White paper
Contents
Tool-chains vs. Altium’s
Platform Approach
1
Transition from Eagle
to Altium Designer 2
File Export 2
Eagle Schematic
Export 3
Eagle PCB Export
3
Importing the Eagle
Designs into Altium
4
Importing the Eagle
Libraries into Altium
10
The Altium Designer
Environement10
Getting Help 10
Component Linking
through Unique IDs
18
See Also 19
Moving to Altium
Designer from Eagle
Tool-chains vs. Altium’s Platform Approach
Traditionally, board-level design, FPGA design, simulation (SPICE and Signal Integrity) and embedded
software development have been treated as independent processes or tool-chains. Moving into the future,
this point tool approach will increasingly present a barrier to efficient electronic product development.
An alternative approach is a unified design platform that allows you combine PCB, FPGA and embedded
software development into a single executable. This next generation solution to electronic design has
shown to significantly boost productivity when compared to the tool-chain approach.
This diagram illustrates the architecture of the software platform. The foundation is a unified data model
adjacent to a data management layer. This combination brings significant data management capabilities
to the design process. A hierarchical project combines PCB, FPGA and embedded software development
into a single view shared by the entire design team. Another advantage of the platform architecture is the
inclusion of IP which is fully integrated into the design process. The platform approach eliminates all the
tool integration and data management headaches creating more time for product innovation.
This document guides you through the process of moving from Eagle to Altium Designer.
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Transition from Eagle to Altium Designer
Even though Altium Designer does not contain a native translation wizard for CadSoft's Eagle® you can
still convert complete Eagle® designs, including Eagle® schematics and PCB files using available Eagle®
ULP scripts. CadSoft, Eagle ULP scripts (User Language Program) export to an earlier Protel ASCII format
which can then be opened in Altium Designer. These scripts use the file extension [*.ulp].
This application note outlines the process of exporting Eagle design data and importing it into Altium
Designer. It also covers some differences in the two design environments, which will help you to get a high
quality conversion.
The translation process will follow these steps which are described in detail in the sections following:
1) Exporting the design data from EAGLE
Schematic
PCB
2) Creating an Altium Designer PCB project

Adjust project settings

Perform manual adjustments/cleanup of schematics and PCB
3) Add translated design files to the Altium Designer PCB Project

Synchronize Design Data

Save revised files
File Export
Exporting Schematics and PCBs (*.Sch and *.Brd design data) from Eagle to the Protel/Altium Format is
quite easy. You simply have to start Eagle, open the desired Eagle project or the individual design file and
start the appropriate ULP file from either the menu or from the workspace icons as shown in Figure 1.
There are two different ULP files that you need to
download. The eagle2ad_sch.ulp is for converting
the schematic designs and the export-protelpcb.
ulp is for converting the PCB layouts. Both files
can be downloaded from the CadSoft website at
the following link:
http://www.cadsoftusa.com/downloads/user-language-programs/?language=en
These scripts can also be located on the AltiumLive
forums by searching on ULP.
Figure 1. Starting a ULP in Eagle
Important Note: these export scripts were not developed by Altium and are not an Altium product. The scripts referred to
in this document have been proven to work but note there are other similar scripts in circulation.
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Eagle Schematic Export
To export the schematic(s) Go to File>>Open , Browse to the Eagle "Schematic" to open the desired design
file and then go to File>>Run, Browse to the eagle2ad_sch.ulp. The script will generate a separate
schematic document for each sheet in your design . The documents will be numbered like those in the
original Eagle schematic.
NOTE: Altium Designer uses 10mils as the minimum grid in the schematic. Matching this grid setting in the Eagle schematic
before running the translation script will yield the best results.
Eagle PCB Export
To export the Eagle layout Go to File>>Open, Browse to the Eagle "PCB" to open the preferred design file
and then go to File>>Run, Browse to the export-protelpcb.ulp to invoke the script.
NOTE: before executing the script check the default layer assignment, which is hard coded in the export-protelpcb.ulp script.
