QuickGuide - Migrating to an Altium Vault

Old Content - see latest equivalent
Modified by Jason Howie on May 31, 2017
Contents

This QuickGuide outlines the procedural steps to quickly migrate your existing library components – stored in standalone symbol and model libraries, Integrated Libraries or Database Libraries – across to an Altium Vault.

This document assumes a level of understanding of Altium Vault Technology and vault-based component management, and that an Altium Vault has been installed, and is connected to, from Altium Designer (13.0 or later).

This document looks at quick migration of standard board-level components, with a schematic symbol and a PCB 2D/3D component model. For information on releasing a simulation model to a vault, and using it in a component definition, see Releasing a Simulation Model to a Vault, and Adding a Simulation Model to a Component Definition.

If you have previously migrated your existing library components to an older vault technology (Satellite Vault, Personal Vault), and now want to install and use the latest Altium Vault technology, don't worry. A utility - VaultMigrationTool.exe - is available to migrate your data from your current Satellite Vault or Personal Vault to that target Vault. And while the utility states the target as being an Altium Vault Server (v1.1, v1.2), it will work just the same for migration to its successor; Altium Vault 2.0. For more information, see Vault Migration.

Migrating From Existing Schematic and PCB Libraries

The procedure for migrating existing components stored in standalone Schematic and PCB libraries.

 

  1. Release the PCB 2D/3D component models (in the PcbLib). This is performed from within the PCB Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. Link the library to a target vault folder (File » Link Library to Vault).
    2. Save the library.
    3. Release the library (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>)
  2. Release the Schematic symbols (in the SchLib). This is performed from within the Schematic Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. Link the library to a target vault folder (File » Link Library to Vault).
    2. Save the library.
    3. Release the library (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>).
  3. Generate a Component Library from the Schematic Library. This is performed from within the Schematic Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. With the Schematic Library document active, use Tools » Generate Component Library.
    2. Set options in the Generate Component Libraries dialog as required – click OK.
  4. Release the Component Definitions (in the CmpLib). This is performed from within the Component Library editor itself (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>).

Migrating From an Existing Integrated Library

The procedure for migrating existing components stored in an Integrated Library.

 

  1. Extract source Schematic and PCB libraries from the Integrated Library (open IntLib in Altium Designer).
  2. Release the PCB 2D/3D component models (in the PcbLib). This is performed from within the PCB Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. Link the library to a target vault folder (File » Link Library to Vault).
    2. Save the library.
    3. Release the library (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>)
  3. Release the Schematic symbols (in the SchLib). This is performed from within the Schematic Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. Link the library to a target vault folder (File » Link Library to Vault).
    2. Save the library.
    3. Release the library (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>).
  4. Generate a Component Library from the Schematic Library. This is performed from within the Schematic Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. With the Schematic Library document active, use Tools » Generate Component Library.
    2. Set options in the Generate Component Libraries dialog as required – click OK.
  5. Release the Component Definitions (in the CmpLib). This is performed from within the Component Library editor itself (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>).

Migrating From an Existing Database Library

The procedure for migrating existing components defined in a Database Library.

 

  1. Release the PCB 2D/3D component models (in the PcbLib). This is performed from within the PCB Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. Link the library to a target vault folder (File » Link Library to Vault).
    2. Save the library.
    3. Release the library (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>)
  2. Release the Schematic symbols (in the SchLib). This is performed from within the Schematic Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. Link the library to a target vault folder (File » Link Library to Vault).
    2. Save the library.
    3. Release the library (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>).
  3. Generate a Component Library from the Database Library. This is performed from within the Database Library editor itself, as follows:
    1. With the Database Library document active, use Tools » Generate Component Library.
    2. Set options in the Generate Component Libraries dialog as required – click OK.
  4. Release the Component Definitions (in the CmpLib). This is performed from within the Component Library editor itself (File » Release To <TargetVaultName>).

Batch Operations

To facilitate the release of multiple libraries to a target vault simultaneously, Altium Designer provides a Release Manager (File » Release Manager). Use it to batch-release:

  • Models stored across multiple PCB Libraries in a nominated source folder location.
  • Symbols stored across multiple Schematic Libraries in a nominated source folder location.
  • Component definitions stored across multiple Component Libraries in a nominated source folder location.
The Release Manager can also be used to generate and batch-release Simulation Models en-masse.

While batch-style releasing enhances productivity, it should only be employed once the concepts and tools for single library migration are fully understood.

Batch-style releasing of source models, symbols, or component definitions - stored across multiple source libraries - using the Release Manager.

The Release Manager can also be used to quickly generate Component Libraries, en-masse, from a nominated folder of Schematic Library documents. With the Schematic Libraries loaded, simply use the Generate Component Libraries command from the Migration Tools drop-down menu.

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