Get CapExt

CapExt runs on most modern Windows computers.
If you need to run CapExt from Linux or OS X, please contact us at sales@capext.com

Use the button below to download the most current version of CapExt

Download CapExt v9.3.2

Please note that you need a valid license in order to run CapExt
Contact us to inquire about license options

Changelog

v9.3.2

New features:

Rotate 3D models by dragging. Right click on a model in the 3D view to activate this feature.
Save/Load 3D view to easily reproduce a given viewport across different designs.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where layer contents could not be changed under some circumstances.
Fixed bug where 3D models could be hard to reposition when far from the center of the coordinate system.
Fixed bug that could cause some 3D models to not simulate correctly.

v9.3.1

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug introduced in 9.3.0 that could cause crashes when loading projects with 3D models.
Fixed bug related to parametric simulations combined with resistance extraction.
Fixed bug where custom restors connecting nets would sometimes lead to duplications in the results list.

v9.3.0

New features:

[Pro feature] Automatically fill gaps between a 3D model and the stackup with a chosen adhesive.

Changes to existing features:

[Pro feature] Increased simulation speed of 3D models.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused parallelepiped shaped finger probes to not be configurable.
Fixed bug that sometimes caused the Shrink/Grow feature to not work properly.
Fixed bug where right mouse clicks would not always trigger a menu in the 3D view.
Fixed bug that caused a message to appear on startup.
Fixed bug that caused area touch to not work properly with parametric simulations.
Fixed bug where electrode names and electrodes set for simulation would sometimes disappear when DXF files was used.
Fixed bug where custom resistors could cause results to appear without the correct names.
Fixed bug where gloves combined with thin overlays would not always give correct results.
Fixed bug where 3D models would sometimes not give correct simulation results.

v9.2.1

Changes to existing features:

Added tooltips to some options inside CapExt.
A version number is now exported when exporting to CSV from inside CapExt.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where floating touch probes could not be simulated.
Fixed bug where an error message could appear in some locales.
Fixed bug where very large DXF files could cause crashes upon import.

v9.2.0

New features:

"Open Recent Projects" list added.

Changes to existing features:

Vast improvement in custom 3D models support. Import and configuration are greatly simplified. Simulations require less memory and simulate faster and with higher precision.
Standard simulations are faster.
Models can be rearranged in the Stackup Editor - this enables assigning different priorities to overlapping models with higher placed models ranking higher.
Decals on flat parts can be removed when importing models.
Model files with multiple models can be automatically split into separate parts during import.
If multiple models with the same name are added, they will be numbered to make identification easier.
If the model is outside the stackup borders, and Stop finger on top of 3D models is used, it will not take into account parts of the model outside.
Stop finger on 3D models now works correctly with gloved fingers.
Reduced CPU usage in idle mode.
Added option to hide touch probe and water droplets.
Changed some messages and labels to clarify.
Resistance can be exported when saving simulation results as CSV or XML files.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused 3D models to look disconnected while rendering.
Fixed bug where simulation results could be shown for results that were not sufficiently simulated.
Fixed bug where Stop Finger on 3D Models would stop on the old model positions until "Apply Changes" was pressed.
Fixed bug where new dielectric permittivity would not display until "Apply Changes" was pressed.
Fixed bug where touches/cm^2 did not always work as intended.
Fixed bug where remaining simulation time did not always update correctly.
Fixed bug where some changes to the layout did not prompt a message upon clicking "Simulation Options".

v9.1.0

New features:

Water on 3D surfaces - droplets can now be placed anywhere on a complicated 3D model.
Rectangular water droplets - can be used to simulate changing water levels.
The selected 3D model is now highlighted in the 3D view.
The current accuracy is now displayed while a simulation is in progress.

