New in Altium Designer

Schematic Capture Improvements

Sheet Symbol Indexing Enhancement

Any digit or number may be used as the first or last index of a repeated Sheet Symbol, including 0. Negative numbers are not allowed. The last index must always be larger than the first index.

Component Class Enhancement

Use this new feature to add the new class Component Class Name to set parameters for components within a blanket by means of the Parameter Set mode of the Properties panel.

Associating the Component Class Name to a component (or group of components) will result in sending the information about the component class, its name and members to the PCB as is done currently for Net Classes.

Added Graphical Pull Up/Down Resistors Symbol

Added the ability to mark a pin as containing internal pull-up or pull-down resistors. Choose Internal Pull Up/Down from the Inside drop-down in the Symbols region of the Pin mode of the Properties panel.

The new graphical symbol will be displayed next to the pin as sown in the images below. The left image is the new Internal Pull Up graphical symbol; the right image is the new Internal Pull Down  symbol.

Calculate Formulas and Resolve Special Strings in Text Frames and Notes

Many designers use the special string capabilities available in Altium Designer to create complex strings that display important information on the schematic sheets. Special string support has been added to Text Frames and Notes, allowing you to create complex special string definitions as a single, multi-line text object.

Altium Designer supports resolving numerical calculations defined in a Text String, with support for resolving numerical calculations extended to include those defined in schematic Text Frames and Notes.

When this feature originally entered into closed beta (as indicated above), the special string or formula had to be enclosed in curly brackets. With this release, special strings and formulas are now delineated by opening with the "=" character and closing with a space character.

Special strings and formulas can be evaluated inside a Text Frame or a Note by using the "=" character.

Remember the Last Selected Variant for a Project

The last variant that was set prior to closing a project is now remembered and will be the variant presented when the project is reopened. Previously, the base design ([No Variation]) was always presented when the project was reopened.

PCB Design Improvements

CounterHoles Improvements

A number of improvements have been applied to the Counterholes functionality that was implemented in previous releases.

• Counterholes are now grouped in Counterholes Top and Counterholes Bottom layer pairs in the Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel and in the Drill Table mode of the Properties panel.

   
  The Counterholes Top and Counterholes Bottom groups in the Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel (the first image) and in the Drill Table mode of the Properties panel (the second image).

  Note that counterholes are excluded from other layer pairs of a drill table, including All Layer Pairs (Composite table) and All Layer Pairs (Separate tables).

• New Counterhole Depth and Counterhole Angle columns are added to the Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel and the Drill Table.

  
  Enabling the Counterhole Depth and Counterhole Angle columns in the Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel.

  
  Enabling the Counterhole Depth and Counterhole Angle columns for a Drill Table from the Columns dialog.

• For NC Drill, Gerber, Gerber X2, and ODB++ outputs, files for all top and all bottom counterholes are now generated instead of separate files for each counterhole type.

  
  Example of Counterholes Top and Counterholes Bottom file options in the Gerber X2 Setup and ODB++ Setup dialogs.

• If the size of the counterhole is larger than or equal to the pad size, the pad shape is removed from the corresponding side of the PCB (since this pad shape will be drilled out when drilling the counterhole).

  
  Example of a removed pad shape from the top layer.

Access to the Advanced Rigid-Flex Mode

Previous releases include significant improvements to the process of working with Rigid-Flex board designs in Altium Designer. These improvements include new Board Region and Bending Line behaviors when working in Board Planning Mode in the PCB editor, and the introduction of the Board mode in the Layer Stack Manager. This new feature set is referred to as Rigid-Flex 2.0.

In this release, to enable the Rigid-Flex 2.0 functionality for the current PCB design, select the Design » Layer Stack Manager command from the main menus to open the Layer Stack Manager then select Rigid/Flex (Advanced) from the Tools » Features sub-menu or the  button menu.

Enable the Advanced Rigid-Flex mode to configure a Rigid-Flex board; either via the Tools menu or by clicking the features button (hover the cursor over the image to show this).

