Cadstar Importer

The CADSTAR importer has been added to the Altium Designer Winter 09 release to assist users translating CADSTAR design and library files to Altium Designer format.

Supported Version and File Format

The importer supports CADSTAR version 9 or 10. The importer does not support binary CADSTAR file. The binary CADSTAR file must be converted to CADSTAR archive file before importing to Altium Designer. The CADSTAR archive file usually has the extension .cpa or .csa. The importer supports the following CADSTAR file type:

• PCB design
• PCB component library
• Schematic design
• Part library and schematic symbol library

The following table describes the types of CADSTAR file the importer supports with the description of how to convert the CADSTAR binary file format to archive file format and the equivalent Altium Designer output.

Importing Schematic Library

The importer needs at least 2 files to import a schematic library. The first one is the CADSTAR part library. You can locate the part library file in the CADSTAR Part Library Manager dialog (Libraries -> Parts...):

The part item in the part library references a symbol where the definition is in the separate file. These type of files are called Symbol Library files. Secondly, the importer requires the Symbol Library files in the CADSTAR Schematic archive (.csa) file format. You can convert the symbol library files to .csa file by using the CADSTAR Symbol Library Manager (Libraries -> Schematic Symbols...):

For example, you have a part library file called "parts.lib" that uses the symbol definitions in another file called "symbol.lib". You can importYou need convert the symbol.lib file to symbol.csa file using the archive utility in the CADSTAR Symbol Library Manager. The importer will translate the parts.lib and symbol.csa files to an Altium Designer parts.schlib. You can input multiple "symbol.csa" files that the parts.lib references. Under the hood, a part item definition in the parts.lib file and the symbol definition in the symbol.csa file are equivalent to an Altium Designer schematic library component definition.

Importing PCB Library

The CADSTAR PCB component is equivalent to an Altium Designer PCB footprint.  Given a CADSTAR pcb symbol file (*.CPA), the CADSTAR importer will translate into an Altium Designer pcb library (*.PcbLib).  You can archive the CADSTAR pcb component library (.lib) file to a .cpa file format using the CADSTAR PCB Component Library Manager (Libraries -> PCB Component...):

It does not strictly require a CADSTAR part library file to import a PCB library.  However, if the pcb component is linked to a schematic symbol via a part definition, it is a good practice to supply the part library file when importing pcb library.  This way, the CADSTAR import can map the pin name from schematic component to pcb footprint correctly by using the pin name in the part definition.

Importing PCB Layout

The CADSTAR PCB layout file is equivalent to an Altium Designer PCB document.  Given a CADSTAR pcb layout file (*.CPA), the CADSTAR importer will translate into an Altium Designer pcb document (.PcbDoc).  If the pcb layout is in binary file format, the user can archive it to *.CPA file format using CADSTAR file export utility. 

Importing Schematic Designs

In order to import CADSTAR schematic binary files ((.SCM), you must first export the design to archive (*.CSA) format using the File->Export menu item in CADSTAR.

Using the CADSTAR Importer Wizard

1. Open the Altium Designer File Import Wizard (File » Import).  Click Next.
2. Select CADSTAR Designs and Libraries in the list.  Click Next. The CADSTAR importer wizard has 2 pages for adding CADSTAR files to import: CADSTAR Design Files and CADSTAR Library Files.
3. In the page with the header 'Importing CADSTAR Design Files', you can add/remove CADSTAR PCB archive files (.cpa) and schematic archive files (.csa) to the list. The CADSTAR pcb design (layout) archive (.cpa) files will be translated to Altium Designer pcb documents (.pcbdoc), and the schematic archive (.csa) files will be translated to Altium Designer schematic documents (.schdoc).
4. In the page with the header 'Importing CADSTAR Library Files', you can add/remove supported CADSTAR library files to the list. The CADSTAR part library (.LIB) and symbol archive (.csa) files will be translated to Altium Designer Schematic Library (.schlib). The CADSTAR pcb archive file (.cpa) will be translated to Altium Designer PCB Library (.pcblib).
5. If the input files has file types of PCB library or layout files, the layer mapping dialog will display the default layer mapping for each PCB library/design.  You can edit the layer mapping setting. If you like the current layer setting, you can save it to a file. Later on, if you want to use the same later setting, you can load it from the file to apply it to the layer mapping setting.
6. The wizard will display the output project structure. Each project will contains the output documents. The project and document structure is generated by the input files that you add earlier. The wizard picks the default output path based on the input paths from the files you added. You can change the output path in the 'Output Directory' edit box.
7. The next step displays the translation status while the importer is working.
8. Finish.  The output project/file structure will display in the Altium Designer workspace panel.