Release notes for Altium Designer Version 13.2
Version 13.2
Date: 10 May 2013
Key highlights
The following is a list of key new features and enhancements, delivered in this latest update.
Core Technologies
ActiveBOM
ActiveBOM is a tool that facilitates real-time cost estimation and tracking for a board design, by giving the designer a clear picture of cost and availability of all items associated with that design.
Live Drill Drawing Table
A WYSIWYG live drill table that dynamically updates in real-time, as hole-containing objects such as pads and vias are placed on and removed from the PCB design.
PCB Design View
A specific, scalable view that allows the designer to place a snapshot of any rectangular shaped region of the current board, or another board, anywhere within the workspace.
Define Output Filenames using Expressions
Support for user-defined output filenames using a concatenation of special strings and user-defined project parameters.
Interactive Net Length Calculation
The current net length is available when interactively routing a net, and when interactively modifying an existing route.
Via Stitching Enhancements
Introducing the concept of a smarter Via Stitch Union, with all stitching vias added to a net automatically clustered into a union, allowing for better editing of stitching properties, without having to delete and stitch again.
New Separator for Schematic Designator Suffix
Extending the numeric suffix support for multi-part schematic components, by adding the choice of a dot as the suffix separator.
Design Data Management
Vault-based Simulation Models
Bringing support for defining and releasing simulation models to an Altium Vault. A simulation model is defined within a SimModel file (*.SimModel) on the design-side, and linked to a Simulation Model Item within a target vault.
Add a Simulation Model to a Component Definition
Ability to add a simulation model to a component definition within a Component Library (*.CmpLib), including component-level simulation parameter definition and configuration of pin mapping.
SimModel File Generation from the Active Schematic Library
Altium Designer's Schematic Library editor provides the ability to generate one or more SimModel files from the active Schematic Library document.
SimModel File Generation from the Active Database Library
Altium Designer's Database Library editor provides the ability to generate one or more SimModel files from the active Database Library document.
CmpLib Editor Enhancements
A number of enhancements to the editing capabilities within the Component Library Editor, to further streamline the definition of components therein.
Item Manager Enhancements
A number of enhancements to the Item Manager dialog, including the ability to detect and manage Items that are out-of-date, and the ability to generate a HTML-formatted 'snapshot report' of the current listing.
Batch Download of Items from a Vault
Ability to select multiple Items in an Altium Vault, and have the source entities for those Items downloaded, en masse, into a newly created, and linked, single source library, or folder, as applicable.
Ability to Identify Out-of-Date Vault Items
A number of subtle but useful enhancements to more easily identify and update out-of-date items.
Ability to Rename Lifecycle Definition and Item Revision Naming Schemes
Ability to modify the name of existing (and used) lifecycle definitions and revision naming schemes at any stage.
Ability to Set ID for Initial Revision of a Vault Item
Ability to manually set the ID for the initial revision of a newly-created Item in an Altium Vault.
Enhanced Vault Searching
The Vault search feature has been substantially upgraded, with the introduction of Grouping, Column-based filtering, and a powerful Filter panel.
Drag and Drop Placement from the Vaults Panel
Ability to drag & drop revisions of Component or Managed Sheet Items onto the active schematic document, directly from the Vaults panel.
Altium Content Vault
The previous Altium Hobart and Altium Shanghai vaults have been amalgamated to deliver Altium's content through a single vault – the Altium Content Vault.
Altium Vault Server
The following features and enhancements are delivered through version 1.1 of the Altium Vault Server:
Altium Vault Server - Administration Improvements
Improvements to administration of the vault through its browser-based interface, including: Visual indication of who is using the vault; administrator-level ability to log out users; visual indication of user group membership, and support for Windows authentication.
Altium Vault Server - Centralized Supply Chain Management
Centralized supply chain management, with the Altium Vault Server dictating which Suppliers are to be used in an organization. The list of Suppliers is configured through the Altium Vault Server's browser-based interface.
Altium Vault Server - Setting up an ODBC Source as an Internal Supplier
Source supply chain data directly from your company's own internal parts database, by linking the Altium Vault Server's local Part Catalog to an ODBC source, through a Database Link file (*.DbLink).
Altium Vault Server - Visual Indication of Licensing Status
Visual indication of the status of your Altium Vault Server licensing, as part of the vault's properties, as well as indication when licensing expires.
Altium Vault Server - Visual Indication of Current User
Visual indication of the current vault user on the Vault and Users views of Altium Designer's Home page, as well as in the Vaults panel.
