Altium Designer 6 - Release Notes Beta

Release notes for Altium Designer 6.0 Production Build 6.0.0.5208

Miscellaneous fixes

PCB

• Shift+W popup is now shown in the proper size
• Interactive routing TAB dialog - popup menu now appears in the correct location
• Foundation licenses can no longer update electrical items on PCB documents
• Added new icons for differential pair and smart interactive routing
• Added busy cursor in differential and smart interactive routing
• Fixed crash in any angle routing when used with vias
• Fixed crashes in Edit Room Vertices, Edit Polygon Vertices and Edit Board Outline
• Placed edges are now displayed when editing board outline
• Fixed shutdown crash after placing component from a library or copying from one PCB to another
• Resolved performance issues when a large number of primitives are in the undo-redo stack
• The 'apply to all layers' option is now used when selecting a favorite routing width, and this option is now persistent
• Moving the mouse over the Shift+W popup now changes the setting but does not accept the value until clicked
• Smart interactive and differential pair routers now pick up connection lines from the subnet being routed

Schematic

• Fixed crash when compiling schematics in certain conditions
• Fixed problem in hierarchical net naming where pin names on higher level would sometimes take precedence over other objects at lower hierarchical levels

Editors

• Inspector shows <....> for multiple objects with differing values

Database Libraries Wizard

• After running this wizard the DbLib document is no longer saved, instead it is marked dirty
• This wizard no longer changes the settings in other tables
• Field settings for imported DbLibs can now be changed
• Wizard no longer deletes any of the existing directories in the symbol and model search paths
• Importing from an IntLib to DbLib into a new database no longer gives a file not found error

Platform

• Deleting standalone licenses now clears rights
• Changed autoupdate image
• Starting Altium Designer with a depleted license, then choosing the same license when prompted, no longer crashes

Release notes for Altium Designer 6.0 Beta5 Build 6.0.0.5190

Major Improvements

Differential pair router now available
Integrated Library to Database Library translation wizard

• Once you have a dblib in your schematic, there is a new menu item Tools » Import from Integrated Libs

Resolved Issues

Interactive routing

• DRC checking in smart router improved
• Keyboard shortcuts in smart router are now consistent with interactive router
• where smart router erroneously drops vias when no grid solution is found is resolved
• Shift+R in interactive routing now cycles past push obstacles
• Set from rule works in interactive routing
• Buttons in interactive preferences page now move correctly when dialog is resized
• Smart router uses new width / via style system
• Shift+W favorite widths window now allows columns to be hidden and appears on the cursor

Board Insight

• Visual Pick list now shows X&Y positions relative to board origin
• Solder & Paste mask layers are now excluded from the Board Insight popup, panel or visual pick list unless those layers are enabled
• The Preference settings for Board Insight have been reorganized
• The Mask level window has been reorganized and now uses a timer so it is not 'sticky'
• Net names are no longer drawn on teardrop tracks
• Pad names and Pad nets are now merged onto one line correctly when the pad is rotated 90 or 270 degrees

Preserve angle while dragging

• Dragging an end-point that is attached to a junction of 2 tracks that are either 45 or 15 degree angles to one another now creates an appropriately angled track
• Stickiness now works when breaking corners

PCB general

• Net length does not include teardrop tracks
• TrueType text with special string 'Printout_Name' is now interpreted
• Component body manager now fits onto 1024 x 768 screens, and escape cancels the dialog
• Problems with selecting special strings in PCB are now resolved
• Polygon vertices can now be moved with Move / Polygon
• Problems with Fanout net and fanout pad are now resolved
• Fixed AV when executing batch update in component body manger after editing a height field
• Problem with exporting to Protel PCB 2.8 where -1 as polygon cross reference value for plane pullback primitives is now resolved
• New preference options for PCB have been added
• Memory fragmentation issues in PCB during Update from Libraries is now resolved
• ECOs after pin swapping on components with part swap information are now generated correctly
• Polygons and TrueType text now exported correctly to ODB++
• Measure distance between two complex polygons no longer hangs Altium Designer

