Excel-compatible Tabulation Option for Constraint Files

The feature documented here is no longer part of the software beyond version 16.0. Click to return to: Altium Designer Documentation for version 24

FPGA constraint files can now be saved in a tabulated format which is compatible with Excel spreadsheets.

To save a constraint file from your FPGA project, simply select File » Save Copy As. From the Save Copy As file browser, click Save as type and select Tab-Delimited Constraint files (*.Constraint). The constraint file still be exported in a TXT format which can be opened in a word processor, however, the tab-delimited file can also be viewed as a spreadsheet with Microsoft Office's Excel, making it easy to view and manage pin assignments.

It is recommended to select Save Copy As instead of Save As because a saved copy will remain in the Tab-Delimited format even after you save the original file later. However, when you Save As, Altium Designer will continue working with the same file (though under a different name) and the tabulated formatting will be lost after the next Save command, as the software automatically converts constraint files to their default format.
 

Selecting the Tab-Delimited Constraint files (*.Constraint) option from the Save Copy As file browser.
Selecting the Tab-Delimited Constraint files (*.Constraint) option from the Save Copy As file browser.

The files are easily viewable in Excel.

The same constraint file seen above, opened in Microsoft Excel.
The same constraint file seen above, opened in Microsoft Excel.
 

 

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Note

The features available depend on your Altium product access level. Compare features included in the various levels of Altium Designer Software Subscription and functionality delivered through applications provided by the Altium 365 platform.

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