This can be found in the "Layer Naming" section of the script - see below for code example. If the default layer setup is not
suitable then the layer naming section has to be modified to reflect the correct layer stack up/assignment.
// Layers Naming
B.layers (L) layer [L.number] = L.name;
layer [LAYER_TOP] = "TOP";
layer [LAYER_BOTTOM]
= "BOTTOM";
layer [LAYER_PADS] = "MULTILAYER";
The layer names listed below are the names to be used in Altium Designer when mapping the layers names
in the script:
SIGNAL INTERNAL MECHANICAL
LAYER PLANES
LAYERS
MASK
LAYERS
SILK SCREEN
OTHER
TOP
PLANE 1
MECHANICAL1
TOPPASTE
TOP OVERLAY
DRILLGUIDE
MID1
...
...
BOTTOMPASTE
BOTTOMOVERLAY
KEEPOUT
...
PLANE16
MECHANICAL32
TOPSOLDER
DRILLDRAWING
BOTTOMSOLDER
MULTILAYER
MID30
BOTTOM
Due to the differences in data structures, watch out for elements that make use of flat caption for
track or circle ends. Altium Designer does not support this and will automatically replace them with
round captions
The ULP will generate a Protel ASCII design file. Altium is capable of importing this directly, but it is
recommended to resave the design in the native Altium binary design format. Refer to the "Importing
Eagle Designs into Altium" section of this document for step by step instructions.
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To date the following are known issues regarding the PCB export ULP:
1) There is no Board Header Record
2) The Layer designators in the inner layers are not correctly shown. It is possible to search for these
incorrectly shown Layer designators with a text editor (e.g., Notepad) and to replace/rename these
discrepancies in the exported ASCII file. (e.g. Route1 –> Mid1) Mid1 is the designator recognized by
Altium Designer.
3) After the PCB Import, design rules must be made and checked since the rules are not exported as part
of the ASCII file
.
4) In some cases plane layers may be omitted. However, these are easy to create in Altium Designer as
long as no split planes were present.
5) There are cases where Overlay-Objects from components end up on the wrong layers. You can unlock
and select the component primitives, and then change layers for any discrepancies.
6) Some pads may come in as Pad Designator 1. This will have to be corrected if this is ever to map to
schematic symbols. However, all primitives for a component are at least grouped into a component.
7) Some tracks may come in without a signal name assignment. They can be identified as tracks as
signed to "No Net".
8) The script fails if a percent sign (%) is included in any text (such as a Comment with "1000uF
5%"). This is because the script sends this to Printf() as a format string, which interprets it as the start
of a new field for which there is no corresponding parameter passed.
Note: Some of these issues may have been addressed in a newer version of the ULP script files.
Importing the Eagle Designs into Altium
The Schematic and the PCB document(s) generated
by the ULP scripts can be directly loaded into and
used by Altium Designer. However, these design
files are referred to as "Free Documents" and need
to be linked together through a PCB project file
(.prjPCB) in order to link the schematic and PCB
documents together.
The set of design documents that make up the
project are brought together by the PCB project
file. The project file stores all project-relevant settings, including a link to each document in the
project, and all project-relevant options. Each
document in the project is stored as a separate file,
Figure 2. Drill down from the File menu to
create a new project.
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which is linked to the project via a relative reference for files on the same logical drive, or an absolute
reference for files on a different logical drive. Outputs generated from the project are also referenced in
the project file. The exact set of Project Options stored will depend on the project type.
Creating a Altium PCB Project
You can create a new project in more than one way.
1) From the File menu, drill down to create a new project.
2) Click on the required entry in the New section of the Files
panel. If this panel is not open, click on the
System button at the bottom right of the main application
window and choose Files from the pop-up
menu that appears.
Note: that the project file only exists in memory when first created, use the
Save or Save As commands to save it with a suitable name in the required
location.
Configuring PCB Project Options
Figure 3. Creating a New Project
from the Files Panel
Project settings are configured on the Options Tab of the Project Options dialog. You can configure these
settings to enable Altium Designer to work/behave in a similar fashion to Eagle.