System Components: Data Management
| 380 | Searching facility in the vault explorer has been enhanced to facilitate the narrowing down of keyword based search results. |
| 568 | The enabled state of connected vaults is now properly taken into account across the system. |
| 571 | It is now possible to drag and drop components from the vault explorer onto a schematic sheet. |
| 614 | The CmpLib Editor user interface has been improved. |
| 617 | The CmpLib editor user interface has been improved with additional editing functions. |
| 668 | Lifecycle definition and revision naming schemes can now be modified. |
| 683 | When creating cmplib files out of dblibs, the different tables activation statuses are now taken into account. |
| 736 | It is now easier to identify items that are out of date in a design or in a cmplib, and to update them to the latest revision. |
| 747 | Component definition checkboxes in cmplib editor are now properly taken into account when proceeding with the release of selected components. |
| 753 | The item manager now saves and reloads its settings and column sort order. |
| 757 | The item manager has now an Apply function which generate the necessary ECOs, executes them and then refreshes the item manager, allowing a steadier workflow. |
| 824 | Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault. |
| 845 | The choose item revision dialog always displays all revisions appropriately. |
| 860 | The intermittent error "failed to move temporary files for revision [revision name]" while releasing footprints, symbols or components does not occur anymore. |
| 861 | It is now possible to download from the vault a selection of symbols, footprints and components as libraries. |
| 864 | A hang no longer occurs when creating items in a folder with the naming scheme that does not contain curly brackets. |
| 872 | Can now successfully opening .cmplib documents when naming scheme does not contain curly brackets. |
| 900 | The 'ISC ERROR' when accessing the AVS server license has been fixed. |
| 901 | Vault lifecycle definitions and revision schemes are now always visible regardless of system login rights. |
| 904 | No error occur when migrating an empty Satellite vault to Personal Vault or Altium Vault Server. |
| 924 | It is now possible to set the initial revision ID of an item first revision when it is in the planned state. |
| 936 | Vaults now support ODBC connections providing database access to supply chain information. |
| 1010 | Can now generate SimModel files from Schematic Libraries and Database Libraries. |
| 1011 | The Release Managers now issues a warning about read only files, and does not attempt to process them. |
| 1042 | Components containing the # character are now released without issue. |
| 1046 | The last selected search result in the vault explorer is now persistent. |
| 1260 | Altium Content Vault now benefits from the new search engine. |
| 1271 | Altium Shanghai Vault contents have been merged with Altium Content Vault. |
System Components: Altium Designer Base
| 13 | New live component catalog and BOM capabilities providing 'real time' design cost estimation and availability. |
| 299 | Expressions can now be used to define output file names, for PDF outputs. |
| 554 | The stability when closing the application has been improved resulting in fewer runtime errors. |
| 736 | It is now easier to identify items that are out of date in a design or in a cmplib, and to update them to the latest revision. |
| 756 | Item Manager now provides a Report command in the Right Click menu. |
| 773 | An error related to _Release.log no longer occurs when trying to release a project that is under version control. |
| 816 | Output job generation of print, pdf, and ODB outputs no longer produce unexpected condition for files that are absent from the project. |
| 824 | Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault. |
| 844 | New revisions of vault based component footprints now update correctly when synchronizing a PCB design. |
| 872 | Can now successfully opening .cmplib documents when naming scheme does not contain curly brackets. |
| 884 | Synchronizing a design that uses designator names like AUX, COM1, COM2 no longer causes a lock up or crash. |
| 905 | The Embedded Project Output paths are now saved correctly. |
| 912 | Managed sheets are now properly added to version control from the PCB Release view, if needed at release time. |
| 919 | Improved loading and navigation of URL based pages. |
| 936 | Vaults now support ODBC connections providing database access to supply chain information. |
| 937 | A crash occurring with the Navigator panel when application is closing has been resolved through the investigation of crash reports. |
| 1010 | Can now generate SimModel files from Schematic Libraries and Database Libraries. |
| 1034 | It is now easier to choose target folders in the Library splitter wizard and the Library splitter tool of the release manager. |
| 1072 | The popup notification indicating a newer version is installed has been removed. |
| 1102 | A crash when using the Libraries panel when no libraries are installed has been fixed. |
| 1227 | Variant support has been enabled to Step Export option in Output Job. View BugCrunch report #2506. |
| 1287 | SmartPDF documents now produce PCB component bookmarks correctly. View BugCrunch report #2792. |
| 1295 | The following labs features have been enabled. "AutoRoute On Current Layer", "AutoRoute On Multiple Layers", "Extended C-to-Hardware Features" and "Visual designer for embedded GUI". |
| 1356 | The Help menu links for User Forums and SUPPORTcenter have been updated. |
System Components: PCB System
| 298 | A new Drill Table object has been added that provides a full display of the drill legend at design time. Use Place>>Drill Table command in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #155. |
| 401 | Transparency now works correctly for Via and multi-layer Pad holes. |
| 736 | It is now easier to identify items that are out of date in a design or in a cmplib, and to update them to the latest revision. |
| 772 | PCB loop removal quality has been improved and no longer rips up unrelated tracks in some situations. |
| 824 | Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault. |