Changes to existing features:

3D model simulations are now faster and uses less memory.
3D models can now be added without a stackup present.
The Shrink/Grow feature can now be set to ignore thick elements, making it easier to see the effect of trace thickness changes without changing sensor size.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bugs that caused touches on complicated 3D models to not work correctly.
Fixed bug that could cause 3D models to not work correctly in rare cases.
Fixed bug that caused the remaining time indicator to get stuck during simulations.
Fixed bug that caused driven shield settings to not propagate through resistors.
Fixed bug that caused a message asking if custom names should be kept when doing parametric simulations.
Fixed bug that caused the wrong self capacitance to be displayed in the mutual capacitances list when a driven shield was active.

v9.0.0

New features:

Faster simulations. In some cases 10x as fast as previously to achieve the same uncertainty. Also more accurate for very thin dielectrics.
Touch on 3D surfaces - the virtual finger will now stop on the surface of 3D models.
Parallelepiped touch probes.
Multiple files can now be used for a single layer. Useful in cases where multiple drill files are used per layer.
Simulation time can now be set as minutes in total.

Changes to existing features:

Multiple 3D models can now be set to move as one. Useful in cases where complicated 3D models have several different materials.
3D models can be aligned with the stackup by right clicking the chosen surface.
3D models can be mirrored around the X, Y or Z axis on import.
3D models are now imported significantly faster.
CapExt can attempt to fix holes in 3D models to make them act as dielectrics.
Improved visuals in parametric plots.
Resistance can now be automatically modified in parametric simulations.
Capacitance without touch is no longer displayed when Plot Touched Path is used.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused incorrect results to appear if a touch probe was set to floating followed by disabling touch simulations.
Nanoseconds and picoseconds are now correctly displayed.
Fixed issue that in rare cases could show the wrong electrode names for mutual capacitance results.
Fixed bug where the dimensions of an imported Drill-file could only be set once.

v8.5.0

New features:

If no valid license is found, CapExt will default to a custom touch-board.
CapExt can now simulate for a set time instead of the number of iterations.

Changes to existing features:

Default color scheme has been updated.
The grid in Draw On Layer has been updated with tighter spacing.
A wireframe is displayed on top of the model when custom models are used.
You can now use Shrink/Grow on multiple electrodes at once. Just select multiple electrodes with the CTRL button and select Shrink/Grow.
Electrodes can now be renamed easier.
Parametric simulations window will now display the unit that is used for the parameters.
Water droplet position, width and height can now be modified through parametric simulations.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused Shrink/Grow to remove the whole electrode when shrinking in rare cases.
Fixed bug that made it hard to move the layer when Draw On Layer was used.
Fixed bug that caused parametric simulation results to disappear.
Fixed bug that caused the wrong thread priority to be set when running simulations.
Fixed bug that caused CapExt to not recognize non ASCII characters in directory and file-names.

v8.4.0

New features:

The material of each layer can now be set. This affects the visual appearance of each layer, and sets a default permittivity which can be changed later. The colors can be changed under View->Change colors...
FOV can now be changed in the 3D view.
A new example project based on the CapExt PCB.
Touch density. Under Area Touch you can now select Touches/cm^2 instead of selecting # samples X and Y, making it easier to resize area touch surfaces.
Area touch now defaults to covering the whole board.
DXF layers can be set as laser cut/router paths when setting negative/subtractive layers.

Changes to existing features:

Improved visuals.
Better support for high DPI screens.
The scale used to show Area Touch results can now be freezed to the current scale more easily.
Renamed "New Stackup" to "New Project", "Save" to "Save Project" and "Open" to "Open Project".
Custom components can now be edited after being added.
You can now select "Do not show this again" when being asked if you want to save changes after pressing "Apply Changes".
Randomize Droplet Positions has been disabled.
The default number of simulation iterations has been increased by a factor of 10, and the default Min. self cap. error is 1%.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused "Number of decimals" to sometimes show an empty field.
Fixed bug that could cause crashes when using combinations of custom components and area touch.
Fixed bug that could cause electrodes touched by some custom components to disappear.

v8.3.0

New features:

When adding custom components, default named electrodes can be hidden, and electrode can be sorted alphabetically.
[Pro] Number of fingers: Simulate gestures and touches with more than one finger.
Simulate more than one touch probe simultaneously. Good for checking how the sensitivity changes when users press more than one key simultaneously.
Move layer contents.

Changes to existing features:

3D springs can now be set as conductive rim, conductive center or conductive cross.