Figure 4. Project Options
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You can access this from the Projects menu on the main menu bar (Project>>Project Options), or by rightclicking on the project name in the Projects panel. The options available to you include:
• Compiler error check settings
• Design synchronization settings
• Design compiling settings
• Location of output files
• Multi-channel annotation settings
Other project settings stored in the project file include:
• Schematic annotation settings
• Output settings such as reports, print, Gerber, and so on
Note that these are the output settings accessed via the schematic or PCB editor menus, not the output settings defined in an
Output Job document
Below are recommended changes to be made in the project options:
• Uncheck Component Classes and Generate Rooms in the Class Generation Tab.
• Set the Net Identifier Scope in the Options Tab to Global.
• All other Options can stay with their default setup.
After closing the Project Options Dialog the already exported schematic and PCB data has to be added
to the project. For doing this right-click on the project in the Projects Panel and choose Add Existing to
Project. In the appearing Dialog choose the relevant data and open them. As usual in windows, multiple
documents can and should, be chosen at a time. Right click on the project file and Save your changes.
Maintaining Schematic
Due to some architectural differences between Altium Designer and Eagle some design corrections have
to be made manually:
Unique IDs
Unlike Eagle; Altium Designer links the logical and physical component representations through a Unique
ID and not Refdes. These IDs need to be reset in the schematic such that every translated symbol is
assigned its own unique instance identifier. To reset the IDs go to Tools>>Convert>>Reset Component
Unique IDs in the schematic editor. The synchronization process called Component Links, which
associates these IDs between schematic and layout, will be covered later in this document. For more
information regarding Component Links refer to Component Linking Through Unique IDs Section in this
document.
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Unwanted T Junctions
Nets that are routed over another net in Eagle can be interpreted by the export script as T junctions in the
Protel ASCII design file. Altium Designer automatically adds junction points to T-junctions, which creates an
unwanted short in the schematic. You can either redraw the net connection or drag the net to remove or
correct the short.
Floating Net Labels
Before synchronizing the schematic and PCB, make sure there are no floating schematic errors. Compiling the project (right mouse-click on the project in the Projects Panel >> Compile) will run the ERC engine,
which will check for electrical rule violations and schematic syntax errors. The most common error in Eagle
schematics is float net labels. Net labels are treated as separate objects in Altium Designer. You must
ensure that the net label object is placed in such a way that it's connected to the net it's associated with.
If the net label is placed too far from the net, the net-naming association will not get created, which will
cause the floating net label error.
Figure 5: Automatic junction causing shortcut
Figure 6: Fix for the unintended shortcut
If the messages panel does not open automatically, it can be activated over the menu View>>Workspace
Panels>>System>> Messages.
Figure 7: Floating Net label and
corresponding Warning
Beside the possible floating net
label messages there may be
other warnings and/or errors
that should be addressed. Refer
to the following link for further
guidance on resolving
schematic compilation warnings/
errors:
http://wiki.altium.com/display/ADOH/Project+Compiler+Error+Reference
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Power Ports
You can spend some additional but optional work replacing Power Ports and Schematic Templates (Eagle:
frames). In Eagle Power Ports and Frames are traditional library parts, where in Altium Designer these items
are treated as special parts. To get rid of additional warnings during the synchronization between schematic and PCB you can replace the Eagle power parts with Altium power ports (Place>>Power Ports) . Removing the Eagle Frame and replacing it with a native Altium schematic template is optional.
Maintaining PCB
When you open the PCB File the Protel Import Wizard will start automatically. This is because the PCB ULP
script exports the data in the Protel ASCII format. Simply follow the instructions; the correct board shape
can be adjusted after import as well. Polygons, Rules and component classes are not exported.
You will need to redefine these items.
Altium Designer assigns a unique ID to every
schematic symbol and PCB footprint instance in the
design file(s). As mentioned earlier, the link between the schematic and PCB components is accomplished through these identifiers. If design content originates outside of Altium Designer the links
between these IDs have never been created. Inside
of the PCB layout editor Altium Designer supplies a
utility called
Component Links to manually link the logical and
physical IDs.
Figure 8: Protel ASCII database import wizard.