To enable the Rigid-Flex 1.0 mode, select Rigid/Flex from the same menus.

Note that when trying to disable the Rigid-Flex 2.0 mode or switch to the Rigid-Flex 1.0 mode for a PCB that already uses Rigid-Flex 2.0 features, the warning dialog will open for confirmation.

Added 'Apply to Polygon Pour' Option to Creepage Distance Rule

The Apply to Polygon Pour option has been added to the Creepage Distance design rule. When the option is enabled, the rule tests the creepage distance between scoped polygons and other objects.

The new Apply to Polygon Pour option of the Creepage Distance rule.

If a polygon pour and other objects are scoped by a Creepage Distance design rule with the Apply to Polygon Pour option enabled and a Clearance design rule, both rules are considered and the tightest set of constraints is applied when pouring the polygon. For example, if the Creepage Distance rule has a larger constraint value than the Clearance rule, this larger value will be applied.

Data Management Improvements

Draftsman Improvements

New Option to Remove Leading Zeros

Dimensioning and Tolerancing, ASME Y14.5, specifies that for values less than 1, leading zeros should be omitted when using inch units (for example, ".5" versus "0.5"). The Remove Leading Zero option has been added to the Document Options mode of the Properties panel that allows you to automatically remove the leading zero for mil and inch values. This option is disabled by default.

The Remove Leading Zero option on the Document Options mode of the Properties panel

Additional Default Values for Drill Table

Default values of some additional properties of the Draftsman's Drill Table object can now be defined on the Draftsman - Defaults page of the Preferences dialog. The new settings, including Symbol Size, Symbol Line Style, and Grouping, can be found on the Drill Symbol tab of the page when Drill Table is selected in the Primitive List.

Default settings for some additional options of Draftsman's Drill Table can now be defined on the Drill Symbols tab of the Preferences Draftsman - Default page.

Importer/Exporter Improvements

Support for Importing Design Variants from xDxDesigner Projects

The xDxDesigner Importer has been enhanced to allow importing an xDxDesigner project to also import defined variants of that project automatically. To import xDxDesigner project variants, the following steps should be performed:

1. Using Variant Manager in xDxDesigner, export variants via Report » Delimited Text Document.
2. Make sure that Unplaced is defined as the Unplaced keyword in the Settings dialog.
3. Save the variant file as ProjectVariants.txt in the same location as the .prj project file to be imported in Altium Designer.
4. Run xDxDesigner import from the Import Wizard (File » Import Wizard) and point the xDxDesigner project file (.prj) – design variants will be imported automatically.

Circuit Simulation Improvements

Sensitivity Analysis Enhancements

This release brings further improvements to the Sensitivity Analysis tool. Group Deviations of Global parameters as a sensitivity parameter are now supported, and Temperature as a sensitivity parameter is also now supported.

The Global Parameter option has been added to the Sensitivity analysis Group Deviations options; hover the cursor over the image to show where the parameters are defined.

Schematic Capture Improvement

Further Enhancements to Sheet Cross-referencing

Adding cross-references to the project allows you to easily follow the connective flow of nets between the schematic sheets in a project. In this release, the support of cross-references has been extended by adding the Jump to commands for Sheet Entry and Off Sheet Connector objects.

When cross-references are enabled for sheet entries on the Options tab of the Project Options dialog, use the Sheet Entry Actions right-click menu of a sheet entry to Jump to the matching port on the child schematic sheet.

Use the Jump to command to jump to the matching port.

For a flat design, when cross-references are enabled for off-sheet connectors in the Project Options dialog, use the Off Sheet Actions right-click menu of an off-sheet connector to Jump to a matching off sheet connector on a related schematic sheet.

Use the Jump to command to jump to a matching off-sheet connector.

PCB Design Improvements

Keepout Visibility in Embedded Board Arrays

Keepout objects placed in a PCB design can now be shown in a panelized embedded board array using the PCB as a source. Enable visibility of the Keepout layer on the Layers tab of the Properties panel when an Embedded Board Array is selected in the design space.

