hybridfree/eevblog-posts huggingface dataset:
Differential pair to single ended component - issues - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: TheUnnamedNewbie
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2020, 04:06:01 pm
content: So, I am making a high-speed test PCB, aimed at 56 and 112 Gbit/s data. Some of the connections have to be with a 100 ohm differential pair. However, we want to use coaxial connectors to connect our test circuit to the oscilloscope.Because the performance is critical, I wanted to make a kind of 'two single ended to differential' component that I design and verify in my EM simulator and then input as 'component.But altium seems to get confused about the (in this case intentional) short circuits between the microstrip lines and the differential lines. If I remove the connection between them, I can route the differential pair as expected, but with the connection I can't. I've tried setting it as net tie but that didn't seem to help either. (note, the seeming disconnects of the lines is because of the renderer of altium, they are in fact connected. notenote the shape seen here isn't the final shape, this is just what I have now when trying to get altium to work. I'll see how I end up importing the geometry later.)

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2020, 08:19:11 pm
content: You need to set the component type as Net Tie (and "No BOM" if there's no component placed on the board). Net ties allow a short circuit to be created within the component while still treating the two nets as separate and subject to normal short circuit and clearance rules in the rest of the board.

author: TheUnnamedNewbie
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2020, 05:56:27 am
content: Quote from: ajb on March 10, 2020, 08:19:11 pmI have tried setting it to Net Tie (No BOM) and that didn't seem to fix it. I will play some more with the settings and report back later.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2020, 03:12:40 pm
content: Looking at your picture, it looks like the copper region abuts but does not overlap the pads, I wonder if that's the problem. Whenever I've done net tie components (or even used regions for odd-shaped pads) the pad actually overlaps the region, which maybe is required to establish the net tie properly?

author: TheUnnamedNewbie
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2020, 08:07:10 am
content: With the help of T3sl4co1l I have managed to get this working. I think in the end the pads were too small and DRC rules and such were interfering with the differential layout algorithms. extending these pads fixed the problem.
Noob questions on Altium Libraries - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sahiru.Dilan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 07:14:21 pm
content: Hi everyone,I am new here and this is my first post.I have been using Eagle CAD and decided to use Altium for my future projects. I have followed some tutorials on YouTube. As I understood we have to create our own libraries for components that we are going to use. In Eagle we had some generic libraries. But in Altium we do not. Well I think it is really useful and professional to create my own schematic symbol and footprint for components. As we include the manufacturer part number in the process at the end of the designing I get all the prices for the BOM and part numbers. This is really useful.My question is this. Let's say I have to use the same 0603 100K resistor for like 10 PCBs. Then will I be creating the same library 10 times? Or is there a way to save that as an integrated library and use the component across all my PCBs?The other thing I am wondering is this. Let's say 0603 100K and 0603 150K resistors are there. The footprints will be almost the same. So can I use the same library component for both and just update thevalueandPart numberparameters?Also is there a way to copy a symbol and use it? Drawing a Zig-Zag symbol for a resistor was really hard for meThank you for adding me to the forum.Best of luck to all of you

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 09:39:59 pm
content: There are many generic libraries available for Altium.Newer versions use the Vault, older versions just came with files:https://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Download+LibrariesWhether you want to have one part in your integrated library (intlib) for a 100k and one for a 150k, or one generic part "xk" resistor is up to you.Generally for industry use the former is recommended, as there is less chance of mixing up part numbers.You should look at some starting tutorials, maybe Feranecs courses.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJQkHVpk3A8bgDmPlJlOJOA

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 10:02:55 pm
content: For basic symbols you can find alot of them in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Altium\AD20\Library or ADXX depending on your version. Then you can copy the symbols from the library into your new library and modify the values. Once you are more comfortable in the tool you can start to think about using dblibs.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2020, 05:16:47 pm
content: One of the best ways to promote symbol reuse is to use a database library. You create your schematic symbols and footprints separately, then create a database that links the two along with whatever other information you want for each component. You can use Access or even Excel as the database. Creating a new resistor value is as simple as duplicating an existing row and changing the part number and value.There are a number of threads on this forum on how to set this all up and discussions of what information to include or exclude from the database, just search for 'dblib'.
[RESOLVED] Altium 20 shematicc trouble - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ANPH
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 26, 2020, 03:17:48 pm
content: HiI have a problem with the shematic in Altium 20. I already use altium 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 corectly.But in Attium 20 i have a popup windows who spam me when i stay my mouse more 3 seconds on a part .how can i disable it ?