To invoke Component links open the PCB design file and go to Project>>Component Links. As long as
the schematic and PCB Redfes values match you can use the Add Pairs Matched By >> button and check
Designator. Matched Components will appear on the right hand side of the GUI - click the Perform Update
Button to link the unique IDs between schematic and layout. Any components left in the Un-Matched
Components list on schematic side are usually power and/or ground symbols that were not replaced using
the power/gnd ports and/or schematic frames that were not replaced with Altium borders/templates.
It is not necessary to provide Unique IDs for these objects, so they may be left unmatched.
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Figure 9: Linking components, some single components stay
After reworking the PCB and making the necessary corrections it's best to save the Protel .pcb ASCII
design file in the native Altium binary format. To do this right click on the .pcb file in the Projects Panel
and choose Save As. The default file type specified in the Save As dialog should be .PcbDoc, which is the
Altium binary design format. Note: It may be necessary to remove the .pcb from the file name before
saving. Click OK and the .pcb will be replaced with the new .PcbDoc in the projects panel.
Synchronizing Schematics and PCB, save your work
Last two steps are synchronizing the project and saving it.
The synchronization can be started from the schematic
editor (Design>>Update PCB Document ) or the PCB
editor (Design>>Import Changes From).
After synchronizing the schematic and PCB the Project
must be saved. To do so, right-click on all documents
showing the red symbol signifying the files with unsaved
changes and save them.
Figure 10: Unsaved documents
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Importing the Eagle Libraries into Altium
None of the ULP scripts support the translation of Eagle library files (LBR). As a workaround you can create
separate Schematic and PCB libraries from imported design files.
If you want convert the LBR file from Eagle you need to place all schematic symbols on a schematic page(s)
and all the PCB footprints on a Eagle PCB. Export the Eagle schematic and PCB based on the instructions in
this document. Once you've imported the design files into Altium Designer use the Design>> Make Schematic Library and Design>>Make PCB Library in the respective editors.
The Altium Designer Environment
Main article: The Altium Designer Environment, Altium Designer Panels
The Altium Designer environment offers a complete electronic product development environment for all
areas of design - from schematic capture to the generation of PCB output, as well as complete FPGA
design, development and on-chip debugging. The environment is fully customizable, allowing you to set up
the workspace to suit the way you work. Consistent selection and editing paradigms across the different
editors allow you to easily switch between various designs tasks all within the Altium Designer environment.
Perhaps the single biggest difference that you will notice when you start working in Altium Designer is that
there is only one application used to create and edit all design files, regardless of the type of file - schematics, PCB, library, text, and so on. No longer will you have to switch between different
applications when you want to move from viewing the schematic to the PCB. All the files (also referred to
as documents) open in the same executable, each appearing on a separate Document Tab within Altium
Designer. As you move from one type of document to another the menus and tool bars
automatically switch, giving you the right editing environment for that document.
Getting Help
Main article: Documentation and Help
The best way to learn is through doing! Altium and Altium Designer provide a number of ways to help
you do that:
• F1 over any object, editor, panel, menu entry or button to open a brief description in the Knowledge
Center panel.
• Shift+F1 while running a command for a list of shortcuts you can use in that command.
• Search the Altium Wiki, either in the Knowledge Center panel or on the Altium Wiki Website.
• Visit the TRAININGcenter where you can watch over 100 short training videos, each detailing the exact
steps needed to complete a task.
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AltiumLive
In AltiumLive you can share all your thoughts with your industry peers. It is the central place for users of
Altium. This includes a complete Ecosystem to deliver content, knowledge and experience of other users to you. Also, it is a place where you have a direct interface to Altium for any feedback like a feature
request. With that feedback, we are much better prepared to improve our software in a way the market
really requests.
• Software: You can download Altium Designer together with a 1 month trial version
• Content: You will find content like libraries, design secrets and reference designs
• Forum: Discuss your topics with Altium staff and users.
• Blogs: What’s new, technical and commercial topics around Altium.