The Keepout layer of the source PCB can now be shown in the Embedded Board Array.

Note that this feature only provides a visual representation of the Keepout layer. Currently, copper objects will not respect keepouts from the source PCB when placed on the Embedded Board Array.

Ability to Change PCB Cursor Color

The Cursor Color option has been added to the PCB Editor - General page of the Preferences dialog that allows you to change the color of the crosshair cursor in the PCB editor. This gives you the freedom to customize the color in order to distinguish the cursor from grids, etc. Click the color box associated with the new option to open the Choose Color dialog, then select the desired new color for the cursor.

Enhanced UI for Pad Stack Editing

To improve the usability of the Pad mode of the Properties panel when editing a pad stack in Top-Middle-Bottom or Full Stack mode, the user interface of the panel's Pad Stack section has been changed. Basic information about the pad stack on different layers of the PCB design is now available for viewing and editing in tabular form. When clicking within a layer name cell, additional options become available for this layer: Corner Radius (for Rectangular shape) and Thermal Relief (shows the current parameters of the pad's thermal relief; custom thermal relief can be set if the Relief option is enabled).

 
The updated Pad Stack section of Pad properties when editing a pad stack in Top-Middle-Bottom (the first image) or Full Stack (the second image) mode with the Top layer options expanded.

Data Management Improvements

Ability to Control Visibility of Components and Nets Folders in the Projects Panel

Upon validation of a PCB design project, the Components and Nets folders that list the project's components and nets are displayed in the Projects panel. To manage the visibility of these folders, the Show Components and Nets folders option has been added to the Settings pop-up of the Projects panel (appears when the  icon is clicked at the top of the panel) and the General region of the System – Projects Panel page of the Preferences dialog. This option is enabled by default.

The Show Components and Nets folders option in the Projects panel setting pop-up.

The Show Components and Nets folders option on the System – Projects Panel page of the Preferences dialog.

Circuit Simulation Improvement

Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity Analysis provides a way of determining which circuit components or factors have the most influence on the output characteristics of a circuit. With this information, you can reduce the influence of negative characteristics, or alternatively, enhance the circuit performance based on positive characteristics. Sensitivity Analysis calculates sensitivities as numeric values of given measurements related to components/model parameters of circuit components, as well as sensitivity to temperature/global parameters. The result of the analysis is a table of the ranged values of sensitivities for each measurement type.

In this release, a new Sensitivity option has been added to the Analysis Setup & Run region of the Simulation Dashboard. Once it has been enabled, the Sensitivity properties can be configured in the Advanced Analysis Settings dialog, as shown below.

Draftsman Improvement

New Via Type View

The Via Type View object has been added to Draftsman documents. The object allows the illustration of a via type according to the IPC-4761 standard, Design Guide for Protection of Printed Board Via Structures. A Via Type View can be placed by choosing Place » Additional Views » Via Type View from the main menus. The view will display in the document. Select the view to access its properties.

Schematic Capture Improvements

Cross-Selection for Sheet Entries and PDF Outputs

Adding cross-references to the project allows you to easily follow the connective flow of nets between the schematic sheets in a project. In this release, the support for automatically creating and updating cross-references has been extended for the Sheet Entry objects.

Enable the Automatic Cross References and Sheet Entries options on the Options tab of the Project Options dialog. Sheet Entries will be tagged with sheet and location coordinates of the corresponding port object on the child schematic sheet.

Enable the Automatic Cross References and Sheet Entries options in project options for tagging sheet entries with cross reference values.

Cross references are enabled for sheet entries.

Cross Reference values are also displayed in the Sheet Entry mode of the Properties panel, which simplifies the task of identifying the Cross Reference that is being applied to the selected Sheet Entry.

Cross References can be explored in the Properties panel of the selected sheet entry.

Support of cross references has also been extended in schematic PDF outputs. If an object is related to more than one connected object (e.g., a port is connected to a sheet entry on the parent schematic sheets and ports on other sheets), clicking the object in the PDF output will show the list of sheets where the connected objects reside. Select a list item to open the corresponding page.