author: SerieZ
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2020, 03:29:55 pm
content: Go to preferences -> system -> Design Insight and Disable Mouse Hover in Document Tree checkbox.I Personally have all Document Insights Disabled unless I am working on a very large Project with tons of Schematics.

author: ANPH
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 26, 2020, 03:37:54 pm
content: Thank you it's works.
schematic sheets B vs C size - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: gogoman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 02:10:41 pm
content: Hello, drawing a schematic in C and printing in B (11*17) results in the printed object not filling the entire sheet (It could be that the graphics are not scalable).Is there a work around and is there a preferred PDF reader to use with Altium.I tried custom scale in the printer output dialog box (yellow), the results were the same.thanks

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 05:16:56 pm
content: B and C have complementary aspect ratios, so there has to be letterboxing or cropping. Is that what you're referring to?Tim

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 12:02:15 pm
content: Thank goodness for the square root of 2 and ISO216.
Ultra Librarian PCB footprints - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: gogoman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2020, 02:07:00 pm
content: Hello all, Digikey offer Ultra Librarian footprints downloads which I tried years ago but ran into problems, so I gave up.I would like to give this anther try, Is there a quick method to import the symbols into altium.Thanks

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2020, 09:58:56 pm
content: UltraLibrarian comes with an Altium script that you have to run from Altium, to import the files. It worked quite well for TI parts.

author: gogoman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2020, 02:35:20 pm
content: hello, how is this import into Altium. Import Wizard does not have a selection

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2020, 03:12:21 am
content: You have to start a script project, add the UL script and activate the form.

author: olkipukki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 09:26:07 am
content: File -> Run Script... ?

author: SerieZ
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 11:24:27 am
content: https://app.ultralibrarian.com/content/help/?altium_designer.htmHope this helps.

author: gogoman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 01:52:20 pm
content: Thank for the input
Altium and NCDrill file format? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Jester
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2020, 07:35:14 pm
content: Solved please delete

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2020, 10:21:03 am
content: What was solved? Why don't you want anyone else to benefit from whatever solution there was? After all, you were happy to receive gratis other people's solutions.
printing of pdfs - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: gogoman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2020, 02:26:00 pm
content: How does one increase the line darkness of a schematic, the printed sheet appears light making it difficult to readthanks

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2020, 03:49:49 pm
content: This depends on two things. Make sure you are printing in black only and not gray-scale. If your line widths are too small you will also have lighter prints.

author: exmadscientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2020, 05:37:09 am
content: There's a DPI setting somewhere (I forget where) for PDF output. I think it's High (600), Medium (300), Low (150).It turns out that what thisactuallycontrols is, mostly, the width of hairlines printed to PDF. I found that you shouldnotset it to anything other than the default of 300, or you'll get subtly worse output. If you are really seeking wider hairlines, you could try setting it to 150 and see if you like that.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2020, 08:28:02 pm
content: The pdf generation is vectorized so i don't think the dpi setting actually does anything, at least in my experience.

author: exmadscientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2020, 11:14:37 pm
content: Quote from: Pseudobyte on February 15, 2020, 08:28:02 pmIf you don't believe me, try making outputs at each DPI setting. You'll find that it doesalmostnothing, but itdoesaffect hairline width (PDF has no concept of "hairline", it needs a real width and I think AD's output routine uses "1 dot" or something analogous) and for some reason I can't possibly fathom, it screws with the text positioning slightly.In my experience the DPI setting should never be touched from its"medium" / 300 default -- it's just going to make things ever so slightly uglier -- but if you need thicker lines, setting it lower is one way to get that.
Altium 20 Move part's pins in schematic - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Fire Doger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2020, 03:09:59 pm
content: Hello, is there any way to enable pin moving (with drag n drop) on schematic sheet? I am not sure in which version but there was just a check box (Enable pin editing) and you could just do it...The only way I found was with coordinates under Properties -> Pins -> LocationIt is very handy on making good looking schematics without modifing libs.Thank you

author: Cloud
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2020, 12:05:32 pm
content: You click on component and go under properties->pins-> and unlock the lock on bottom left
Altium 14.1.5 printing PDF error lines to infinite - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: LACluc
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 05, 2020, 08:31:59 am
content: Hello,I have OLD Altium 14.1.5 and my experience printing error when generates pdf.The problem is that it creates lines that go to the infinite, if you delete the component from the PCB they disappear but this is not a good solution.I leave you an example.I change the Adobe pdf version and try in other computer and the problem is the same.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2020, 07:07:51 pm
content: My best guess is you have arc primitives that have enormous radii.Altium really doesn't know how to deal with those very well.
Connector diagrams - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2020, 11:17:48 am
content: Hi. I have some documentation work, and I would need to place connector pinout diagrams into the documentation. Can this be easily done in Altium? Has enyone used/abused the schematic editor or the draftsman to do this?Examples:

