When considering the separation between components, Easy-PC uses a simple method to check.  The component is considered to cover the whole of the rectangle bounded by the maximum and minimum X and Y dimensions of the component.  Fot the purposes of the calculation, pin names and numbersan references are all ignored, but any other text forming part of the component (for instance a pin 1 marker) is included.  As the bulk of components are roughly rectangular in shape, generally this works very well.  A problem can arise when components are not rectangular because spurious component clearance errors can arise (for instance radial capacitors, which if placed diagonally would physically be fine - but the square bounding boxes could overlap).

For these components, placement shapes provide a solution, allowing the definition of complex bounding boxes but they can only be created on a suitable layer (see the FAQ 'Why are layer types Important? ) which can be dedicated to the task and never output.

To create a placement shape, just draw a closed shape on the placement layer.  It can be as complex or as simple as you wish.  The centre line of the shape will be taken as the size of the component.  The layer can be part of a symbol, but a suitable matching layer must also be present in the design for the information to be included when adding a component using such a symbol to a design.