TRACE Boardviewer
How to open a .bvr boardview file
A .bvr boardview is a plain-text description of a circuit board: every part, pin and net with its position. Technicians use it to find where a signal goes. TRACE Boardviewer opens it for free, and you can put the board's schematic and PDFs right next to it.
First: is your .bvr a boardview or a video?
Two unrelated things use the .bvr extension.
- Boardview (BVRAW): a text file whose first line looks like
BVRAW_FORMAT_3(orBVRAW_FORMAT_1). This page is about these files. - Blue Iris recording: a video saved by the Blue Iris security-camera software, in a proprietary format. Open it with Blue Iris; TRACE cannot play videos.
To check, open the file in a plain text editor without saving it, or just drop it into TRACE, which identifies formats by their content.
Which BVR versions TRACE opens
| Variant | Status in TRACE 1.2.0 | Details |
|---|---|---|
BVRAW_FORMAT_3 | supported | Selected real exports and the five open tool-written Raspberry Pi Pico boardviews have been checked. Three were cross-checked against their KiCad boards: parts, pin counts, net names, sides and pin positions agree to the file's 1-mil resolution. |
BVRAW_FORMAT_1 | selected real exports checked | Component, pin, side and net records are validated. Pads carry no physical size. |
Other BVRAW_FORMAT_n | recognized, refused | TRACE names the version instead of guessing. |
.bv (Jet database) | selected Jet4 exports checked | The bounded BV reader imports Layout, Pin and Nail tables. Jet3 uses synthetic validation. Encrypted pages, overflow rows and unknown schemas remain unsupported. |
Open a .bvr file in three steps
- Download TRACE: a portable Windows EXE, the experimental macOS build for Apple silicon, or the experimental Linux packages (.deb and AppImage).
- Press Ctrl+O (Cmd+O on a Mac), or drag the .bvr into the window.
- Press Ctrl+F and search for a part (
U1), a value or a net (VBUS). Click a result to highlight the whole net and list the connected parts.
Switch between the top and the mirrored bottom view, rotate (R), fit the board to the window (F) and measure between two pins (M).
Add the schematic and the PDF
If the .bvr was exported from a KiCad project, attach that project's .kicad_sch (keep the sub-sheets in the same folder) and its plotted schematic PDF. Use the Attach buttons in the Schematic and Documents tabs, or drop the files into the window.
- TRACE links board and schematic by exact names, including KiCad's sheet-qualified net names (
/sheet/NAME) and automatic names such asNet-(D1-K). - Anything that differs is listed, not guessed.
- One search then finds a net on the board, on the schematic and in the PDF text.
- Notes you add to a pin, with your measured voltage or resistance, stay with the board.
The getting started guide shows attaching, searching and cross-probing step by step.
Tip: you may not need a BVR at all
If you have the KiCad project, open the .kicad_pcb directly. TRACE reads KiCad boards natively, with real pad shapes; a BVR export carries only a pad radius for each pin. No conversion step is needed. KiCad boards (KiCad 8 and 9 real files) and schematics are validated; see the KiCad PCB viewer page and the format table.
If you do want a BVR file from a KiCad design, the open-source kicad-boardview exporter can write one. Its script takes an optional --bvr_file argument for a .bvr output next to the default .brd file.
What TRACE reads from a BVR 3 file
- Parts and pins with their positions (mils, converted to millimetres) and sides (top, bottom or both, as recorded in the file). A missing side is shown as "both" and disclosed.
- Pin names, numbers and nets. Empty values for fiducials and unconnected pads are allowed, and net names may contain spaces.
- Pad size from
PIN_RADIUS. - Not read: the
.obdataside files (package, value and status per part). No BVR 3 file written by a manufacturer's tool has been tested yet.
Files are limited to 64 MiB, and TRACE never modifies them.
If the file does not open
TRACE always says why. It names the format it found, the version it refused, or the line that is malformed. Send that message, the first line of the file and its size with a bug report. Please share only files you are allowed to share.
Product names are trademarks of their owners. They are used here only to identify file formats and programs; TRACE is not affiliated with any of them.