Bugfixes:

Nets with the same name will now be treated as if electrically connected.
The area touch will default to covering the whole board when activated unless the board has an area larger than 0.04 sqare meters.
Fixed rare crash when using the layer draw editor.
Default named electrodes will be hidden in the driven shield list if Hide electrodes with default names is checked.
Improved import drill file size detection.
Fixed several bugs with custom springs. Both accuracy issues with tight springs, and naming issues etc.
Fixed bug that caused Area Touch results to not display properly when custom components where used.
Fixed bug where subtract layers would not always work on DXF files.

v8.0.2

Bugfixes:

Fixed rare bug that could cause CapExt to crash when loading a project.
Fixed bug that caused custom components to display wrong simulation results in some cases when "Display delta capacitance on touch" was activated.
Fixed bug in custom components where combinations of resistors and capacitors could give wrong results depending on order added.
Fixed bug where Shrink/Grow electrode could cause electrodes to touch in cases where they were grown.

v8.0.1

New features:

The colors in the 2D/3D mode can now be changed or set in color blind mode by selecting View->Change colors...

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused the wrong layers to be highlighted when thick electrode layers were used.
Fixed bug in Show/Hide layers.
Fixed bug that caused CapExt to not check for updates automatically.
Fixed bug that caused kOhm and MOhm resistors to be labelled simply as Ohm resistors.

v8.0.0

New features:

Automatic detection and configuration based on file name when importing Gerber files in the New Stackup Wizard.
[Pro feature] 3D spring simulation. 3D springs can be added to the simulation easily, setting spring dimensions and positions inside CapExt with just a few button clicks. Springs will act as resistors connecting electrodes below and above the spring.
[Pro feature] 3D boxes of different dimensions can be added inside CapExt.
Silkscreen support. Silkscreen files can be imported as a part of the 3D model of the stackup. This makes it easier to see how the design will look and behave after manufacture.

Changes to existing features:

Touch probes with gloves can now have gloves only just underneath the finger.
Improved drill file import. Dimensions of drill files will try to take into account the existing board if the drill file is missing this information.
Default named electrodes can be hidden when searching for components in the "Add Custom Component" dialog.

Bugfixes:

Glove dimensions are now adjustable in parametric simulations.
Nets connected with resistors will now only be simulated if one of the nets are set for simulation.
Fixed bug where floating nets and/or floating finger probes could give the wrong simulation results.
Fixed bug that in some cases caused custom 3D model finger probes taking hours to simulate instead of minutes.

v7.1.0

New features:

When hovering over any conductive element, the coordinate of the cursor in layout-space is displayed in the bottom of the window.

Changes to existing features:

Area touch simulations are now significantly faster.
Set endpoints at maxima for resistance extraction. Lets you automatically select endpoints at the X or Y edge of a sensor as the edges used for resistance extraction.
You can now more easily see the finger positions when plotting a touched or swiped path.

Bugfixes:

Some crashes and missing simulation results due to improvements in version 7.0.0 has been fixed.
Fixed bug that sometimes removed the names of electrodes after pressing Apply Changes.
Fixed bug introduced in 7.0.0 that in some cases could force the simulation to never finish.

v7.0.0

New features:

Plot touched path which lets you select a touched path, graphing how the different capacitances change as the finger follows the path.
Select number of CPU cores to use for simulation. Useful in cases where you want to do other things on the same computer while simulating.
Import IPC-356 files to automatically name electrodes. Right click on an electrode under "Simulation Options" to import an IPC-356 file.
Highligth layer, lets you select a layer which will be highlighted to more easily select electrodes in the center of a complicated stackup.
Measurement tool under the draw layer tools. Can be used to accurately measure sizes of features in the layout.
Move electrode tool under the draw layer tools. Click and drag any electrode to move them around.