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2020, 11:59:20 am
content: PNG drops in (Place / Drawing Tools / Graphic). Or if you have vector, or can convert to it (eww?), may be able to paste that in as such.Tim

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2020, 12:27:11 pm
content: Yep i have a coworker that abuses Altium for all sorts of vector drawing.For simple stuff it works well enough, but i tend to use CorelDraw for actual vector drawing tasks, maybe Inkscape can be a free alternative.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2020, 01:24:52 pm
content: Well, I dont think it is going to win any awards, but it doesnt have to.The Schematic editor is pretty useless for this, this is in draftsman.
Changing the Layout Pad Designator Font Size - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: beeboopbeep
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2020, 09:30:33 pm
content: Hi everyone,I was wondering how you can change the font size of the pad designator font size on the layout of Altium Designer 20. I've attached a screenshot of what I'm trying to change. The pad designator is supposed to show "1" in the photo but it's super tiny!

author: ANTALIFE
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2020, 05:10:00 am
content: That's an odd one as the size is meant to be dynamic, as in linked to how far you are zoomed into the board
Altium 19 - highlighting between schematic and PCB - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: vixo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2020, 11:34:47 am
content: I've got access to Altium 19 for a short period and I'm trying to acquaint myself. I did use an older version of Altium in the past (can't remember which) and I would often select a part on schematic view, which also selected it in the board layout window. Altium 19 doesn't seem to do this, is there a way I can change the settings to make this happen?

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2020, 05:03:16 pm
content: In your user preferences change your navigation settings to allow cross probing.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2020, 08:23:47 pm
content: There also a menu option for cross-select and cross probe, under tools maybe?

author: vixo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2020, 09:08:49 am
content: great! thankyou.
Any way to run AD at different DPI than other apps on Win10? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: exmadscientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2020, 07:14:48 am
content: One machine I use AD on has a 4K monitor. I like Windows DPI scaling set to 150% for this particular monitor as it is most comfortable to my eyes. However, AD has weirdly large text and annoyingly larger gaps around text, making it uncomfortable to use. I find that AD is much more pleasant to use at 125% scale, but then the rest of Windows is smaller than I'd like. Is there anything that can be done about this?Both Altium and Windows are up to date (AD 20.0.11, Win10 1909 / 18363.592).Task Manager shows X2.exe's DPI awareness as "System", for what that worth.I attempted to set DPI options on the Start Menu shortcut for AD (located inC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu) and couldn't find a combination of options that actually helped instead of just making things worse. In particular I was expecting the checkbox labelled "Use this setting to fix scaling problems for this program instead of the one in Settings", combined with setting my desired scale factor in the "Open Advanced scaling settings" link, to do what I wanted, but it seemed to set all of Windows to 125% instead of just AD. (Is there any documentation for what this option really does or how it's supposed to be used? I couldn't dig up anything by searching, but Google is really not what it used to be....)Much of the advice I could find on the 'net is outdated, referring to old or very old versions of Windows 10, or in many cases just the blind leading the blind in voodoo rituals. Thus I figured I'd ask 'round these parts. Any guidance is appreciated, even if it's just pointing me to the right manual page so I can actually RTFM.
Altium PCB panelizing problem! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ali_asadzadeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2020, 09:55:00 am
content: Hi,I have multiple altium PCB projects, and to save costs, I want to panelize all of them, I have tested it on Altium 19 & 20,I use Place -> Embedded board array/panelize command to place several design files, the problem is that, it would not show the keep out layers for the boards! Am I missing something?

