Inserting Altium schematic or PCB into MS word - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 06:59:07 am
content: Hi,Simply copying some parts of PCB and schematic and pasting it in word would work! but I want to know if there is a way to insert them as Vector files so when we zoom it would not pix-elate! do you know a trick in here?

author: julianhigginson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 11:11:17 am
content: The most I've ever done in this regard is screenshots.Why do you want to be able to zoom in on pictures in the word doc?What kind of document are you trying to make here?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 12:02:15 pm
content: You can export layers in Altium as a DXF, maybe you can figure out a way to insert a DXF drawing into word? That should allow zooming to work without pixelation.

author: knapik
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 12:51:49 pm
content: Export it as a PDF and import it to your word processor?

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 01:25:23 pm
content: Thanks, But I want to embed portions of the project into word! importing PDF would not solve the problem

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 01:29:19 pm
content: Export portions of the project to PDF, import. Alternately, open the PDF in a PDF editor, copy/paste into Word. AFAIK, Altium objects are not ActiveX.

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 01:30:25 pm
content: Thanks, what PDF editors do you suggest and have you tried?

author: Batang
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 05:20:32 pm
content: Using AD 17.1.9 & Word 2016, not tested for other versions.Select PCB layer, Select All (or whatever), CopyThen paste into Word Doc.No pixelation.See included file.CheersNote: Word doc printed as PDF

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 08:48:51 pm
content: Best answer, don't use stupid Word.Also probably the most useless/unhelpful answer. Yeah, I've been there too...Me, personally, I use LaTeX, which works in PDF natively, so I can insert whole pages, cropped sections, whatever.Tim

author: knapik
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2018, 03:58:11 am
content: Sorry, I don't touch Microsoft Word. I know in LibreOffice Writer which I use I can just crop a page in PDF format and resize it at will.

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2018, 04:56:42 am
content: Thanks for your feedback, I wanted to make some internal tutorials for our company, we could have solve every thing in stupid word right now, except the altium schematic! Our company rule is to make things better, so We can not use Bitmaps in our doc's

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2018, 05:34:13 am
content: Hopefully I have solved the problem! first of all you print the schematic in Altium into PDF, then you just simply open the PDF using word, now you can edit the PDF and copy the portions that you want into your existing documentSee the attached example

author: D3f1ant
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 08, 2018, 07:19:17 am
content: +1 for LaTex. Word is for writing a novel, it is cumbersome for technical documentation.

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2018, 02:50:22 pm
content: While I am a Microsoft zealot, I have to concur that LaTeX is best for technical document/documentation.Quote from: T3sl4co1l on June 06, 2018, 08:48:51 pm

author: Philfreeze
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 27, 2018, 08:06:01 am
content: I am 99% sure it works either with a newer version of AD or Word without pixelation,I just tested it with AD16 & Word 13 and it does pixelate but at home I am pretty sure it does not.Here is how I would do it:File -> Page Setup -> advanced -> Specifc area -> Define the thing you want to export as pdf -> OkFile -> Print -> select some pdf generator -> enjoy your pdf outputMayble you will also have to activate the colour in the Page Setup menu, don't know.(works for schematic and pcb)

author: EE-digger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2018, 06:28:21 pm
content: I use Primo PDF as a printer and Foxit as a reader. With the Primo printer, I usually use 2400 dpi output resolution if I'm going to cut and past graphics from it. This has produced good quality in Word docs, and those can be stretched by the person viewing it if desired.