Changes to existing features:

The Hatch draw tool will now correctly produce connected hatch lines when set to remove material instead of adding material.
Added tooltips to the draw tools.
"Hide electrodes w/ default names" is much faster even when there are many electrodes.
Faster pre-simulation computation when there are very many floating electrodes in the design.
Less memory consumption for high DPI designs.
Floating electrodes are now displayed in the list of electrodes as [Floating] and with gray color.
Floating electrodes are now not a part of simulation results since the couplings are always 0.
Tool size can be set to custom when using the draw tools.
Custom models can be dragged around using the mouse instead of setting the coordinates manually.
3D models can be set to fit the top layer in the stackup.
The diamond pattern sensor generator has been updated to more easily support standard dimensions.
Capacitance values are now displayed when zooming in on the area touch heatmap.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where nets connected by resistors gave wrong Area Touch results.
Fixed bug where slightly increasing the number of iterations and continuing a previous simulation could increase the uncertainty.
Fixed bug where the capacitance results could be slightly wrong in some cases where there was a large difference in the thickness of neighbouring dielectrics.
Fixed bug where floating electrode between layers of different permittivity could lead to slightly wrong results in some cases.
Fixed bug where export Gerber as DXF resulted in empty files.
Fixed bug where area touch self capacitance results was not properly exported when exporting results.
Fixed bug where area touch results where not exported if mutual cap was not selected.
Fixed bug where CapExt would only run as administrator under Windows.
Fixed bug where area touch could give slightly different results than a single touch in rare cases.
Fixed bug where custom 3D models would hide area touch results if both where used at the same time.
Fixed bug where custom 3D models could lead to very slow simulations in extreme cases.

v6.1.0

New features:

Export as XML. Results can be exported as an XML file, and in the case of parametric results, each parametric simulation will be loaded as a separate sheet when importing the XML file into spreadsheet software.
The touch probe can now be rotated around a central position. This can be used to accurately simulate the sensitivity and response of touch wheels and other circular features.
You can now move the probe in the results pane when using Area Touch. Moving the probe lets you see the result for the new probe position in the Simulation Results list immediately.

Changes to existing features:

A progress bar is now displayed while saving and loading.
The parametric simulations editor have been improved, with no need to reload the parameters after changing the layout, all parameters that will be varied is displayed in a separate list and colored red in the main list.
Reduced memory consumption slighly.
CapExt will now notify if parametric simulations are changed without the changes being applied.
The effect of each parametric step can be viewed in the Project Editor.
The driven shield window can now be resized.
The uncertainty is included as well when copying parametric results to the clipboard.
Added option to clear the queued for simulation status for all electrodes.
Added option to clear the floating status of all electrodes.
You can now set layers to be inverted in the new stackup wizard.
The new stackup wizard will now examine Gerbers added, and if the Gerber is set with negative polarity, it will set that layer to be inverted.
Save and load times have been improved with up to 50%.
Added an option to the DXF Import Wizard to connect adjoining line segments into connected polygons.
Added an option to the DXF Import Wizard to invert polygons in polygons for cases where holes in polygons are defined as new internal polygons.
Reversed the direction of zoom when scrolling with a mouse wheel or track-pad.
Improved manual start and end points for resistance extraction. It is now possible to draw one or more lines across the design that will serve as start and end points.
Improved support for exporting results with comma as a decimal separator instead of a period.
Improved simulation time for floating electrodes. CapExt can now support thousands of floating electrodes without significantly impacting simulation time.
CapExt will now notify if the combination of DPI and size is too large to fit in ram.
Resistance calculation has been improved to converge faster and more accurately.

Bugfixes:

CapExt will now save results from all parametric simulations when exporting results.
Fixed bug where parametric simulations where not performed if batching mode was used.
Fixed bug where CapExt could crash if first loading a project with a model file, and then loading a project without.
CapExt will no longer extract resistance for floating electrodes unless they are explicitly set for simulation.
Fixed bug where CapExt would not correctly compensate for floating electrodes when the coupling between two or more floating electrodes was significant.
Fixed bug where custom models did not always import correctly.
Fixed bug where the wrong mutual results would be displayed if parametric simulation was used together with custom model finger probe.
Fixed bug where area touch results and parametric results are not properly displayed if floating electrodes are active.

v6.0.1

New features:

Instructions on usage is now displayed on start-up.

Changes to existing features:

Uncertainty is now displayed in parametric simulation results.
Added space to each end of the parametric simulation results graph to improve readability.

