Configuring PCB Drill Table Object Properties in Altium Designer

Parent page: Drill Table

PCB Editor object properties are definable options that specify the visual style, content and behavior of the placed object. The property settings for each type of object are defined in two different ways:

• Pre-placement settings – most Drill Table object properties, or those that can logically be pre-defined, are available as editable default settings on the  PCB Editor – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog (accessed from the  button at the top-right of the design space). Select the object in the Primitive List to reveal its options on the right.

  

• Post-placement settings – all Drill Table object properties are available for editing in the Drill Table dialog and the Properties panel when a placed Drill Table is selected in the design space.

  

Location (Properties panel only)

The  icon to the right of this region must be displayed as  (unlocked) in order to access the below fields. Toggle the lock/unlock icon to change its lock status.

• (X/Y) – the current X and Y locations of the Drill Table reference point. The reference point is the bottom left corner if Alignment = Bottom, or top left corner if Alignment = Top.
• Rotation – angle in degrees that the Drill Table is rotated.

Properties

• Layer Pairs – the drill table supports multi-layer boards that use layer-pair drilling. Use the drop-down to select a layer pair defined on the Via Types tab of the Layer Stack Manager or one of the following options:  
  • All Layer Pairs (Composite table) – displays information for all layer pairs.

  • All Layer Pairs (Separate tables) – displays information for each layer pair in a separate table.

    When this option is selected, the separate tables for different layer pairs are displayed overlapped. When generating the outputs, the drill table for a corresponding layer pair will be produced. For showing the drill table for a specific layer pair in the PCB editor design space, you can select the layer pair from the menu of the icon at the right of the Drill Drawing layer tab at the bottom of the design space.

    

  • Top - Bottom – only show the thru-holes.
  • Counterhole Bottom – only show the counterholes (counterbores/countersinks) on the bottom side of the PCB.
  • Counterhole Top – only show the counterholes (counterbores/countersinks) on the top side of the PCB.
  The Counterhole Bottom and Counterhole Top options are available only when the design includes Pad objects with Counterhole features enabled on corresponding sides of the PCB.
  Note that counterholes are excluded from layer pairs other than Counterhole Bottom and Counterhole Top, including All Layer Pairs (Composite table) and All Layer Pairs (Separate tables).
• Text Height – displays the text height.

Font Type

• TrueType – select to use fonts available on your PC (in the \Windows\Fonts folder). TrueType fonts offer full Unicode support. By default, the software links to a used TrueType font (they are not stored in the PCB file), which means the same font must be present on each PC that the design is moved to. Alternatively, embed used TrueType fonts in the PCB file using the options in the PCB Editor – True Type Fonts page of the Preferences dialog, where you can also select a Substitution Font to be used if a non-embedded Font is not available.
  • Font – use the drop-down to select the desired TrueType font. Use the B to bold or I to italicize text.
• Stroke
  • Font – use the drop-down to select the desired Stroke font. Choices are:
    • Default – a simple vector font designed for pen plotting and vector photo plotting.
    • Sans Serif
    • Serif
  • Stroke Width – displays the width of the stroke.
• Show Footer – toggle to enable/disable displaying the footer of the table.
• Alignment – the table can be built from the bottom-up (Bottom), or from the top-down (Top). Use this setting to allow for table size changes without impacting surrounding objects in the design space.
• Table Border Width – width of the lines used to create the table border.
• Drill Symbols (Properties panel only) – click to open the Drill Symbols dialog in which you can assign symbols/letters to hole sizes.
•  (Properties panel only) – click to refresh the table whenever there are design changes that affect the drill table. Note that the table is automatically updated during output generation.

Units

• Primary Units – use the drop-down to set the primary units to either Metric (mm) or Imperial (mil).
• Dual Units – use the drop-down to set the dual units to either Metric (mm) or Imperial (mil). Use  or  to determine whether these units are displayed or hidden (respectively) in the design space.

Precision

• Primary Precision – use the drop-down to set the required precision (number of digits after the decimal point).
• Dual Precision – use the drop-down to set the dual precision (number of digits after the decimal point).

Columns

• Grid – displays all column headings (Caption) in the drill table, the Align setting, which repositions contents within the grid, the Width, and the Order in which the information in each column is displayed. To change from ascending to descending order and vice versa, click in the Order column to access a drop-down menu then select the desired order: Asc – ascending or Dsc – descending.
• Edit Columns – click to open the Columns dialog to add or edit columns to the drill table.