• BugCrunch: Report Bugs, request features and vote for implementation
Project-Based Design
Main article: Project Management
The starting point for every design created in Altium Designer is a project file. There are a number of
project types supported, each targeting a different final implementation, for example PCB project,
Library project, FPGA project, Embedded project, Core Project and Script project. The project file stores
links to the actual design documents that are part of the project, as well as project-specific settings.
Using this concept, you have additional possibilities like defining rules for PCB design already in
Schematic. Also, this is a central storage place for your complete design, e.g. for the design rules.
Preferences
Main article: Altium Designer Environment Preferences
Global Preferences are accessed by selecting DXP»Preferences from the menus. The preferences configured here are stored as part of your installation, they do not travel with the design files. File-specific settings, such as schematic document options and printed circuit board options are accessed via the Design
menu in each editor.
Multi-Channel Design
Main articles: Multi-Channel Design Concepts, Creating a Multi-channel Design
There are several multi-channel reference designs available. These include the Multi-Channel Mixer, Peak
Detector and Port Switcher. All three designs can be found within AltiumLive Once you have opened one
of the examples you should compile it, and then look for the compiled document tabs at the bottom of
the schematic editor.
Complex hierarchy is the general term used throughout the industry to describe the process of using
multiple instances of the same sheet in a schematic hierarchy. Traditionally, a design that included complex hierarchy had to go through a process of 'flattening' or 'expanding' the hierarchy at some point, to
uniquely instantiate every component and net.
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Altium Designer does not need to do this, so this multiple-instantiation capability is referred to as multichannel design instead of complex hierarchy. The ability to be able to make each channel different by
passing parameters to it from the parent sheet symbol is also supported, and is referred to as parametric
hierarchy.
Using parametric hierarchy you can parametrically define the component value, supporting the situation
where a component does not have the same value in each channel. Parametric components are defined by
declaring their value as a parameter of the sheet symbol above, and then referencing that parameter on
the target component.
PCB Layout and Design
Successful board layouts rely on design systems that unify the design definition with the physical layout
and routing. Altium Designer offers such a PCB system which includes a number of familiar features to
help you place and route your board. When the PCB Editor is active (i.e,. a PCB document (*.PcbDoc) is
open and active) the main application window will contain:
• A main design window in which you can start designing, capable of display in both 2D and 3D
(shortcut: 2, 3)
• Menus and tool bars that are specific to the PCB Editor
• Workspace panels that are both global and editor-specific
View Configuration and the Layer Stack Manager
View Configurations are settings that control many
PCB workspace display options for both 2D and 3D
environments, and apply to the PCB and PCB Library
Editors. The view configuration last used when saving any PCB document is also saved with the file.
Select Design»Board Layers & Colors (shortcut: L)
from the main menu to open the View Configurations dialog, or switch configurations using the drop
Figure 6. The Layer Stack can be easily mandown in the main tool bar, as shown below. To open
aged and copied to the Clipboard for docuthe Layer Stack Manager select Design»Layer Stack
mentation purposes.
Manager (shortcut D, K) from the menus.
The Layer Stack Manager dialog shows the current layer stack up of the board. Signal and plane layers
can be added, removed, or their order changed. Double-click on an electric or insulation layer to configure
layer properties, such as: thickness, net association (plane layers), or the dielectric constant.
PCB Board Options - Document Settings
All options for the placement grid, measurement units, sheet position, and designator display mode
are set in the Board Options dialog. With a PCB document active in the main design window (for this
and all of the following context-sensitive dialogs), select Design»Board Options (shortcut D, O) from the
menus to open the Board Options dialog. For multi-channel designs, you can select between logical and
physical designator display on the PCB in the Board Options dialog.
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PCB Board Wizard
Before you can transfer your design from the Schematic Editor to the PCB Editor, you'll need to have at
the very least a blank PCB with at least a board outline. The PCB Board Wizard allows you to easily create
a basic PCB design using many industry-standard board outlines as well as create your own custom board
sizes. The PCB Board Wizard is launched from the Files panel in the New from template section. At any
stage you can use the Back button to check or modify previous pages in the wizard.