In the schematic PDF output, multiple connected objects can be easily navigated using the pop-up menu.

PCB Design Improvements

New 'Gloss And Retrace' Panel and Preferences Page

To give you greater control over the glossing process, a new Gloss And Retrace panel has been introduced for configuring options for the Route » Gloss Selected and Route » Retrace Selected commands. This new panel can be used to set the gloss and retrace parameters that work best for the selected routing that you are currently glossing or retracing in your design.

The panel can be used to control the following Gloss and Retrace Parameters:

• Avoid polygons – when this option is enabled, existing polygons will be respected when the Gloss Selected or Retrace Selected command is run. If the option is disabled (as it was in previous versions), existing polygons will be ignored, affected polygons can then be repoured.
• Avoid rooms – when this option is enabled (as it was in previous versions), existing rooms will be respected when the Gloss Selected or Retrace Selected command is run. If a room scoped by specific routing width requirements is defined in the design and the routing to be glossed/retraced does not cross the room, the resulting routing will not cross this room either when the option is enabled. If the option is disabled, existing rooms will be routed across, and the width to be used within such rooms will be that as defined in the constraints of the room-based rule.

For the following two options, you can choose between the Min, Max, or Preferred value of the corresponding rule. Choose Current to leave the existing width or gap unchanged, or type in a new value.

• Set Width - previously, this was always configured as preferred. You can now use the drop-down to select the width to be applied when the Retrace Selected command is run.
• Set Diff Pair Gap - previously, this was always configured as preferred. You can use the drop-down to select the differential pair gap setting to be applied when the Retrace Selected command is run.

The Gloss and Retrace settings also can be configured in the new PCB Editor - Gloss And Retrace page of the Preferences dialog. Whenever a change is made in the panel or Preferences dialog, it is reflected in the other. The installation defaults are preset to match earlier versions.

IPC-4761 Support 

The IPC-4761 standard, Design Guide for Protection of Printed Board Via Structures, provides information regarding methods for protecting vias on PCBs. You can now select the via type to ensure it is protected according to the IPC standard. Use the new IPC 4761 Via Type drop-down in the Via Types & Features region of the Via mode of the Properties panel or the Via Template Editor to select.

Additionally, when a via that has the via type set to IPC-4761 in its properties is placed in a PCB design, new types of mechanical layers and component layer pairs are automatically added to the design, with corresponding shapes on these layers.

The IPC-4761 via type mechanical layers are automatically added to the design. The Top Tenting layer is shown on the design space by way of example.

New layers are available for the following outputs:

• PCB printouts
• Gerber and Gerber X2
• ODB++
• IPC-2581

The PCB/PCBLIB List panels also now include a column titled IPC 4761 Via Type and you can add columns to a Drill Table object (titled Via Feature and Via Type) that display the IPC 4761 supported via type.

Automatic Update of Designators in Design Rules

Changes made to PCB component designators did not previously update custom, designator-specific design rules. They had to be updated manually. Enabling this new feature changes references in design rules when PCB component designators are: reannotated; updated by an ECO; or manually edited on the board.

Pad Entry and Exit Enhancements

Because of their small physical dimensions, routing in and out of surface mount devices is often dense and complex. In previous versions of the software, if the SMD rules could not be observed, for example, the required 'distance to corner' was not available; the router would fail to place any track segments (as shown in the video below). To improve the pad entry and exit behavior, the following improvements are available:

• Once the pad has been exited, the route is kept away from the pad. The software no longer allows the route to re-enter the pad and then re-exit without regard to the SMD rules.
• SMD rules are ignored if the pad exit is blocked (they are already ignored during pad entry in this situation). Note that if there is a pad exit available that does not violate the SMD to corner rule, that exit will be used.
• Miters are no longer created in violation of SMD rules. The software favors the SMD to corner rule over the miter, allowing the miter to collapse to zero if required.
• Stubs that follow the SMD rules are now created in Any Angle routing mode. In this mode, once the first track segment has been placed arcs will be included in the corners. If you need an arc in the first corner, place the exit stub before attempting to create a corner.