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2020, 10:41:26 pm
content: Use mechanical layer to define the board outline, do not use keepout any more. They are sort of deprecating it.You can use third party tools to panelize as well.

author: ANTALIFE
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2020, 01:51:51 am
content: Are you planning to have multiple designs on one panel? If so I would recommend limiting yourself to one PCB design per panelLater on you will run into situations where the yield of one board will be higher than the other, and do make up the numbers you might have to make extra boards. If your panels consists of more than one design then you will run into wastage, but if your panel consists of only one design then it won't be an issue
Cascading same sheet symbols - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ptoth
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 28, 2020, 12:38:08 pm
content: Hello,I am wondering if it is possible to cascade the same sheet symbol multiple times as shown in the attached picture?The problem is that upon document compilation I always receive multiple netnames on Out and In.The Net Identifier Scope is on Hierarchical and Netlist Options only on Higher Level Names Take Priority.The error message is the following"Warning Wire LDL1_!OUT has multiple names (Net Label LDL1_!OUT, Net Label LDL2_In)"This confuses me even more, since the netlist option "allow sheet entries to name nets" is not even turned on, so in that case, there shouldn't be even a net named "LDL1_!OUT".I also tried to add an explicit netlabel to it but the upper list of naming conflicts gets only extended.Best regardsptoth

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2020, 07:01:26 pm
content: Quote from: ptoth on January 28, 2020, 12:38:08 pmThe thing is, it is a warning not an error. This will show up any time you have what altium would consider one physical net composed of multiple logical nets.You can tell Altium how to assign net names. By default sheet entries are allowed to name nets, this is the source of your warning.Uncheck this box to stop altium from trying to name physical nets from logical sheet entries. Those warning should go away then, as long as there is only one net label.Project Options >> Options tabWith none of these boxes checked only power ports and net labels (and maybe off sheet connectors, im not sure) will name nets.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2020, 07:06:26 pm
content: Another thing is. I usually make it a point to leave that check on. It gives me peace of mind to know that my blocks are properly connected. I step through those warnings and think to myself"does it make sense that all these nets are connected". I think it is a good check.
Altium Script to Update Single Parameter from Librarys - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: veryevil
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 26, 2020, 10:41:42 am
content: Hi, I'm looking for a script to go through all the components in a project and update a single parameter to the library version if different.I know how to do this using the interface but the update from libraries interface is very easy to mess up all of the params and undo my concatenated strings and values that I have set.It would be great to simply run script and know they are set correctly?Anyone familiar with the scripting on Altium?Thanks
[SOLVED]Connection Issues - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Victor15
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 10, 2020, 05:43:47 pm
content: Hello there!I'm new in Altium, I'm using the 19.0.15 versions, only in this project it's happened, not in the others.I've placed some components in the PCB, but need to change their position, it's ok, but the old connections lines still there, like the image:https://drive.google.com/file/d/17RCE97s1K5TlMXfDpWxHXmOCztec3Sht/view?usp=sharingSomeone can help me with this? how to delete these lines?

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2020, 01:24:30 am
content: Did you already try 'Clear error markers'Maybe Hide all nets then Show all nets, under view menu.If it still persists may be necessary to copy the information to a new PCB file or similar.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2020, 04:08:27 pm
content: Do you have any components on the bottom layer and the bottom layer is turned off? Try turning on the bottom layer.

author: Victor15
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 13, 2020, 12:08:04 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on January 12, 2020, 04:08:27 pmNo, all the components are in the top layer, these markers whore about the last positions off then.

author: Victor15
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 13, 2020, 12:10:36 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on January 11, 2020, 01:24:30 amThanks, Bro I really don't know the function "Clear error markers", thank you a lot!! it's worked perfectly.About the Hide all, I tried this, but without success
Altium Library extractor and image preview software announcement - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2019, 06:03:53 pm
content: Hello lovely peopleI have launched to the public a new software that can extract the data inside .SchLib and .PcbLib file (metadata, graphical elements, render images). it can be very useful for those who want to integrate Altium DBlibs with custom software.More info available herehttps://fermiumlabs.com/lateral-lib-extractor-for-altium/Example output (json):https://pastebin.com/K8dQQrvLExample images extracted:The software is based on a mixture of closed source and open source components
[Solved] identify multiple occurrences of device sheets in the generated pdf - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Auciele
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2020, 10:14:30 am
content: Hello everyone,In many of my hierarchical project i use device sheets, board level annotation and "number schematic sheet". Once the project finished i use an outputjob to generate a PDF file.1) device sheet share the same page number in the PDF in a way that i can end up with a 10 pages PDF but the highest page would be page 8 for example.2) in the PDF i couldn't find any ways to identify a device sheet occurrence from one to another.that lead to a really unpractical PDF schematic. Do you have some tips to share and solve this issue in any ways?thanks.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2020, 08:27:22 pm
content: Ah yes, this one took me a bit to figure out originally. Once you gain the understanding of how Altium works as a piece of software it makes much more sense.To generate useful schematics from Hierarchical projects you need to do a few things differently.First Compile your design!Second annotate your compiled schematics: Tools > Annotation > Annotate Compiled Sheets... (you can change how this behaves by using the drop down arrow, I prefer to do a breadth first annotation, but dealers choice)Third when you generate a schematic pdf from your output job file you need to have these settings:Data Source = [Project Physical Documents]*Double click on the schematic output*Then set the following (ignore the settings in the top section you care about the physical name expansion):You need to expand designators, and the sheet number parameter. I also expand ports to make those unique.Best of luck to you!~Bryan

