Autotrax

AutoTRAX DEX real-time 3D view

AutoTRAX is a MS-Windows XP/MS-Windows Vista 7/8/10 schematic design and PCB layout program with built-in Spice simulator and 3D part and board visualization.

Unlike other EDA program, AutoTRAX integrates all of the schematic and PCB design into a single XML project file. It uses parametric parts which define the parts schematic symbols, PCB footprint and 3D package models using numeric parameters. This allow a simple parametric model to be quickly changed to represent an of a family of similar parts, e.g. DIP and BGAs.

AutoTRAX has now replaced AutoTRAX EDA. It is based on Microsoft .NET 4 and has both a Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 interface as well as a classic dropdown menu with toolbars.

AutoTRAX uses the Microsoft Windows platform and runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, 8, 10. The file format is open and viewable with any text editor as it is XML based, and the XML schema is fully documented.

AutoTRAX is the US registered trademark (No 2,469,410 July 2001) of DEX 2020 Ltd..

HISTORICAL Protel Autotrax is the name of a Printed Circuit Board CAD software packages available for the personal computer. It ran on MS-DOS or PC-DOS on an IBM or compatible PC. Autotrax was sold widely throughout the world in the mid 1980s and early 1990s until Protel International Pty. Ltd. (the proprietor) ported the software to Windows 3.1 to create the first ever Windows-based PCB CAD tool, Protel 1.0 for Windows. Since then Protel International became Altium Ltd. after successful I.P.O. and later on made Autotrax a freeware download on their web site.

The obsolete Protel Autotrax is not to be confused with the newer Windows based AutoTRAX DEX by DEX 2020 Ltd..

External links

AutoTRAX DEX (Windows)

• AutoTRAX Web Site
• How to build a PCB design using AutoTRAX
• AutoTRAX Manual
• AutoTRAX User Group
• YouTube tutorial videos
• File format documentation

Protel Autotrax (DOS)

• More Protel Autotrax utilities, from Jim Patchell
• A laser plotting utility for Protel Autotrax
• Newer (VESA) video drivers for Protel Autotrax
• A HowTo for using Protel AutoTrax under SuSE Linux and DOSemu
• Protel Autotrax companion programs - Directly generate RS274X gerbers from Autotrax PCB files, rotate PCBs, etc, From Les Hildenbrandt

Protel Autotrax runs under DOS. It will run under Windows 98 and XP but only as a console window. Protel Autotrax does not run on Vista or Window 7/8/10. It can be run successfully using generic VESA video drivers in a DOS-6.22 Virtual Machine, as shown below. For more details on how to do this, visit the Airborn Electronics pages linked to above.

Autotrax Freeware versions 1.61ND running in a VM on Windows 7.