Altium Designer 19 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: olkipukki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2018, 09:27:10 am
content: Somebody has opportunity to start AltiumDesigner 19 Beta testing?Also, there is a new product - Altium NEXUS, for "AgilePCB Design"

author: cjurczak
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2018, 08:22:04 pm
content: I just loaded it up for the first time today since I am in between projects. I imported my settings, and have been poking around a bit with an existing design. I'm having trouble getting the clearnace boundaries to display. I had one crash so far, but I'm writing that off for now because it occured while running AD18 and 19 at the same time.I need to find a way to possibly import large number of laminate/pre-preg into the new material library, but I haven't really tried to hard.

author: olkipukki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2018, 05:39:48 pm
content: AD 19 has been released a few days ago.https://www.altium.com/documentation/19.0/display/ADES/Release+Notes+for+Altium+Designer

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2019, 05:45:25 pm
content: been using it for a while now. ( both beta and released ) works fine. note : i do run the nexus version as i have a vault.

author: littleboot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2019, 06:45:17 pm
content: Worst version yet, AD19.0.10 paying customers are beta testers and the support team (in the netherlands) is useless.Can't wait for Altium360 because adding features is more important than fixing bugs!.I had High hopes for AD19 because AD18 had some serious bugs and a very unpleasant GUI just put everything under properties tab it makes the gui look clean but very counter productive. I understand a lot had to be changed going from 32bit(AD17) to 64bit(AD18) but there are so many bugs why is AD19 out of beta???. I placed 6 components in AD19 today but I first had to find the library panel, I not only found the library now named "Components" but I also discovered at least 2 bugs. I can't put in words how frustrating this new update is, because it's not the first time a version got released not even ready for basic work.We pay good money for the software tool and I feel like a beta tester. Reporting bugs is very time consuming and we get no feedback what so ever.Did anybody else tried calling the dutch Altium support team? they know little to nothing most solution involve resetting the preferences to default. We stopped calling all together now it is of no use. We pay for the support get none and have to explain solutions to the support team.AD19, lets rename Library to Components why?.They fucked up library refresh (not working just close and reopen altium is a fix).Done with this **** beta software please notify me when AD19 is out of beta and usable for work, for now I go back to AD17 to do my work.Edit:I was clearly frustrated when I wrote this message. I will use AD19 when a bug stops me I will report the bug(I hope they add a function from within Altium to do this) If the bug stops me finishing the work I will go back to AD17 to finish the work. Reporting bugs clearly is the only way the tool will get better, for now because no automated testing is done to verify new feature implementations break old functionality.

author: DerekG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2019, 06:39:03 am
content: Quote from: littleboot on January 11, 2019, 06:45:17 pmI left Altium Designer at ver 14 for another CAD program.Best move I ever made.

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2019, 03:19:53 pm
content: Dude you must have stock in this "other" company. That is all you talk about. I own an Altium license and have compared it to this "other" package and by far Altium has more features and to me is easier to use. You seem to have nothing to contribute but "I switched." Ummm Ok!Further if I am switching from Altium it would be to Orcad; which is industry standard and priced reasonalbly.

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2019, 03:32:17 pm
content: Quote from: littleboot on January 11, 2019, 06:45:17 pmYou are a beta tester. The new AD completely rewritten, new language and 64-bit. Bare with Altium or use AD17. It seems you want or need the new features or you would be using AD17 or older. Sometimes one cannot understand the complexity of programming such a monolithic program until one has done it.About the "but I pay" argument to come. You don't have pay. Quit paying. Then there would be no need to complain.The software cannot get better without this "beta testing" period. Again, as this is a completly new platform it will take some time to find and fix the bugs.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2019, 04:01:05 pm
content: Altium does not have beta testing "period". Altium is always in beta testing state. That is the problem. It is hard to remember a stable version they had.

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2019, 07:07:09 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on January 12, 2019, 04:01:05 pmThen purchase and use something that is not in perpetual beta.

author: DerekG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2019, 02:44:57 am
content: Quote from: mstevens on January 12, 2019, 03:19:53 pmExcellent idea. OrCAD has been around a long time & is a very powerful & mature product. Should you ever get sick of Altium Designer, taking your own advice would likely be a very big step up in productivity for you.

author: littleboot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2019, 01:58:28 pm
content: @mstevensI tought Altium 18 was the beta for Altium 19. I tought wrong.Wrong altium had a Beta testing period, Altium 360 is now in closed beta at this moment:Don't mind paying for the license but paying for support and wasting your time is very frustrating.Please don't get me wrong I like altium as design tool. I complain because I hope altium reads this and wakes up! Starts properly testing there software before release and shifts focus on fixing bugs and making the program stable and fast. Not on adding new features.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2019, 07:28:06 pm
content: I've finally had an opportunity to use AD19 for real, and on the whole it's been decently stable. I say it *has* been, because just now where it did that thing where it has an access violation during a command, so you can't run any other commands, and if you try to save it gives you that infuriating "a command is currently in progress and the file can't be saved" message where you can only save a copy. I guess some things will never change. Fortunately I was able to save a copy on the first try, because after a bit of trying to fight with it even saving a copy stopped working!