PCB3D

• Components without pads can now be viewed in 3d
• Components with pads rotated at 45 degrees are now displayed correctly in 3d viewer

Schematic

• Tab can now be used in the note and text frame editor
• Altium Designer with schematics active no longer results in list index out of bounds errors

Schematic

• Tab can now be used in the note and text frame editor
• Altium Designer with schematics active no longer results in list index out of bounds errors

Platform

• Default print paper size is now Letter for US Locale
• Problem where Altium Designer sometimes started semi-maximized when shut down maximized has been resolved
• Smart PDF now correctly generates document numbers for complex hierarchy designs
• Smart PDF allows ability to override display strings in sheet entries
• Constraint files have been restructured

Database libraries

• Crash when moving from a project that uses a DBLib to a different project has been resolved
• Database locks are now released when the last library in the library panel is closed if it is a dblib

OrCAD Import

• Crash during the mapping of a routing layer to a mechanical layers is now resolved
• Crash if there are unused layers (which are mapped to nolayers) is now resolved

Web update

• Web update now works with authenticated ISA proxy servers
• Last checked date and time is now updated when user clicks Recheck
• Path to downloaded updates added

Release notes for Altium Designer 6.0 Beta4 Build 6.0.0.5144

Highlights

Major updates made to the interactive routing system

• Details to be posted to the beta forum

New OrCAD CIS Importer

• Accessible through the Import Wizard
• Translates both OrCAD .dbc file and OrCAD libraries

IDF export allows export of multiple component bodies per component
Viewing and creating PDFs of multi-channel designs improved

• four new schematic - compiler options available controlling display, print and creating PDFs of multi-channel sheets

Additional information added to heads up display

• Current layer
• Single layer / flip board state
• Snap and electrical grid details

New project netlist option 'power ports take priority'

• This option gives power ports the highest priority when naming nets

Resolved Issues

• Components are now properly placed to the right of the board outline and within rooms
• Preserve angle drag no longer causes violations in avoid obstacle mode
• Preserve angle drag now has 'stickyness' with the electrical grid object
• Net right click menu now available
• Board Insight lens on panel no longer effects system when not visible
• Place region / component body / board outline working correctly
• Issues with polygons in transparent mode resolved
• Alt + wheel click doesn't freeze PCB if Insight lens not shown
• Fixed significant performance problems when repeated text on tracks mode enabled
• Crash in cross probe resolved
• IGES export further optimized
• Insight lens problems in libraries resolved
• Schematic library vertical scroll bar functions again
• Stability and memory issues in OrCAD library importer resolved

Release Notes for Altium Designer 6.0 Beta3 Build 6.0.0.5117

Major Improvements

Significant improvements to the smart interactive router including:

• Performance improvements when gridding is enabled
• Improved pad exits
• Interruptible path finding - moving the mouse should cancel path finding algorithms

New system for managing interactive routing widths and via styles

• system now remembers current routing width and via style per net per layer
• will use preferred width / via style from the applicable rule if no current width / via style for the net / layer
• you can view and edit the current width / via style in the net properties dialog

New PCB preference

• Use Alpha Blending' in PCB display options

Improvements to parts swapping algorithm

• Previously part swaps were not properly recognized in some cases

New Jump component command for schematic documents using a JC shortcut
New project netlist option

• Higher Level Names Take Priority

Resolved issues

• Fixed duplicate accelerators in layers dialog
• Fixed various issues with board Insight popup
• Stopped shelved polygons from appearing in heads-up
• Fixed exception when generating library report from schematic library
• Fixed selection bug when opening SchDoc and SchLib documents
• Parameter visibility is not affected when using update or place from database
• Fixed typo in Update from PCB Libraries
• Database Lib Options Dialog now retains last added search paths
• DBLib files are now associating correctly when using the DXP Preferences dialog