Only one path can be shown at a time. Clicking on another object will rebuild a path from the second object, erasing the original path.
When a path is displayed, the user can click on two objects in the path, and only the ``subpath'' connecting the two objects will be highlighted. If the two objects are connected in multiple ways, the algorithm will select one (which may not be the most direct). If Shift is held while clicking on an object in the path, the object will be deselected and not considered as part of the path. This can be used to coerce a desired subpath. When a subpath is displayed, clicking on any non-selected object will display the full path containing that object.
While the command is active, the expansion depth can be changed with the `-', `+', `n', `a', and digit keys, similar to the Expand command in the View Menu. The present path will be redrawn with the new depth, if possible (the original object must be above the new depth). The path can be made to blink by pressing the `h' key. The Show Paths button is typically used to visually check the connectivity of wire nets in a layout.
There is a functionally identical Quick Paths command which works outside of the extraction system, thus avoiding the sometimes long setup time. However, this variation s limitations, as discussed in that topic.
If layer-specific selection is enabled, one must click on an object on the current layer to select the path. Otherwise, clicking on any conducting object will highlight the connected objects. Only one path is shown.
The boolean variable LayerSearchUp, if set, will enable searching for layers from bottom to top, rather than the default top to bottom. This affects the conductor chosen if the user clicks over more than one conductor layer, and layer-specific mode is not active. If a dark-field ground plane is used, clicking on the painted areas (holes in the ground plane) will select the ground group, as will clicking on any other object which is connected to ground (group 0).