author: Auciele
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 08, 2020, 09:09:16 am
content: Nice!that will likely do the job but i was wondering, with your setup: ports gets a specific name that include the designator of the device sheet they belong to.additionnaly is there a way to have a dynamic string in the device sheet that would depend on the device sheet designator to ease the identification?thanks

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2020, 05:18:50 am
content: I am not sure about the string thing. I looked quickly through the altium docs for a compiled parameter that would do what you want but didn't see anything.

author: Auciele
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2020, 09:17:21 am
content: As a side note, when you publish a PDF, the index/bookmark title have a suffix with the device sheet designator. (but it only works for the pdf reader. If you print the schematic, you'll lose this data).i'll mark this subject as resolved.
Component Placement Problem - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: FullRock66
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2019, 05:45:24 pm
content: Hello Folks, I have a strange problem (Altium 20) with my libraries, because when I try to add a component to schematic is not possible, a blocked icon style appears,if I select the component in component panel all looks normal but if I try to place it in schematic its impossible, no one error message appears only the block icon.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2019, 08:53:06 pm
content: Screenshot might help?Is this a compiled intlib you've made yourself in an older version of altium, or in 20?

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2019, 12:01:25 pm
content: My guess would be you are trying to place something in the schematic from a .pcblib file. You can't place footprints into schematics.
Altium Designer 20 crashes if I try to rout inner layer - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: soFPG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2019, 08:47:25 pm
content: For the first time now I am creating a 4-layer board.So what I did: I added two more layers in the Layer Stack Manager together with a dielectric inbetween.I am using one of the inner layers for a ground plane. So I placed my polygon, re-poured everything but I noticed, that the polygon didn't get filled!Then I tried to route a pin of a pin-header (which of course goes through all layers) from this ground layer and Altium just crashes.Do you have any explanation for this? Routing and pouring on top layer works fine.Maybe I just don't know how to use the layer manager

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2019, 12:33:08 am
content: Did you check Design Rules, namely routing layers and such?20 is new, unclear if the crash is due to what you've done, or something they botched.Tim

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2019, 09:54:34 pm
content: The red exclamation mark on the left seems to hint something is wrong?I would open up one of their demo projects with 4+ layers, try to route the inner layer, and see if it works there.https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/defining-the-layer-stack-adedit: the middle layer should be "core" but I can't see why that would matter for routing.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2019, 10:57:21 am
content: Does it do this in Altium 19? Altium 20 is in beta phase, so use at your own risk. Even soon after it is released, there is elevated risk for a while.You did not state how Altium crashes. If it shows a small screen with memory violation errors, it is an Altium problem. If Altium hangs, it is an Altium problem. If Altium just disappears off screen, it is an Altium problem.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2019, 06:02:57 pm
content: I use signal layers for inner layers on 4-layer boards all the time in AD19 with no trouble. If you try any altium examples, I expect that they will have the inner layers defined as planes which you van't route on, so those may or may not be helpful. It looks like you have solder mask defined for the inner layers but not the outer layers, which may or may not be what's triggering the bug?
Altium OffSheet connector poorly docummented - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Gregory
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2020, 04:55:31 am
content: Hello guys!I was working on a project where I had multichannel outputs. So, I decided to use hierarchical Alitum project where I could easily repeat the output blocks.One of my subcircuits I had to split in three sheets for organization and readability.As the three sheets were about the same subcircuit I used offsheet connectors.This way I could mantaing the horizontal connection between the sheets of the subcircuit.The problem was that I got a lot of compiling errors and I was very hard to debug. I lost more than one day reading about offsheet connection and didn`t understand what was happing.So, I dicovered in some forum that on a hierarchical project the offsheet connectios get connected only if on the top sheet you instantiete all related sheet separated by comma on a single block, like the image below.All the sheets separated by comma can be connected horizontaly with offsheet connectors.Why this is so poorly documented on altium documentation?I quickly browsed now and could not even find where I discovered this.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2020, 07:42:19 am
content: I've never seen that before. It actually works!?Tim

