Klayout

* Some bugfixes (for a list of fixed bugs see Known bugs in version 0.17.2).
* Added support for the GDS2 text format. This is a contribution by
Romain Gauci from Oscillated Recall Technology (http://www.or-tech.co.jp).
* Session persistence: sessions (files, layers, bookmarks, setup) can be
saved and restored. Details for this feature can be found here.
* Reader options can be specified in a dialog now (File menu). Some GDS2
specific reader options are available: allow multi XY, allow big records
and several box record handling modes. Details for this feature can be
found here.
* GDS2 specific writer options (max vertex option, multi XY record option,
max cell name length).
* The stipple palette now is editable. A corresponding page has been added
in the setup dialog.
* Flatten cell function. A cell can be flattened which will remove the cell
and all the subcells unless not specified otherwise. This function can be
found in the cell's context menu. Details for this feature can be found
here.
* The 'Make Cell' operation provides a nice origin now. Before, the origin
of the new cell was far off sometimes.
* Accept drag & drop of .lyb, .lys, .lyp, .rb, .rbm and layout files.
* Switched to standard file dialogs where this has not been the case yet.
In particular on the Windows platform, the application will behave somewhat
more consistent.
* Added an option to draw only border instances of arrays. This option can be
found on the 'Misc.' tab of the setup dialog.
* Added the capability to define global ruby modules using the ".rbm"
extension and putting them into the installation directory.
* Full cell copy & paste functions can now be found in hierarchy panel
context menu.
* Enhancement of grid snapping in partial mode. Before, a offgrid vertex could
not be brought on-grid because movement was confined to grid steps.
* Number of points for polygons is shown now in the polygon property dialog.
* Hole resolution for GDS2 and OASIS writer. Before, polygons with holes
(which can be produced by scripts) were rejected.
* Some bugfixes for clip, using booleans for clip to overcome some problems
with hole connectors and spikes - slow but safe..
* '' character is not longer used when creating cell variants - instead '$'
is used to enhance the compatibility with other tools which do not allow
the "" character as part of cell names.
* On paste, a 'fit selection' is done to show what has been pasted.
* Mouse wheel mode is configurable now (shift/ctrl modifier behaviour).
The 'alternative mode' can be found on the 'Misc.' tab in the setup dialog.
* Option to clear all rulers when cell is changed. This option can be found
on the 'Misc.' tab in the setup dialog in the 'On Cell Change' group.

RBA enhancements:
* A new class: ICplxTrans and related functions.
* A recursive shape iterator simplifies hierarchical region queries and
"as if flat" traversal of cells.
* Polygon: hull and hole can be assigned now, compress method, point accessors.
* The installation path now is available.
* Added a method which allows to display a message in the status bar.
* The transient selection now is available for RBA procedures.
* New events are generated if selection and transient selection changes.
* Added a generic assign method for copyable objects.
* Added new classes 'LayerMap' and 'LoadLayoutOptions'.
* Added two 'read' methods to Layout class.
* Added a couple of methods to 'LayerInfo' (constructors, compare, ...).
* Added a 'load_layout' method to LayoutView.
* Added more cm_* methods to MainWindow.

* Some bugs are fixed now (for a list of fixed bugs see Known bugs in
version 0.17.1).
* The GDS2 writer now normalizes AREF records. This way compatibility with
other EDA systems is enhanced.

* The display freezing bug on Windows is fixed now (i.e. see Known bugs
in version 0.17).

* Various layer operations are now available: boolean operations (AND, XOR,
NOT), layer merge and sizing. For a detailed description see Layer boolean
operations and Layer sizing. These operations are also available in RBA
(see RBA::EdgeProcessor and RBA::ShapeProcessor).
* Boolean and sizing operations are also available Shapewise boolean
operations and Shapewise sizing.
* Objects can now be aligned. For a detailed description of the alignment
function see Object alignment.
* The cell origin can be adjusted relative to the cell's bounding box.
For a detailed description see Cell origin adjustment.
* A 'corner rounding' function has been implemented to support
soft-cornered layout which is common in power applications. For a detailed
description see Corner rounding.
* Various layer operations are now implemented in edit mode: clear layer,
delete layer and edit layer properties. For a detailed description see
Layer operations: clear, delete, edit specification.
* The selection can now be scaled (The "Scale" function is available in the
"Selection" submenu of the "Edit" menu).
* An option is available that allows to select all hierarchy levels
automatically when a cell is opened (found in the "Misc." tab of the setup
dialog: "Select all hierarchy levels" must be checked).
* Various bug fixes (i.e. see Known bugs in version 0.16.1).

* Various bug fixes (i.e. see Known bugs in version 0.16).

* Some new editing capabilities: flatten, make cell, clear layer and a clip
function.
* Some RBA extensions, in particular the ability to modify layout by deleting
shapes and instances, replacing and transforming them, changing property
handles etc.
* Support for global preset of configuration (through a file called "layviewrc"
beside the executable binary) and a global RBA initialisation file (a file
called "rbainit" beside the executable binary).
* Transient selection: indicates by a faint selection marker what object is
below the mouse (can be disabled).
* The layer specification (layer, datatype, name) can be now be edited which
allows to move a complete layer to a different one.
* Undo buffering can now be disabled on the command line with the '-i' option.
This saves the memory otherwise required for storing the replay information.
* Directional constraints can be modified by using the Shift and Ctrl modifiers
on various operations such as rulers, movement, drawing etc.
* Now there is a 'most recently used' list ("Open Recent" in the "File" menu)
which shows the last layouts opened for easy re-opening.
* Reduced memory requirements for particular OASIS constructs (random repetitions)
* The instance browser now has a "Choose cell" button where the cell can be
chosen whose instances will be presented.
* For most editing operations, the status bar will now indicate more detailed
information such as move distance.
* Pasted shapes and instances now are selected initially.
* Enhanced OASIS compression mode (can be chosen from the options dialog on
saving). Reduces file size considerably by creating regular shape arrays if
possible at the cost of higher memory consumption and longer writing times.
* Various bug fixes (i.e. see Known bugs in version 0.15).