If no pass was applied, the board can remain unchanged. In native Trace, kept routing is recorded as one editor Undo step; confirm the save result before relying on it. Plugin apply/save/Undo behavior follows the connected host.
Stopping the assistant can also stop routing owned by that turn. A native toolbar-started run is independent of a chat turn: use its own routing card to stop it.
Switch to Advanced Routing
Choose Switch to advanced routing on a running card, then review the advanced settings and displayed charge. Opening that card does not start paid work: basic routing keeps going while you choose.
If basic routing is still running when you start advanced routing, Trace stops it and sets aside its partial routing. If basic already finished while the settings were open, advanced uses the current board. Review that board and the preservation settings before starting; do not assume advanced always uses or always removes the basic result.
Cancelling the advanced settings does not stop basic routing. Check both cards for the actual outcome, and use the host's save/Undo result rather than assuming a switch reversed other intervening edits.
After a long basic run, the card may suggest switching. That suggestion is not permission to start a paid run or proof that advanced routing will finish the board.
Choose Advanced Run and Preservation Settings
- Ask for the intended whole-board operation, then review the settings card.
- Choose Place only, Route only, or Place & route.
- For routing, choose the treatment of existing traces:
- Start fresh: remove existing traces and route again.
- Keep my routing: preserve existing routed work.
- Improve everything: permit changes to existing routing.
- Read the free preflight findings. Resolve named blocking issues and review warnings against the current board.
- Review Time limit, the displayed rate/cost ceiling, current allowance, and billing.
- Click Run advanced layout only when scope, fixed poses, preservation, and cost are acceptable.
- Follow progress, then verify the returned result was actually applied and saved.
Advanced layout submits board data for hosted processing. Basic routing is separate from advanced placement; supported account and host access still apply.
For access-critical work, choose Place only, inspect the actual mechanical/access result, and request routing separately after that review. Combined placement/routing does not insert an independent enclosure or access approval.
Review Before Continuing
Check approved fixed poses, connector access, side/orientation, component clearances, power and sensitive signal paths, zone fills, and remaining unrouted nets. Run DRC using the intended rules and inspect the saved board.
Preflight acceptance, fewer unrouted connections, and a completed job do not certify thermal behavior, EMI, impedance, 3D fit, or manufacturability. Review those requirements independently. See PCB Layout for manual routing and length tuning.
Stop, Partial Results, and Recovery
Stopping can leave usable partial work, incomplete routing, or an uncertain result. Check the native outcome and the last applied/saved board before keeping or reverting it. Use the supported backup/Undo recovery path; Stop is not Undo.
The current confirmed user-stop policy for advanced layout has an unbilled stopped outcome. Apply that only when the native result confirms it for the supported run; it is not a promise that every Stop, disconnect, failure, chat turn, or already-settled job is free. Review the actual billing outcome rather than inferring it from a button click.
If preflight refuses, fix the named issue and recheck the current board. Do not unprotect an approved fixed placement, weaken required rules, or start another paid run merely to hide a failure. If application/save or billing is unknown, retain recovery information and resolve the original outcome before retrying.