author: Gregory
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2020, 07:58:15 am
content: This works inexplicably well!Using in this manner I have horizontal connections with a hierarchical project, woderful!I think that this give the offsheet connectors a real use.I can`t understand why this is so poorly documented. I can`t find it in the Altium web help pages.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2020, 05:31:08 pm
content: That functionality is actually documented believe it or not.https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/sch-obj-sheetsymbolsheet-symbol-adAll the way at the bottom.

author: Gregory
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2020, 09:45:24 pm
content: Yep! There is!It's documented on the sheet pages.Not on the connectivity pages, bravo!
Schematic Library components pin designator sorting - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: vincei
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2019, 07:14:52 pm
content: How do you stop Altium designer sorting component library pins by designator? I have a PGA part (retro) that has 175 pins, labeled A01 thru S16. I use these designators so that I match my schematic to the datasheet to the device PCB footprint to make sure everything is right. I have entered all the display names per the data sheet, however, no matter what I do Altium sorts the pins by designator. I want them sorted by Display name so that things like address, databus and other control signals are grouped together regardless of their designator. Even using the group function of Altium the pins are still subsorted by designator which is, well, why?!?How do I make it show A01 thru A31 sorted in the order that makes life drawing the Scematic easier? See the second image.I'm new to Altium so that and maybe me just being thick-VinceAltium 19.1.8, Don't want to upgrade to 20 yet unless it makes this easier :-)

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2019, 07:48:02 pm
content: This can be done with selections/queries and List or Inspector (Property) assignment.List:Select the pins.Open List panel/dialog. Set: "Edit", "selected objects", from "current component". Include "all types".Sort by Y1. Select and CTRL+C (copy) the coordinates.Sort by Name. Paste Y1 coordinates.Inspector:Select the pins.Open Inspector/Properties.In Y1, enter: Copy(Name, 2, 99)*10Move pins into desired location(s).The list method is pretty obvious, just swapping around tables. Synergize with Excel if you need more power (or learn scripting).The latter expression is the tricky stuff you might not be expecting -- or know very well how to use. Sadly, objects have three different names in Altium, and they don't always make sense. I haven't seen anywhere these are tallied. You read one description in the object dialog or Inspector panel / Property dialog, but that's different from the reference used in an expression. For example, here you can reference an object's name field by "Name", but its designator is "Pin_Designator". But on the Query panel, it's "Name" or "PinDesignator".Also, note that, to use an expression on a text field, you need to click the "..." and enter it on the Formula tab. Substitution expressions ("{xxx=yyy}") can be entered directly or created in the "..." Batch Replace tab.Tim

author: vincei
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2019, 03:08:25 am
content: Thanks, Tim. I'll give this a try. Here I was thinking it would be something simple and obviousUsed excel and some bash shell one liners to generate the CSV for pasting the pin definitions from the datasheet into the symbol wizard so scripting shouldn't be too much of a pain :-)Cheers,Vince

author: vincei
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2019, 08:07:23 pm
content: Thanks, that worked. As a newbie it took me a little time to figure out exactlywhat you were saying and implement it.Cheers!Vince
Edit views on multiple library components - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: rcastle
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 05:57:40 pm
content: Is there a way in Altium Designer 19 to edit multiple library schematic components in a .SchLib same time? I want to make some parameters visible by default (package size, tolerance, voltage rating) when I place an instance of a resistor or capacitor in a design, but I don't necessarily want to go through the hundreds of library components I have already manually. Thanks!Library files can be found here:https://github.com/badgerloop-software/hardware/tree/master/libraries