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2019, 11:57:03 pm
content: I had a go at AD19 the other day but had to go back to AD17 because I was so used to its layout and where everything was which has not been duplicated in 19.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2019, 07:51:06 pm
content: The BOM updates are really great but even with the latest 19.0.12 release full of bugfixes it crashes every now and then.Davide

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2019, 01:29:09 am
content: Is there anyway of getting back the old dialog boxes with the explanatory diagrams ?

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2019, 07:33:55 pm
content: What dialog boxes are you referring to?

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2019, 03:19:37 am
content: Quote from: ddavidebor on February 16, 2019, 07:33:55 pmIt's ok. I've kind of got used to AD19 now. The 64 bit version is much better at handling complex 3D images since it is not limited by the 32 bit address spacecheersdavid

author: Gonzy78
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2019, 08:02:38 pm
content: I am working, on 19 since one month. (at work for this price obviously, and done a PCB already)It's kinda a bit different of what we are used in the way informations are displayed from 18. However it's same functionality and more glossy. I like it. Less bugs since the two patchs of this month.Looks promissing of what we can do with this baby. I need to find back the best way to draw schematics in altium after two years of the horrific orcadThere is still missing some functions like parameter text draw in the good way. You can't set in the library where you want to show your parameter. So evry time you add you component it's still a mess.Anyway looking back to orcad it's gonna get my live much better.However Altium should stop to do the same this with different menus and different code doing different results.After you need to know where is the good menu to use and the bad menu to do the same thing bug not same result.And you need spend hours for checking if it's the right method you want ...But same as Altium 18 or 17 or 16. So nothing changed, just more ways to do sameExport a step file there is at least two differents ways ... (from files menu it's gonna look ok first try. From job file, if you don't fucking check you want see pcb holes, the mounting holes are filled ... NOT SAME CODE WTF !)For a BOM i counted at least 3 f-cking methodsCan you stop that Altium ? I know there is small and big buisness and it's not same. Just please unify the methods of doing the work, and use a single code for the same functions. It's simple or not ?edit :PS I know this is not altium forum, I just want to talk about my experience on that tool, and if by chance they read Dave forum (I think they do and should), I would be proud to be a part this tool getting betterIf someone is lost and want the best way to do a good library, post here I will do a video. For now what I have seen on youtube is really bad.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 06:35:02 am
content: Quote from: Gonzy78 on March 05, 2019, 08:02:38 pmGood one!They don't even read theirownforums -- flip through Bug Crunch #10299 and #7362 for a good time!Regarding the ways of doing things -- that's more of a feature than a bug. In many situations, there are multiple ways to do them. Having multiple ways to, say, generate outputs, is just another instance of that.Tim

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 07:45:48 pm
content: Quote from: T3sl4co1l on March 06, 2019, 06:35:02 amKinda. I mean it's good to have options, but invoking the same basic function from different contexts and getting different results for no apparent reason is definitely a bug (if only in terms of being shitty UX, as opposed to being an unintentional defect). I've definitely had experiences where I go to do something and doesn't work the way I expect, and then I have to remember that last time I did it fromthis other menu optionwhich does kinda the same thing but in a different way for some reason. I think they've cleaned some of that up over time, but you can definitely still find the phenomenon Gonzy78 describes in AD19.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2019, 05:34:13 pm
content: Quote from: Gonzy78 on March 05, 2019, 08:02:38 pmHello,I'm going to give you some suggestion hope they may help.Indeed altium has menu replication issues, in 17 it was a nightmare. in 18 they just deleted a lot of menus, and got better (they actually overdid it a few times and dropped useful features, but they put them back).Now there are still redundant ways to export. The underlying issue is probably that a lot of the code cannot be decently updated (embarcadero delphi) and they're just rewriting features from scratch as they go along (no point in fixing code when you're working on a dead framework)In general, the exports from the menus are older and crappier, the outjobs tends to work better. If you want a good workflow i suggest doing the following:* have a standard outjob for development were you export for example schematics, bom to share with colleagues, 3d step for mechanical engineer etc etc* set up the exports inside the outjob in different containers* set up a publishing destination, for example a shared folder on the network or a folder on the desktop* now, when you want to export something, use the "generate and publish" link on the right in the outjob containers. it's 2 clicks. fast and easy.* keep refining your single outjob as you go alongFor bom expecially you REALLY want to go with the newer methods that merge all data together between schematics/pcb/database/cloud, they're pretty great. That means:* add a bomdoc to your project, show only the columns you need on your day-to-day work* generate the bom export from the outjob using the bomdoc as a sourceA good suggestion, in general, read the release notes carefully for 17-18-19, you should get a sense of the direction the software is headed.

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2019, 01:06:35 pm
content: Some options appear to be missing in AD19 compared to AD17For example in the 3D view configuration how do you turn off the origin marker ? That option is completely missing ! Same with Workspace color gradient etc.cheers

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2019, 03:20:26 pm
content: what do you mean by workspace color gradient?

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2019, 11:29:03 pm
content: Quote from: ddavidebor on April 23, 2019, 03:20:26 pmOn AD17 it looks like this