Run a PCB design review from a link
Replace the zip and the PDF export with one link: the reviewer opens the schematic, PCB, 3D view and BOM in a browser, reads the check results, and compares the next revision against the last one they approved.
Published
A board review usually starts with busywork. Export the schematic to PDF, plot the layers, zip the project, email it, then wait while the reviewer finds a machine with the right version of the CAD tool. Every round repeats it, and by the third round nobody is sure which zip a comment was about.
A review can start from a link instead. This is the routine we suggest on BoardRepo.
1. Publish the revision you want reviewed
Upload the project folder as a zip, or import it from GitHub. Each upload becomes a numbered version with its own rendered schematic and PCB, and the board's link always opens the latest one. Include the libraries and 3D models the design uses, so the reviewer sees the same board you do.
If the design is not ready to be public, share it as unlisted or with a password. Share a board privately explains what each option protects and what it does not.
2. Run the checks before you send it
Open the Checks tab and run DRC and ERC against the board's own rules, then against the fab you plan to order from. The results stay on the page, so the reviewer reads them without running anything.
Running a check needs a signed-in account; reading a result does not. A signed-out reviewer who finds an empty Checks tab has no way to fill it, which is why this step comes before the link goes out. Check a board before you order it covers what the checks catch and what they skip.
3. Send the link
The reviewer needs no account and no CAD install to read the board. The schematic, the PCB and its layers, the 3D view, the BOM and the source files all open in the browser, and the exact zip you published is one download away.
On a public board, signed-in readers can comment on the page. Select a part in the viewer and choose Comment to pin the comment to that part. The owner is notified of new comments, and a commenter is notified of replies. Comments are not shown on unlisted, password or private boards, so for those keep the discussion in the channel you already use and quote reference designators.
4. Compare the next round
After the fixes, publish a new version and ask the reviewer to compare it with the one they last approved. Version history, then Compare versions, pairs any two published versions. The changes are highlighted on the schematic and the PCB and listed by name: parts added, removed, moved, or given a new value or footprint, then routing, then board outline and stackup. Selecting a change in the list shows it on the board. Comparing needs a signed-in account.
The comparison has its own address, so you can send the reviewer straight to it. How to compare two PCB revisions explains which pairs can be compared and why some cannot.
5. Keep the history honest
If a change turns out to be wrong, restore the earlier version as the latest from the same Version history dialog. The restore is a new version, so the revision you backed out stays in the history and can still be compared. When the board is approved, the version number is what you give the fab and the assembler, and it is still there when someone asks which revision they built.
More in News.