Support for Counterholes

Counterholes in the laminate allow room for screw heads. Countersink and counterbore holes are two types of counterholes that allow for different types of screws. This release introduces the ability to choose counterbore or countersink holes. The key difference between countersink and counterbore screws is the size and shape of the holes; counterbore holes are wider and more square to allow for the addition of washers. Countersink holes create a conical hole matching the angled shape on the underside of a flat-head screw. A countersink is a cone-shaped hole cut into the laminate. It is typically used to allow the tapered head of a screw to sit flush with the top of the laminate. By comparison, a counterbore makes a flat-bottomed hole and its sides are drilled straight down. This is usually used to fit a hex-headed cap or screw. Only one countersink or counterbore hole per pad is allowed.

Use the new options in the Pad mode of the Properties panel to choose the type of counterhole desired. A dashed line appears around the pad in 2D to define the counter hole contour on the active layer as shown in the images below. The positioning of the dashed lines is different for Top Side and Bottom Side as seen in the images. Counterholes are supported in 2D, 3D, and in Draftsman.

The counterholes display as Layers Pairs in the Properties panel modes of the Drill Table mode of the Properties panel and the Hole Size Editor mode of the PCB panel as shown below.

Data Management Improvements

Added Virtual BOM Item to the Project

A 'virtual' BOM item is added to the project in the Projects panel if there is at least one component in the project. You can open, save or remove the BOM item. The basic flow of BOM generation will not be impacted by the virtual BOM item. Click +Add ActiveBOM in the panel to open the virtual BOM in preview mode. Once the new *.BomDoc has been saved it will become a standard project document. If the virtual BOM is not required, right-click in the Projects panel then select Remove from Project. 

Show 'Detached' Comments

When a project document is removed or its UniqueID has changed, the comments for the document can become "detached". Those comments can still be accessed from the panel's Detached Comments collapsible region. Click on a detached comment's tile in the panel to show the comment in the design space of the currently opened document. You can restore a comment by selecting it then clicking the mouse.

Added Ability to Override Part Numbers for Ansys EDB Exports

An 'Override Part Number With' option was added to the Ansys EDB Export Options dialog. This new option allows you to specify which parameter should be used as a Local Part Name rather than using 'Comment' by default. Enable the option then use the associated drop-down to select the desired parameter.

Circuit Simulation Improvements

Calculate and Review Simulation Measurement Results

A focus for this release is a number of improvements in the ability to analyze simulation measurement results. Along with additional measurement types, a number of new measurement-based features have been added. These include:

• Additional measurement types - new measurement Types have been added to the list of available measurements.
• Measurement Statistics - measurement statistics are calculated automatically and displayed in the lower region of the Sim Data panel.
• Display measurement results in a table - a full table of the measurement results can be displayed in the main SDF window by clicking the Expand the table link. Data in the table can be selected and copied to a spreadsheet.
• Display Histogram - visualize the distribution of data by generating a histogram directly from the measurement results. Hover the cursor over the image below to display a histogram of the Monte Carlo analysis results.
• Derive plot from measurements - generate a plot of one variable against another. For example, if a parametric sweep has been performed where two component values have been swept, these can be plotted against each other.
• Show on Chart - click the button in the Measurements tab of the Sim Data panel. The measurement cursors will display on the chart, highlighting the region of the chart that the measurement has been calculated over.
• Add new measurement - click the Add button in the Sim Data panel to open the Add Waves to Plot dialog where a new measurement can be defined.
• Edit existing measurement - click the Edit button to edit the currently selected measurement; no need to return to the Simulation Dashboard panel.

The Show on chart feature displays the measurement cursors where that measurement was calculated. Hover the cursor over the image to show a Histogram of the measurement results.

Draftsman Improvements

Added Counter Hole Support

The Counter Hole View object has been added to Draftsman documents. A Counter Hole View can be placed by choosing Place » Additional Views » Counter Hole View from the main menus. The view will display in the document. Select the view to access and view and edit the properties.