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 08:02:00 pm
content: Try SchLib Filter panel, queryIsParameter and (ParameterName = 'Manufacturer')(for example) across all components. Use inspector/parameters panel across lib as well.Tim
Altium wants to convert my standalone license to on-demand - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Blue_Alien
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2019, 07:27:43 pm
content: Altium included a "free" line item in my recent renewal quote to convert my standalone license to on-demand. I am a solo contractor and don't need to share my license. The closest thing I do is share my license between my desktop and laptop. I just need to make sure only one is running at a time or it complains every few minutes.What I worry about is when I occasionally work without internet if I'd be able to use the license if I haven't set it to roam beforehand.What does everyone think? I'm leaning towards staying with the standalone license. I guess with the on-demand license, I could lend it out to people if needed.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2019, 10:03:56 pm
content: I would stick with standalone myself. If you want to avoid the complaining popup you can block altium in your firewall, but you might lose other online features.https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/altium-designer-on-demand-licensing?version=18.1I would assume its against the EULA to lend out your license?

author: Blue_Alien
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2019, 03:57:56 am
content: Thanks for the advice. That's how I'm leaning.I'm sure lending out my standalone license is against the EULA. But if I did switch to an on-demand license, I would expect to be able to lend it out to subcontractors if needed.

author: pigrew
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2019, 04:12:30 pm
content: Read the fine print.When I was looking at licensing, on-demand was much more expensive than a local network license (maybe it's only "free" during the first year?). It'll require Internet access to work. Finally, they told me that the network license we got is supposed to be used only at a single "site", so while ethical, sharing a license to a remote person may be against the terms of service...I don't see any good reasons for your to go to an on-demand license...

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2019, 03:45:40 pm
content: The on-demand licenses also allow you to remotely release the license from another PC. So for example if you forget to close AD when you leave the office you won't be SOL when you try to fire it up on your laptop later on. As long as you can get an internet connection for a second you can release the license from your desktop and then activate it on your laptop.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2019, 09:42:46 pm
content: Quote from: ajb on December 03, 2019, 03:45:40 pmAs noted above, going offline or blocking it in the firewall and you should be ok, last time I checked.That or can set office PC to sleep after 30min.
What is the pad zero? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MadModder
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2019, 11:19:31 am
content: Some of my footprints have a pad number 0 (zero), and it's name is "free-0". It sits exactly in the middle of the footprint on mechanical layer 15, has a size of 20mil, and has no other properties.What is it good for?It isn't created when using the footprint wizard.No schematic symbol I've seen has a pin 0 hidden.I remember Dave said in a video a long time ago that deleting pad number zero is a beginners mistake.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2019, 09:08:17 pm
content: Your footprints? You made 'em, you should know..?Sounds like it might be intended to show up on the pick-and-place file as a part centroid marker.Pads on graphical layers tend to be a mistake rather than intentional; imported AutoCAD can make a lot of pads for example.Personally, I use pad 0 for no-connects, e.g. unplated holes for mechanical mounting. Any name will match up with any schematic pin name so this is just convention. I never place pads on non-electrical layers.Tim

author: MadModder
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2019, 09:31:24 pm
content: No I did not place them, and not a single schematic pin has the number zero, anywhere.First I thought it is because I imported libraries from Orcad years ago, but the footprints in question are made after I started using Altium.Very strange.Those are the first footprints I made in Altium though, 4 years ago. I may have done something wacky.

author: mengfei
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2019, 09:56:39 am
content: think those are used in some machines to align them in the PAP machine but now machines are more intelligent & accurate.usually those are in the Mechanical Layer together with some other outlines in that layer that when you turn them all on it even make s you more confusingSome Zer0 pads are for mounting brackets soldered on PCB but have no electrical or sometime GND connections

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2019, 10:32:34 am
content: Quote from: MadModder on November 02, 2019, 11:19:31 amA pad is not always an electrical pad, the same as silkscreen tracks are tracks, but not electrical tracks.The layer they are on governs what they are used for.If this pad is on mechanical 15 layer and is always in the center of the part then i agree with mengfei, it's likely something related to pick-n-place alignment.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2019, 05:06:37 pm
content: Some people like to include centroid markers on mechanical layers. The fact that it is a pad and not a primitive feature is likely a result of the conversion from OrCAD to Altium. You generally keep the centroid on it's own layer so that when you generate your documentation you can turn the centroid markers on and off depending on the drawing view you are trying to create.
AD 18/19 issue with clearance between polygon and rest of the components - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Kanc1erz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 05, 2019, 10:14:00 am
content: Hello,I have really severe issue with clearance between polygon (in my case GND) and rest of the components such as vias, pads and so on. I mean the clearance is equal to zero (but GND pads have normal defined reliefs) as in the screenshots below. I read all the rules (not many of them) I even deleted ones regarding clearance/polygons and still nothing helps.Is someone more advanced can tell what is wrong I would be very grateful.I would add that I tried it on two separate computers and on two different versions of AD (I use 18.1.9) but tried on 19.0.14 - same problem.

