GC Prevue not free any more...gerber viewer

[treez]

Hello
My GC Prevue software to view gerbers with has stopped working....gc-prevue told me its because we need to pay now to continue with it ($50/yr).
We also use the free "viewmate", but do you agree, that the free version of viewmate is not as good as gc-prevue basic gerber viewer?

Basic gerber-viewer GC Prevue seems more flexible and better than basic gerber viewer viewmate?

Or is it that i just dont know how to use the free viewmate?...certainly swapping which layer "goes on top" doesnt seem possible with viewmate.
Also, the grid in free viewmate doesnt seem to be changeable manually?

 

[D.A.(Tony)Stewart]

If you want to be professional, buy a good tool.

 

[dick_freebird]

Don't some of the "free" PCB tools have Gerber import
plus the ability to touch stuff?

$50 a year ought not to gripe you much, half an hour's
pay is probably better spent on the familiar tool than
trying to learn a new one of equal or lesser utility. Try
staring down a >$200K/yr seat price on high end EDA.

Since you say "we", why is tools budget not Somebody
Else's Problem?

 

[treez]

thanks, i dont think they will agree to buy GC-Prevue if the free Viewmate is just as good.

I am not sure if free viewmate really is worse?

I mean, i cant seem to find the "z" function in free viewmate, where you push "z" wand then the cursor is at reference zero and you can measure from it. (you can do this in gc-prevue.

Also, i cannot adjust the grid manually in free viewmate.

Also, in free viewmate, i cannot seem to exchange which layer goes "On top" on the screen.
Is free viewmate really this restrictive, or am i a little dumb in my use of it?

 

[NIKHILRAJ]

adjusting the system date to some older date may open your gc prevue again :thinker:

 

[volker@muehlhaus]

adjusting the system date to some older date may open your gc prevue again :thinker:

... and then 5 other expensive design tools no longer work because their license management detected this cheat :thinker:

 

[NIKHILRAJ]

But do you think a guy who is not ready to spent 50$ for GCprevue will have the expensive licences???

 

[treez]

thanks , anybody know if zofzpcb.com has virus's?.. it is free....it looks great, but my company will not download it cuzz they think it will transmit our designs out of the company....you know, kind of malware, virus, etc
https://www.zofzpcb.com/