Application Framework

The Proteus 9 framework fully supports theming and both a light and a dark theme are supported as standard. The default chosen will be based on your Windows theming choices but you can specify your preference via a system setting.

Proteus 9 moves away from using local 8-bit character support to Unicode using UTF-8 for filing. This enables use of preferred languages irrespective of the PCs localization, for example allowing Simplified Chinese characters used within a project to be displayed on a computer set to en-US.

Proteus 9 is designed to work sensibly with a wide range of monitor resolutions, ranging from the modest portable laptop to the high end desktop. Proteus fully supports multi-monitor setups, allowing application module tabs to be dragged and dropped onto other monitor screens with intelligent DPI adjustments to dialogue forms, text sizing and iconography.

Icon groupings have been introduced in the new Proteus 9 framework, allowing you to collapse/expand sets of icons. This can help with screen organisation on laptops and gives you the choice to have larger icons with fewer visible or smaller icons with icon groups expanded.

Proteus 9 popup windows like the live design rule checker or connectivity checker on the layout or virtual instruments and the simulation log on the schematic can now act as dock widgets. The main advantage of docking is to clear your view of the schematic or layout and make it easier to zoom in and out without covering items of interest.

The modal toolbox (parts bin) has been redesigned to provide more contextual information depending on which mode you are in. For example, when in zone mode a list of placed zones grouped by layer is shown, making it easy to select and edit objects on the layout. Filters have also been added so that you can reduce the result set to objects of interest. For example, in connectivity mode you could view only length matched nets or only those with testpoints.

The status bar on both the schematic and the layout now includes a history of messages, including information, warning and error messages. This makes it easier to review any warnings after long operations such as simulation runs or complex route placement/editing.

There are three installation modes in Proteus 9, namely all users on a computer, single user on a computer and portable. The latter two make it easier for a single person to work on multiple machines. In particular a portable install could be installed in a cloud synced directory or an external hard drive and then used on both a work and home computer with all settings and libraries preserved.

Registry based license keys, USB hardware dongles and both server and cloud licensing for enterprise and education are all available, with some restrictions in some locales.