Bugfixes:

Fixed floating probe not acting correctly when very close to the top layer.
Fixed bug where CapExt could crash when changing the X-scale in a parametric plot.
Fixed bug where parametric results where not updated when a floating probe was reconfigured.
Fixed issue where you could not manually select a parametric simulation to view without using the arrow control.
Fixed issue where some Gerber files could make CapExt hang on import.

v6.0.0

New features:

[Pro feature] Custom model for finger probe. Select any STL file to use for the finger probe. Useful for simulating mechanical system where the capacitance between moving metal parts is of interest.
[Pro feature] Custom models for enclosures and other non-planar geometries. The custom models can be imported from STL files and set to be either metallic or dielectric objects.

Changes to existing features:

When running a parametric simulation, clicking cancel will now stop the entire parametric simulation, reporting results so far.
When using a floating probe, you can now skip the probe simulation and keep the results so far without cancelling the whole simulation.
Estimate of self capacitance has been slightly improved.
Loading Gerbers and DXF files is now faster when the same file is used many times, for example drill files, or when pressing Apply Changes with changes to the layout.
Updated color scheme slightly in the 3D/2D view to make it easier to see deeper layers in stackups.
Reduced CPU load on idle when CapExt is minimized.

Bugfixes:

Fixed issue where automatic DPI would sometimes return an extremely large value when a trace is built of adjoining but separate segments.
Fixed bug where draw on layer in rare cases cleared the whole layer of contents.
Fixed bug where parametric plots would sometimes get the wrong X-scale.
Fixed bug where resistors added through passive components would give too high capacitance.
Fixed issue where a floating touch probe could extract the wrong capacitance in cases where the distance from the touch probe to a conductive element was very small.
Fixed several minor bugs related to parametric plotting.
Fixed bug where floating touch probe combined with parametric simulations could crash when the simulation was re-run.

v5.0.1

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug introduced in v5.0.0 where vias in thick layers would result in wrong capacitance values being extracted.
Fixed issue where some electrodes could be toggled as floating if imported from an older version.

v5.0.0

New features:

Parametric simulations, vary one or more parameters linearly across many simulations, plotting the final results.
Passive components, add resistors or capacitors between nets.
Option to automatically detect and set the DPI through the New Stackup Wizard.
Floating nets: You can set one or more nets as floating nets, signifying that they are not connected to a defined potential. Each floating net will incurr a separate simulation, so should only be used if this net will have a significant impact on the results.
Rename layers: You can now name your layers with custom names.
Batch rename electrodes. Select multiple electrodes by holding down CTRL while clicking them in either the 3D/2D view or in the list, right click in the list and select batch rename. The electrodes will be named as name#, with # going from 0 to the last selected electrode in the order selected.
Stack dielectric layers without electric layers in between.
Negative DXF layers. You can select one or more layers to act as "negative" layers, which will be subtracted from the selected layers. Useful in cases where you have isolating elements specified in a separate layer.
Button in 3D/2D view to switch between 3D and 2D.
Set digits after decimal in results.
Added tooltip with list of typical permittivity values.
Added grid and snap to grid in layer editor.
Better CSV export, select what to export.
Pattern drawer
Add custom patterns imported from DXF files through the edit layer feature.
Export custom designs
export your custom designs as DXF files or Gerbers.
Use percentage as both a convergence threshold and to view the uncertainty in the simulation results pane.

Changes to existing features:

Faster convergence, cutting simulation time by roughly 50% on common designs.
The UI for adding new layers is changed to make it easier to use.
Units has been added to all GUI elements that output/input values in either mm or inches.
Lower memory consumption for stackups with large dimensions and/or DPI.
Better drill file support.
Many usability changes and minor layout changes.
The default DPI is now 600.