Interactive Routing
Main article: PCB Routing
Altium Designer also has different interactive routing modes for interactive routing for single tracks, differential pairs and busses. Modes for interactive routing are not dependent on licensing options, and are
all available in the PCB Editor with different routing obstacle avoidance modes:
• Ignore obstacles
• Push obstacles
• Walk around obstacles
• Stop at first obstacle
• Hug and push obstacles
• Follow mouse trail
Design Rules
Main articles: Design Rules, Creating Design Rules, Design Rule Checking, Scoping Design Rules
Altium Designer's PCB Editor is a rules-driven design environment. You can also transfer your favorite
design rules from another board. Design rules can be exported from, and imported to, the PCB Rules
and Constraints Editor dialog.
Figure 7. The PCB Rules and Constraints editor in Altium Designer can be
opened in the PCB Editor with the Design > Rules command.
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Signal Integrity
Main articles: Performing Signal Integrity Analyses, Signal Integrity Analysis, Signal Integrity Rules, Signal
Integrity Panel
In addition to the standard set of design rules for DRC, Altium Designer also supports Signal Integrity
analysis, which is integrated directly into the PCB Editor (Tools»Signal Integrity). This includes:
• Pre-layout and post-layout Signal Integrity analysis capabilities that you can perform from either the
Schematic or the PCB Editors
• Evaluate net screening results against predefined tests
• Perform reflection and crosstalk analysis on selected nets, and display waveforms
• Calculate suitable termination values using the termination advisor for different termination topologies
• Impedance driven routing, as well as support for balanced differential pairs
• Length tuning by adding accordions to your single ended and differential pairs
Mixed-signal Circuit Simulation
Main article: Circuit Simulation
Mixed-signal circuit simulation is a unified part of the capture process, and is fully integrated with the
schematic editing environment. Before you launch the Mixed-signal circuit simulation, make sure that any
schematic sheet within the project is open. Simulation models need to be associated with every component
in the schematic document before simulation can be launched from the command Design»Simulate»Mixed
Sim. Simulation is done for the entire project.
You can use the same Schematic for both: Simulation and PCB because of Altium Designer’s unified data
model. This integrated simulation environment is fully SPICE compatible and additionally supports PSPICE
models.
See Also for PCB Design
• A great place to start learning about PCB Design is Tutorial - Getting Started with PCB Design
• Editing Multiple Objects to learn about editing using the Find Similar Objects functionality
• PCB Inspector Panel which displays the common properties of different objects and lets you filter and
edit them
• Editors, Panels and Object Reference to learn more about the PCB Environment
• Preparing the Board for Design Transfer
• Situs Auto routing Essentials
Compilation - a Cornerstone of Altium Designer
Compilation is a cornerstone concept of the Altium Designer environment. Compilation is a process that
allows you to harness many powerful design features.
When you complete your Eagle schematic design, you are used to generating a net list and importing
this insufficient information into your PCB tool. With Altium Designer you do a compilation instead.
With that you transfer any available information into the unified database for your project.
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From here, it is available to any other domain available inside this powerful toolset. For the transfer of
data from one domain to the other Altium Designer will offer you an engineering change order process
(ECO). With that ECO, you have full control over what should be transferred.
When you select Project»Compile Project the compilation process works out the structural relationships
between the source schematic (or HDL) documents in the project, then determines the net-level connectivity within each sheet, and finally the connectivity between the sheets. All this component and connective intelligence from your schematics design is written into Altium Designer’s unified internal data
structure that can then be used for many post-compilation activities, such as comparing and showing
differences between schematics, parameter managing, parametric navigation of your design, cross probing back and forth between the schematics and PCB, and much more.
Where are my nets and components from my design?
Connectivity is not as explicit in your design as it was before, but rather has to be extracted from the
design using the compilation process. This is available through the right-click menu in the Projects panel,
or using the Project»Compile Project menu command.
Once the design is compiled the sheet-level hierarchy, as well as all the components, nets and buses
are displayed in the Navigator Panel. From here you can easily locate any component, bus, net or pin
throughout the entire design. And if you hold the Alt key as you click on an object in the Navigator Panel
it is highlighted on the PCB as well as the schematic – no longer will you need to inspect net lists to review design connectivity.
