Batch Download of Items from a Vault

Altium Designer supports the 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. The following Item types are supported by this feature:

• Schematic Symbol Items – with the symbols for the selected Items downloaded into a linked Schematic Library (*.SchLib).
• PCB Component Items – with the 2D/3D component models for the selected Items downloaded into a linked PCB Library (*.PcbLib).
• Component Items – with the component definitions for the selected Items downloaded into a linked Component Library (*.CmpLib).
• Simulation Model Items – with the released data applicable to each Item in the selection (*.SimModel, *.mdl, *.ckt, *.scb) downloaded to a separate sub-folder.

Batch Download of Schematic Symbol Items

To download multiple Schematic Symbol Items:

1. Browse to the vault folder containing the Schematic Symbol Items of interest.
2. Select the Items required for download, using standard multi-select controls (Ctrl+click, Shift+click).
3. Right-click on the selection and choose the Operations » Download selected symbol in library command.
4. Use the Choose destination file dialog to determine where, and with what name, the new Schematic Library file is to be generated.
5. Click Save – the SchLib will be created, with progress displayed in a dedicated Downloading dialog.

Once the download is complete, the Downloading dialog provides the ability to explore the downloaded content within Windows Explorer (click Explore), or to open the library within Altium Designer (click Open).

Example download of multiple selected Schematic Symbol Items into a Schematic Library document.

The document will be linked to the vault and folder, as observed in the Library Editor Workspace dialog. The source symbols within the library will be linked to the corresponding Items in that folder. Existence of a link is presented in the SCH Library panel through use of the  icon, with full link information observed in the Schematic Symbol Properties dialog.

Verifying linkage between the new Schematic Library and the vault.

Batch Download of PCB Component Items

To download multiple PCB Component Items:

1. Browse to the vault folder containing the PCB Component Items of interest.
2. Select the Items required for download, using standard multi-select controls (Ctrl+click, Shift+click).
3. Right-click on the selection and choose the Operations » Download selected footprint in library command.
4. Use the Choose destination file dialog to determine where, and with what name, the new PCB Library file is to be generated.
5. Click Save – the PcbLib will be created, with progress displayed in a dedicated Downloading dialog.

Once the download is complete, the Downloading dialog provides the ability to explore the downloaded content within Windows Explorer (click Explore), or to open the library within Altium Designer (click Open).

Example download of multiple selected PCB Component Items into a PCB Library document.

The document will be linked to the vault and folder, as observed in the Board Options dialog. The source models within the library will be linked to the corresponding Items in that folder. Existence of a link is presented in the PCB Library panel through use of the  icon, with full link information observed in the PCB Library Component dialog.

Verifying linkage between the new PCB Library and the vault.

Batch Download of Component Items

To download multiple Component Items:

1. Browse to the vault folder containing the Component Items of interest.
2. Select the Items required for download, using standard multi-select controls (Ctrl+click, Shift+click).
3. Right-click on the selection and choose the Operations » Download selected component in library command.
4. Use the Choose destination file dialog to determine where, and with what name, the new Component Library file is to be generated.
5. Click Save – the CmpLib will be created, with progress displayed in a dedicated Downloading dialog.

Once the download is complete, the Downloading dialog provides the ability to explore the downloaded content within Windows Explorer (click Explore), or to open the library within Altium Designer (click Open).

Example download of multiple selected Component Items into a Component Library document.

The document will be linked to the vault and folder, as observed within the Document Options dialog. The source component definitions within the library will be linked to the corresponding Items in that folder.

Verifying linkage between the new Component Library and the vault.

Batch Download of Simulation Model Items

To download multiple Simulation Model Items:

1. Browse to the vault folder containing the Simulation Model Items of interest.
2. Select the Items required for download, using standard multi-select controls (Ctrl+click, Shift+click).
3. Right-click on the selection and choose the Operations » Download selected sim model to folder command.
4. Use the Browse For Folder dialog to determine the parent download folder for the models.
5. Click OK – the download will proceed, with progress displayed in a dedicated Downloading dialog.

Once the download is complete, the Downloading dialog provides the ability to explore the downloaded content within Windows Explorer (click Explore).

Example download of multiple selected Simulation Model Items into a designated folder.

Within the destination folder, a sub-folder for each Item in the selection will be created, named using the Item-Revision ID. The release data can be found in the Released sub-folder therein.

Accessing the data for a Simulation Model Item included in a batch download.