Bugfixes:

Fixed issue where CapExt could not do more than 2000000000 iterations. Estimates for remaining simulations time are also more accurate.
Units displayed when drawing on a layer are now in mm if metric units are selected.
Fixed issue where thin dielectric layers could give slightly wrong simulation results.
Fixed issue where the Shrink/Grow functionality sometimes caused a crash.
Fixed issue with draw on layer feature not always working.
Fixed issue where layer editor did not always allow you to undo your changes.
Fixed bug in DXF importer where the top polygons are not always imported.
Fixed bug where via layers sometimes did not appear to be filled in the 3D/2D view.
Fixed bug where layer edits did not properly survive layers being resized.
Fixed bug where CapExt would sometimes ask you to select the drill file parameters twice.
DXF importing has been improved to handle a few more variants.
The automatic dialog that prompts you to save if you are making irreversible changes has been fixed to properly save.
The 3D/2D view have been upgraded, and will hopefully work on most computers now, including some virtual machines.

v4.2.0

New features:

Layer editor. You can now directly edit the layers from within CapExt with a paint-like tool. Either modify existing Gerbers or DXF files with this tool, or create new layouts completely from scratch.
Extract resistance. CapExt can now also simulate the resistance of nets.

Changes to existing features:

CapExt will now try harder to keep custom electrode names even when the stackup has changed significantly. If CapExt can not change the electrodes in a guaranteed safe manner, you will get a prompt asking if you want CapExt to try in a non-safe manner.
Better support for drill files. Many drill files are of non-standard format, making it hard to automatically detect the units in the drill file. CapExt will now give a prompt when loading drill files, allowing you to select the correct units.
You can now choose between aborting a simulation in progress, or just skipping the simulation of the current electrode.
Better indication of the layer contents when hovering over a layer in the PCB Stackup-pane.
Better control when importing DXF files.

Bugfixes:

Fixed some issues with the DXF importer.
Fixed issue where the example projects crashed on some simulations due to being generated with an outdated version of CapExt.

v4.1.0

New features:

Touch simulation with gloves (beta). You can now configure the touch simulation to simulate a glove surrounding the touch probe. You can set the thickness and permittivity of the glove.
Configurable touch probe ground connection (beta). You can now select between a touch probe connected directly to GND, a floating touch probe, or a touch probe connected to GND through a selectable capacitance.

Changes to existing features:

Memory footprint is reduced when area touch simulations are used. With this change, you can simulate area touches with even more probes than before. Saving and loading project files will also be faster.
Simulation speed increased for area touch simulations with a large number of touch probes.
You can now press the column headers to sort by name or capacitance. The sort by name and sort by capacitance buttons might be removed in a future release.
The 32 bit version of CapExt has been removed from the CapExt installer. If you require 32 bit support, please send an email to info@capext.com.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where the via/drill layer text box in the new stackup wizard was occasionally blank when a via layer was added.
Fixed bug where importing old save-files caused problems when trying to set the thickness of an electric layer.
Fixed bug where some complicated Gerber files could not be read by CapExt.
Fixed bug where the "Calculate size automatically" checkbox was reset upon loading a project or pressing "Apply changes".
Fixed issue where tip windows where visible even when CapExt was running in the background.
Fixed issue where the column header for the column "Cap. w/Touch" was not always updated to "delta Cap. w/Touch" when "Show delta cap. on touch" is activated in the device profile pane.

v4.0.0

New features:

Area touch support added. Simultaneously simulate a grid of touches. Each grid point is simulated as if a finger touched that grid point independently. The results can be viewed as both a heat map and as a grid of numbers. Works just as if a single finger was used, with both self- and all possible mutual capacitances being extracted for each simulation. Due to the advanced algorithms used, using a grid of for example 16x16 fingers = 256 individual touches will not take 256x as long time as a single finger, but rather only around 20x the time of a single finger.
Pattern generator for mutual touch touch screens and touch surfaces has been added. Generated patterns are loaded into CapExt for simulation, and can be exported as .DXF files.
Hide default named electrodes in results: You can now choose to hide electrodes you have not given a name to in the simulation results. Makes the mutual capacitance list much easier to read for complex layouts with many nets that are not of interest. This just affects the results you are viewing, the hidden electrodes will still be a part of the simulation.

