Altium Designer 2004 - Service Pack 4
Frozen Content
Altium Designer 2004 Service Pack 4 includes over 100 new features and enhancements that will save you time and improve your work flows.
Highlights include:
- Improved design team support with the new file locking option. With this option enabled files are automatically locked when they are opened. They can still be opened by other another designer, however a warning is given and they cannot be saved.
- Improved project management and portability with the new Archive Project wizard. This wizard collects all the files used in the project, project tree, or workspace, and packs them into a single zip archive file.
- The new Default Document feature lets you exactly define the settings in the document when you select File » New from the menus. This could be as simple as the PCB grids, through to including the design rules, layer stack and board shape. Defaults for all document-kinds can be defined, including projects.
- Improved control of the 99SE import process. A new option has been added to the 99SE import wizard that gives full control over how junctions are converted. The available choices are: to lock all junctions, lock only 4-way cross junctions, or convert cross junctions to a miter shaped pattern, the size of which is user definable.
- Full 3-dimensional component clearance checking can be performed with introduction of the new Component Body object. The polygonal-shaped component body object allows complex component shapes to be defined, and both the overall height and any clearance underneath can be specified. Multiple component body objects can be placed if required, to accurately model the volumetric space occupied by the component. Full online DRC support gives you real-time 3-D component clearance checking – any violations are immediately highlighted as you position one component beneath another. Use the new Component Body Manager to efficiently add body objects to the component footprints in the library, or on an existing board.
- Enhanced PCB editing, click to select a component or net object on the PCB and that component or net will select in the PCB panel as well.
- Enhanced schematic hierarchy management with the new Push Part to Sheet command. This pushes the chosen part onto a new subsheet, complete with ports, and replaces the part on the parent sheet with a sheet symbol, complete with sheet entries. Design connectivity is fully maintained.
- Enhanced schematic hierarchy management with the new Rename Child Sheet command. Run this command to change the filename of the subsheet, and update one or all sheet symbols in the project or workspace that reference that subsheet.
- Stronger global editing capabilities. Complex string-substitution style batch edits of text can be performed in an intuitive user interface. The edit can target all occurrences of a string, or perform multiple string-substitutions in one action. There is also full support for formula-style editing – this could be as simple as offsetting all selected PCB components in the Y direction by a defined amount, through to a complex formula-based edit.
- Click-and-drag component toolbar building – simply drag a component from the list in the Libraries panel and drop it onto a toolbar to automatically create a button that will place that component, from that library.
- Extended HDL design capabilities. The new Altium Synthesizer has been introduced, which supports both VHDL and Verilog (Verilog2001).
- Improved vendor independence with the addition of support for Lattice EC and ECP devices.
- Improved Altera device support with the addition of support for the Altera MAX II devices.
The updates in SP4 cover all aspects of the Altium Designer platform:
- System-level
- Schematic
- PCB
- FPGA
- Embedded
- CAMtastic®
Read Release Notes for full details