| 844 | New revisions of vault based component footprints now update correctly when synchronizing a PCB design. |
| 854 | STEP file export now produces the correct output regardless of computer regional settings. |
| 875 | A crash that could occur when analyzing nets containing zero sized primitives has been resolved. View BugCrunch report #2030. |
| 888 | Re-ordering the columns in the PCB Rules and Constraints editor no longer causes incorrect rule types to be created. |
| 889 | Configure 3D Video output job no longer crashes. |
| 914 | A crash in the PCB 3D Video Output Job configuration dialog has been fixed through investigation of a crash report. |
| 917 | A crash when cancelling the muti-selection popup in the PCB editor has been fixed through investigation of a crash report. |
| 921 | Footprint previously placed from Altium Content Vault can now always be found. |
| 927 | Fixed a crash when using the Add/Remove Net to Class commands and the class is not selected in the PCB editor. |
| 1097 | Via Stitching placement and editing has been improved with new pattern x,y offset control, added [VS] name visibility and auto-regeneration when via stitch union is re-positioned. |
| 1104 | The HUD and PCB Nets panel are now being updated when resizing tracks in the PCB Editor.. |
| 1105 | The current net length now updates in the PCB Panel and HUD when interactively routing a net, and when interactively modifying an existing route. |
| 1118 | 'DrillTable' has been removed as a Component Type. The Drill Table is a new PCB object. |
| 1032 | A new Design View object has been added that provides a scalable (real time) display and output of a specified area of a PCB design. Use Place>>Design view command in the PCB Editor. |
| 1254 | Drill Symbol assignment has been added to the Hole Size Editor. |
| 1310 | Polygon pour issue with arcs when created from selected outline has been fixed. |
| 1353 | PCB Silk to Solder Mask check performance has been improved when using large negative Solder mask expansions. |
System Components: Altium Designer Installation System
| 892 | Progress dialog now always displays when updating plugins. Will take affect once 13.2 update has been installed. |
| 1071 | Updates are now only checked when opening the "Updates and plugins" page and user is signed in. The popup notification has been removed. |
System Components: PCB Support
| 824 | Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault. |
| 955 | Fixed 3D model loading issue that produced the "Cannot load 3D model from file! error. |
| 1010 | Can now generate SimModel files from Schematic Libraries and Database Libraries. |
System Components: Schematic System
| 571 | It is now possible to drag and drop components from the vault explorer onto a schematic sheet. |
| 736 | It is now easier to identify items that are out of date in a design or in a cmplib, and to update them to the latest revision. |
| 858 | A new option in schematic preferences to control the character used for the designator/part id separator of multipart components. |
| 890 | A crash on close depending on arrangement of toolbars/panels and open documents has been fixed after investigation of crash reports. |
| 913 | Parameter editing using the Schematic Inspector panel has been fixed. View BugCrunch report #2629. |
| 916 | A crash with Schematic Library Report has been fixed after investigation of a crash report. |
| 1003 | A crash when selecting two schematic components at the same location has been fixed through investigation of a crash report. |
| 1089 | An issue when copying text to clipboard and Clip to Area setting is used in a schematic Text Frame has been fixed. |
| 1168 | PDF and print outputs of annotated compiled sheet numbers are now correctly generated. View BugCrunch report #2669. |
| 1169 | Saving schematic files that contain Hyperlink objects will now open in AD12 correctly. |
System Components: Schematic Support
| 824 | Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault. |
| 926 | A crash while using the schematic autowirer has been resolved through investigation of a crash report. |
| 1010 | Can now generate SimModel files from Schematic Libraries and Database Libraries. |
Output Generators: Printer - PCB
| 298 | A new Drill Table object has been added that provides a full display of the drill legend at design time. Use Place>>Drill Table command in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #155 . |
| 1032 | A new Design View object has been added that provides a scalable (real time) display and output of a specified area of a PCB design. Use Place>>Design view command in the PCB Editor. |
Output Generators: Output - ODB
| 816 | Output job generation of print, pdf, and ODB outputs no longer produce unexpected condition for files that are absent from the project. |
Output Generators: Output - STEP
| 871 | Status progress information is now displayed when exporting Step files in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #2576 . |
Output Generators: Output - Gerber
| 298 | A new Drill Table object has been added that provides a full display of the drill legend at design time. Use Place>>Drill Table command in the PCB Editor. View BugCrunch report #155 . |
| 1032 | A new Design View object has been added that provides a scalable (real time) display and output of a specified area of a PCB design. Use Place>>Design view command in the PCB Editor. |
| 1228 | Gerber output no longer generates incorrect solder mask openings for arcs when the "Use software arcs" option is enabled. |
Output Generators: Output - AdvSim
| 824 | Can now release simulation data/models to a Vault. |
Importers and Exporters: Importer_Accel
| 1158 | A crash when importing P-CAD libraries using the Import Wizard has been fixed. |
Importers and Exporters: Importer - Allegro
| 1238 | Allegro importer now converts rounded SMD pads correctly. View BugCrunch report #1626. |
FPGA Design Tools: Instrument - Custom
| 303 | The Custom Instrument now displays correctly in the FPGA Devices View. |
System Components: Soft Design System
| 321 | Peripheral register viewing for STM32 is now available. |
Hardware Support Packages: Device Support - STMicroelectronics STM32
| 321 | Peripheral register viewing for STM32 is now available. |