Changes to existing features:

Water droplets can now be individually positioned.
Water droplet simulations will now also perform a non-water droplet simulation in the background. You can toggle between viewing the results with water, without water and the difference between these two simulations. Useful for quickly identifying false touches due to water.
Better simulation speed. You can expect a 4-8x speed up for moderately to very complex boards.
Estimated time remaining is now shown during simulation.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where a droplet layer directly on top of the top metal layer (no dielectric inbetween) gave wrong results.
Fixed bug where the UI elements sometimes became unreadable when device profile was turned off.

v3.0.0

New features:

Droplet simulations added. The droplet simulation simulates variable size water droplets on the top layer of the stackup, can be used to simulate a touch screen in rain or similar conditions.
Added support for driven shield
Support for device profiles. A device profile holds information relevant to capacitive touch controllers, such as minimum detectable capacitance, maximum capacitance etc, which is taken into account when displaying the simulation results.
DXF import. CapExt can now read DXF files.
Resize electrodes. CapExt now supports PCB editing in the form of resizing electrodes. This can be useful for cases where you want to quickly see the capacitive effects of shrinking or growing a PCB trace or a capacitive sensor.
You can now save the files used by layers by right clicking the layer and choosing "Save layer contents...".
You can now change the CPU priority used by CapExt during simulations. This will make it easier to use other software while CapExt is simulating.

Changes to existing features:

The New Stackup Wizard has been changed to allow a single drill layer to be applied to all layers at once.
You can now set a thickness for the copper layers in the New Stackup Wizard. For most designs where the copper thickness is insignificant compared to the PCB thickness, we recommend keeping the thickness at 0.0 to avoid unnecessarily complicated stackups.
The memory consumption has been reduced.
Improved self capacitance accuracy. Typically 20-400% better accuracy depending on the layout. This improvement will also apply to old .capx-files, no need to rerun the simulations.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where some dielectric layers did not resize properly on DPI changes or board layout size changes.

v2.1

New features:

If you try to do a touch simulation with bare electrodes on the top layer and the finger probe close to the stackup, CapExt will ask if you want to add a thin layer of dielectrics on top of the electrodes.

Changes to existing features:

Capacitance simulations are now up to 4x as fast as previously. Due to internal changes in the simulation engine, this will only apply to new simulations, if you increase the number of iterations on an old simulation, CapExt will use the old, slower, simulation engine. To get the new simulation engine on an existing stackup, press "Apply Changes" in the stackup-editor to reload the stackup.
Added additional options to the console version of CapExt.

v2.0

New features:

Finger probe for touch simulations. For details on how to use this new feature, see the updated user guide at www.capext.com/user_guide.html
Script-controlled batch simulations. See the example script in the sub-folder "example project" to get started.
Use the arrow-keys to mode around the 3D/2D view. To activate, click anywhere in the 3D/2D view. Press W/S to zoom in/out.

Changes to existing features:

Mutual capacitances are now always symmetric if more than one electrode is simulated. This is accomplished by using the simulation results from both simulations, and combining the capacitances and uncertanities.
Electrode names are now kept when changing the board parameters that does not change the electrode layout. For example, changing permittivity or layer thickness will no longer force new electrode names.
Saving to CSV files will now also save information about the board layout and the uncertainties of the results.
CapExt now supports OpenGL 3.0, enabling CapExt to run in systems with limited graphics capabilities.
The view has been changed so that positive Y coordinates are up in relation to the screen.

Bugfixes:

Fixed issue where the left mouse button does not properly drag the view for some graphics cards.
Fixed some cases where Gerbers did not load properly.
Fixed some cases where renaming electrodes did not work.

v1.4

New features:

Layers can now be inverted (pour changed to empty and empty to pour). Right click any layer in the PCB stackup pane and choose "Invert layer contents" to invert layer.

Changes to existing features:

Display results as uf, nF, pF, fF or aF.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused CapExt to crash while updating the stackup on some systems.
Fixed some UI issues on Windows 10.

V1.3

New features:

Press W/S zoom in/out in the 3D/2D view. Useful for systems without a mouse-wheel.

Changes to existing features:

None

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug which caused CapExt to crash before the GUI was displayed on some computers.
Fixed bug which caused capacitance values to be consistently to low by a factor 2/3.
Fixed bug which skewed some results, resulting in non-symmetric mutual capacitances in some cases.
Due to the changes in the simulation engine, it is recommended that you redo any important simulations. To clear an old simulation, press "Apply Changes" in the PCB Stackup pane. This will preserve the old stackup while clearing the results.