Configuring Design Connectivity
Main article: Connectivity and Multi-Sheet Design
Altium Designer supports different types of design connectivity, and this must be set to suit the structure
of the design. The type of sheet-to-sheet connectivity is called the Net Identifier Scope. This is defined in
the Options tab of the Options for Project dialog
and saved with the project. From the Project menu
select the Project Options menu command, and go
to the Options tab.
In the Net Identifier Scope drop down you can select from the following connectivity options:
• Automatic (Based on project contents)
• Flat (Only ports global)
• Hierarchical (Sheet entry <-> port connections)
• Global (Net labels and ports global)
The Import Wizard handles connectivity
automatically through the translation process and
will give you the Automatic (Based on project contents) configuration by default.
Figure 8. The Net Identifier scope is set in the Options
tab of Project Options
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Hierarchical blocks are mapped as sheet symbols, and they will translate to sheet symbols in Altium Designer. In Automatic mode, the design compiler then looks at the sheet symbols on the top sheet. If there
are sheet entries (hierarchical pins) in them, it will assume vertical connectivity, and internally use the Hierarchical option. If there are no sheet symbols on the top sheet, or if there are sheet symbols but they do not
include any sheet entries, it will assume horizontal connectivity for which there are two ways that Altium
Designer supports this: Flat and Global. In order to determine which of these two options to use, the design
compiler looks for ports or off-sheet connectors on the sub sheets. If there are any it uses the Flat option, if
there are no ports it uses the Global option.
You can easily go back and change the configuration after translation through the Project Options dialog
from the Projects menu.
Verifying Your Design - Expanded Error Checking
Main articles: Project Compiler Error Reference, Compile Errors Panel
Another benefit that results from compiling a project in Altium Designer is built-in error reporting. This
is completely configurable for your needs and can be done before your project is compiled. Right-click
either on the project file and invoke the Project Options command, or also through the Project menu.
You may wish to get a better picture of the entire development cycle and how it unfolds from an
engineer's perspective by reading An Overview of Electronic Product Development in Altium Designer.
Design Synchronization
Main article: Finding Differences and Synchronizing Designs
Design synchronization is fully integrated in Altium Designer without the need for passing a net list.
Synchronization in Altium Designer is also bidirectional, allowing you to make annotation changes and
component property updates in both directions between your schematic and PCB, in a single operation.
Components and Libraries
Main article: Component, Model and Library Concepts
Altium Designer supports working directly from the source symbol or model libraries, an ideal approach
when the schematic and PCB are designed by separate organizations.
The logical symbol is assumed to be the essential starting point of a component. It can be initially defined at minimum as a name in a schematic library to which pins and any graphical symbols or alternative display options needed for implementation may be added. This flexibility allows a component to be
represented in different ways during the design and capture process. This may not only be as a logical
symbol on the schematic, but also be a footprint on the PCB or even as a SPICE definition for simulation.
With Altium Designer 10 a new model is available: Component Libraries, where any component is
unique, life cycle managed and version controlled available from your company vault and linked to your
company database.
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With part choices, you can leverage the existing know how from your design teams with the knowledge
of the purchase department. E.g. a part becomes obsolete, or your designer allows the purchaser to use a
1% resistor instead of a 5% if he buys this in higher quantities. With the relational database you will immediately see where and how often this part has been used in your company.
Where are my libraries? Some Basics on Library Management
You'll be able to view your source schematic and PCB library files immediately after translation through the
Projects panel. Your translated libraries are automatically grouped into one PCB project.
Libraries are installed (added) to the Altium Designer environment, making their components available in
all open projects. Display the Libraries panel, from there you can install and remove libraries. Libraries can
also be linked to any project, and you can also define project search paths, useful for referencing simulation models.
See Enhanced Library Management Using Integrated Libraries for a further discussion on using Integrated
Libraries.
A Brief Note on Database Linking
Main articles: Linking Existing Components to Your Company Database, Using Components Directly from
Your Company Database
Appreciating the fact that many designers like to link from the components in their electronic design software to their company database, Altium Designer has strong support for linking and transferring database
data through the design process and into the Bill of Materials.