author: toybuilder
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 05, 2019, 10:23:57 am
content: You're missing a 'catch all' rule for clearance. You defined three clearance rule scopes, but anything that do not meet those scopes will not have any clearance rule appy to them -- thus the zero clearance.Set up a rule for an "all-all" scope as your lowest priority and set your clearance there.

author: Kanc1erz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 05, 2019, 10:46:39 am
content: Well, time to buy glasses... Thank you!I have one more problem then..It is somehow connected to the battery pad with slot-hole offset, maybe you can also find some solution, as I can't..I am sure that the problem is caused by this pad, because when I move the component out of pcb, then the plane is poured completely fine.Please, look at it.And when I change poly type from solid to hatched more magic appears (second screen).

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 05, 2019, 09:18:17 pm
content: Hole size 10mm and length 1mm, you have some things backwards no?
[Solved] Wrong footprint assignment in a DB library - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: warpco
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2019, 08:02:33 pm
content: Hey guys!A few days ago I tried to create my first DB library based on an Excel table. The library contained a few thousands of chip resistors in different packages. When I add one of the resistors on a schematic I saw that it had two footprints: the right one, like in the Excel table, and... the second one. I have no idea where the second came from, it wasn't in the table!After some research I found that the resistors in the 0402 package were fine (they were the first in the table). All others had two footprints - the right one and 0402. Also the right footprints had the empty description field (you can see it on the screenshots above). I tried to create the library with only two components and got the same result.I attached the archive with this library if you want to see it yourself. Just in case, I have Altium Designer 19.1.5 and MS Office 2010. Do you have any ideas on how to fix this issue? Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2019, 02:35:28 pm
content: The issue is you have the footprint assigned in your symbol. Remove it from the schlib and let the DBlib do the linking.

author: warpco
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2019, 03:03:52 pm
content: Thank you so much! How didn't I guess that?! I've tried to find how to solve this issue for two weeks.
Nets X has multiple names - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Jony_1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 01, 2019, 06:32:59 pm
content: Hello,Here is my multi sheet design and I am faced with this error:Code:Nets Wire NetP1_3 has multiple names (Sheet Entry U_Sheet1-RX2(Passive),Sheet Entry U_Sheet2-RXMain(Passive),Sheet Entry U_Sheet5-Port6(Passive))I have two copies of Sheet1 and a copy from sheet 3.what is my mistake?

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 01, 2019, 08:04:55 pm
content: Ports only connect vertically not horizontally by default in hierarchical designs.By ports I mean < label > not power portsKnow that ports by default DO NOT NAME NETS!Ports only make connections between parent and sub-sheet (vertical)Local connections on the same sheet should be made with net labels or wires.Do not make horizontal connections in hierarchical designs. You should only have one top level document if you run out of space you should create a sub-sheet and establish connections with ports.For more information read up here:https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/creating-connectivity-adYour issue is you are trying to make a local connection using a port.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2019, 12:27:45 am
content: It's not an error, it's a warning. You will get this whenever you have two objects that confer a name to a net connected to each other. In your case, the three connected ports are each giving a name to the single net that connects them all together in the top level schematic, and the warning message tells you exactly that. This does not necessarily indicate that there is a problem, and if the warnings bother you, you can either change how nets get their names in the project compilation settings, or turn off these warnings.Quote from: Pseudobyte on November 01, 2019, 08:04:55 pmClearly the ports in the OP's project are naming nets, that's why they're getting that warning. I'm pretty sure that ports naming nets is in fact the default, but I haven't done a fresh install of Altium since....well, since I first installed it years ago.QuoteThere's no apparent issue with the OP's connectivity, and everything in those screenshots is a perfectly valid way of creating a multisheet project in AD. I'm not sure what you're trying to say is wrong here.

author: Pseudobyte
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2019, 02:59:57 pm
content: Quote from: ajb on November 03, 2019, 12:27:45 amThat is not true. He has many single pin nets. He even took a screenshot of the ERRORS.Here is the issue and what I meant when i said "Your issue is you are trying to make a local connection using a port"Doing the above does not connect the nets TEST to each other.