V1.2

New features:

Experimental support for 32 bit versions of windows added. To run the 32 bit version of CapExt, open the shortcut CapExt_32bit from the CapExt folder in the start-menu. Note that the recommended version of CapExt is the 64 bit version (shortcut named CapExt), as this version is faster, and supports more ram than the 32 bit version which is limited to 2gb of working memory.

Changes to existing features:

CSV files can now be exported in either a comma as the decimal separator or with a period as the decimal separator. Switch between the different formats when saving the CSV file.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug that caused mutual capacitance columns in exported CSV files to be shifted one step to the left.

V1.1

New features:

None

Changes to existing features:

None

Bugfixes:

Fixed issue where CapExt had problems achieving good accuracy with thin PCB layouts.
Fixed issue that made some CapExt project files take several minutes to load.

v1.0

This is a major release, with many changes to improve the usability of CapExt, the user guide at http://www.capext.com/user_guide.html has been updated to reflect the changes.

New features:

CapExt now comes with an installer to simplify installation.
On startup CapExt will display a notification if a new version is available for download.
A license manager has been added to simplify installation of licenses. The license manager can be accessed from the Help-menu. It is also shown on startup if no valid license is present.
Click to activate electrode for simulation: When in the simulation options pane, you can left click any electrode in the 3D-view to activate it for simulation.
A draggable box is now drawn to show the physical dimensions of the stackup while it is being edited. This should make it easier to crop large PCBs accurately. The edges of the box can be dragged with the mouse to modify the dimensions of the PCB.
A 2D view has been added. To toggle between the 3D and the 2D view, select the View->Toggle 3D/2D menu item.
The name of the electrode is now displayed as a tooltip when the mouse passes over it in the 3D/2D view, this should make it much easier to identify electrodes in the Simulation Setup and Simulation Results panes.

Changes to existing features:

The save-file format has been modified. The new files are postfixed with .capx. Files in the new format are compressed and should take up much less space. Files in the new format also stores a local copy of the Gerbers so that the DPI and the board dimensions can be changed without needing to re-import external Gerber files. To import old files, select "old CapExt project file (*.cap)" in the Open-dialog.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where renaming electrodes could leave them in state where two different names are displayed on simulation results and simulation options panes.
CapExt no longer requires Administrator access in windows.

v0.9

New features:

Added functionality to set the desired level of accuracy required from the simulation. The simulation will now continue until either the maximum number of iterations is reached OR until the calculated error for the self capacitance is below a set level.
A warning dialog is now displayed when the combination of DPI and the width/height of the PCB might be too large, for example due to a Gerber with larger size than the layout itself.
Electrodes selected for simulation will now be highlighted green in the 3D view.
Added option to rename electrodes in the simulation options pane by right-clicking the electrode.

Changes to existing features:

In cases where the error is larger than the result, the error is marked red to highlight this.
Progress bars are now displayed when Gerber files are being imported.
Improved highlighting when examining mutual capacitance results.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where importing Gerber files sometimes did not work.
CapExt will now ask for administrator rights on start-up to avoid an issue where the program could crash if it did not have administrator rights.
Fixed an bug with unwanted scrolling upon the selection of an electrode.
Fixed minor issue that caused some results to be off by 0.4% compared to the real, physical result.

v0.8

New features:

Parallel computation. By default, all available cores will be used for the simulation. Simulations will now be 2-8x faster depending on available cores.
Switch between metric[mm] or imperial[in] units. Go to View->Units to select imperial or metric units.

Changes to existing features:

Negative results are no longer displayed. All negative results are clamped to 0 before being displayed. Negative results represents an artefact of the simulation where the result is closer to 0 than the error estimate, so this change should not affect the accuracy of the simulation.
In mutual capacitance view, the self-capacitance is now displayed as a positive value.
It is now possible to abort a simulation in progress without loosing the progression gained so far.

Bugfixes:

Fixed bug where updated DPI setting in the PCB stackup-view are sometimes not taken into account when the stackup is updated.
Fixed bug where deleting layers could leave a stackup in an illegal state.