Electric has a number of placement tools that can rearrange a circuit so that routing is easier. The tools can handle schematic or layout cells. To run placement, use the Floorplan and Place Current Cell command (in menu Tools / Placement). This selects an appropriate placement algorithm to run.

For more precise control over placement, you can select a particular algorithm in the Placement Preferences (in menu File / Preferences..., "Tools" section, "Placement" tab) and then use the Place Current Cell with Preferred Algorithm command. The Placement Preferences not only selects the algorithm, but has parameters for controlling its operation. |

These are the possible placement algorithms:

Algorithm | Placer | Notes
Force Directed | #1 | Gives good results quickly (seconds). Additional time and threads does not improve results
#2 | Recommended for highly-symmetric cell layouts (pads, memory)
row/col | Useful for fixed-pitch cells
Genetic | #1 / #2 | Needs long runtime. Additional threads do not help
Simulated Annealing | #1 | Not recommended for use
#2 | Has best overall results. Recommended runtime: 5 minutes
row/col | Useful for fixed-pitch cells
Bottom-up partition | Used to break large circuits into subproblems
Bottom-up placement | Fast and good quality for placing random-sized nodes
Min-cut | Simple placer that does not use multiple threads
Simple and Random | Places linearly/randomly: not recommended