Two techniques are supported, one where the Altium Designer library symbol holds all model references
and also includes links into an external database, the second where the database holds all model references and other company information. While database connections in Altium Designer are set up for MS
Access databases (*.mdb files) by default, any OD BC-compliant database can be accessed.
Multiple Monitor Support
Altium Designer has full support for multiple monitors. If you have multiple monitors on your PC you can
easily drag a document or Workspace panel out of Altium Designer and drop it on the second monitor,
greatly enhancing your design productivity. Multi-monitor support is configured in Windows.
Project Outputs
Generating documentation has always been an essential part of your work. If you want to automate
your design outputs and therefore make it repeatable, you can leverage this by using the concept of
Output Jobs.
Output Jobs are a graphical way to batch all of the settings necessary to generate any output. If you
have defined them once, generating all of the necessary files with all of the necessary settings is just
one mouse-click away. If you implement them into your new document defaults, generating outputs for
your next projects will also be one button push away.
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In Altium Designer 10 output jobs are the basis of our release data management. With that you can
standardize your complete release management and make it a push-button solution to make it right the
first time.
To learn about generating manufacturing output, either using the Output Job Editor or using the Reports
menu see Design to Manufacturing
To learn about the CAM Editor see Auto-Loading Fabrication Output into the CAM Editor
To learn about the built in PDF generation wizard, see Smart PDF available from the File menu and
Publish to PDF available in the Output Job Editor
Component Linking through Unique IDs
Altium Designer uses several methods to connect and synchronize data between the schematic and the
PCB. Component reference designators and net connectivity is one way, but a more robust method is
through the use of a Unique ID. This is essentially a serial number that is given to a component when it is
placed on the schematic, which is then transferred to its corresponding footprint when the schematic data
is brought over to the PCB.
Figure 9. Unique ID field in schematic
Figure 10. Matching Unique ID field in PCB.
This allows much greater flexibility in re annotating reference designators, as previous synchronization
of the designators is not a requirement; the synchronization is all done via the Unique ID. The ECO
process and other synchronization checks can be done much more quickly and easily when the Unique
IDs all match.
During a “normal” design process starting at the schematic then going to PCB, the Unique IDs are automatically passed so it’s a transparent process for the user. For translated files, however, the Unique IDs
do not automatically get synchronized. Not to worry – Altium Designer has a tool to do this for you! In
the PCB editor, select Project»Component Links. Clicking the Add Pairs Matched By>> button will link
the Unique IDs using various methods – the simplest and default being reference designator matching.
Components whose reference designators match will then be placed in the Matched Components column. Clicking Perform Update will change the Unique IDs in the PCB to match those found in the schematic. The dialog will show (on the right side) the components that currently have matching Unique
IDs. Those in the left and center columns are unmatched:
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Clicking the Add Pairs Matched By>> button will link the Unique IDs using various methods –
the simplest and default being reference designator matching. Components whose reference designators
match will then be placed in the Matched Components column.
Clicking Perform Update will change the Unique IDs in the PCB to match those found in the schematic.
See Also
Below are references to other articles and tutorials in the Altium Designer Documentation Library that talk
more about the conceptual information as well as walking you through specific tasks. Remember, you can
also browse through the Help contents, and use F1 and What's This at any time in a dialog for more details.
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More PCB project options, refer to the tutorial, Getting Started with PCB Design.
More FPGA project options, refer to the tutorial, Tutorial - Getting Started with FPGA Design.
Tutorial that steps you through the basics of creating components, read Creating Library Components.
Tutorial that steps you through the basics of editing multiple objects, read Editing Multiple Objects.
For an overview of Altium Designer's FPGA design, development and debugging capabilities, please read
Soft Design.
A great place to start your journey through all of the new
possibilities is coming with your Altium Designer installation. On the top right of Altium Designer you can find the
Home button.
From here, you can easily access the Documentation Library in the Tasks area where the “Getting Started
with Altium Design Solutions” category will ease your start into a unified future.
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