MIGRATE TO ALTIUM DESIGNER

Transfer Your Projects With Complete Confidence From Any PCB Platform

Experience the Altium Designer difference

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Explore The Migration Process
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Trusted by top global brands for over 35 years

Select Your Current PCB Design software

To See How Simple It is to Migrate to Altium Designer

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Switch from Your Current Platform to Altium
Designer in 3 Simple Steps:

STEP 1
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Prepare Your
Design Files

Ensure data is saved in your tool's file formats

STEP 2
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Convert Designs

Use the Import Wizard in Altium Designer to convert to Altium’s file format

STEP 3
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Start Working in Altium Designer

You can start updating the converted files in Altium Designer immediately

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Altium Makes It Easy to Upgrade
Your Design Experience

Spend Less Time Migrating with the Industry’s Fastest Conversion and Cleanup Process

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Join the 3,000+ people who make the switch to Altium Designer each year

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Complete the migration process quickly with minimal downtime

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Start your design projects right away with intuitive and easy-to-learn tools

No Data Loss in the Process

Getting components has always been challenging, so Altium Designer’s Manufacturer Part Search integration with premade footprints has been especially helpful.

100% Automated Migration Process

Mechanical engineers can swap design revisions directly with electronic engineers. Librarians and procurement teams get access to real-time supply chain data and a centralized library.

Simple Process for Everyone

Comments can be added for rapid design reviews, and a complete change history makes your design process transparent for anyone that needs to know the state of your project.

Easily Import All Your Projects

Getting components has always been challenging, so Altium Designer’s Manufacturer Part Search integration with premade footprints has been especially helpful.

Thousands of Customers Are Happy
They Switched to Altium Designer

“At school, I learned to use EAGLE, but moving over to Altium has made a world of a difference. There are a lot of resources online, the training materials are pretty good and there is a large community support for it too, which I think is the most important factor. This is a tool that a lot of people are using and it is becoming more and more standard in the industry.”

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Dugan Karnazes

“To this day, I still don’t count on getting a design right on the first try, but with design rule changes that update automatically inside Altium Designer, I’m 99% there every time, and can pretty much go straight into production. I couldn’t do that with any other tool I’ve used.”

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Bil Herd

“Use Altium. And this is coming from someone who has used other competitor tools. You will save time and money upfront just by using this tool. What you are trying to do is get to market. Time to market is the biggest thing. You have to look at it and ask, is the tool complex? What is the cost? Do we need training? All these things combined add up. The more you can make something seamless, the easier it is to use and transition from — so use Altium. It’s a no-brainer.”

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Steven Wood

Make the Switch and Start Your Next Project with the World’s #1 PCB Design System

See How Altium Designer Compares to your current solution

Get side-by-side feature comparisons to ensure Altium can provide you with all the functionality you need to succeed.

Compare Features >

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Training Programs for users of all levels

Altium offers on-demand and instructor-led training programs so that you’re able to quickly and efficiently master PCB design with Altium Designer.

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Discover the Altium Designer Difference

Reward yourself today by choosing a better design experience

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Experience an Unmatched PCB Design System

Everything you need in a single unified design platform

WB Teaser Wire Bonding Workflow Management Workflow Process HDI_new_teaser HDI Design
 PCD_CD_Icon PCB CoDesign
 CM_teaser Constraint Manager
 True 3D Circuit Design True 3D-MID Design PLM Integration PLM Integration Harness Designe teaser image Harness Design
 Design Reuse hero Reuse Your Best Solutions Variant Manager hero Variant Manager
 Manufacturer Part Search hero Manufacturer Part Search
 Layer Stackup Design Layer Stackup Design
 Multi-Board PCB Design Intuitive Multi-Board System Design RF_Teaser Rigid-Flex PCB Design
 Schematic capture teaser Unparalleled Schematic Capture Supply Chain Intelligence Supply Chain Intelligence Real-Time BOM Management with ActiveBOM hero Real-Time BOM Management with ActiveBOM® Best In Class Interactive Routing Best in Class Interactive Routing Seamless Documentation Professional PCB Drawings in Minutes
 Access A Virtual Lab As you Design Certainty for Every Decision with SPICE Simulation
 HighSpeed_teaser High-Speed PCB Design
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We’re Here To Help With Your Migration Process

You are not alone, Altium offers multiple support services to ensure your success

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3,500+

Published documentation pages across the Altium family of products and services

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29,000

Posts in the last 12 months in the AltiumLive community

All subscription levels include easy access to real-time support, the AltiumLive Community, comprehensive product documentation, training videos, and a knowledge base of targeted solutions for common user experiences.

1-800-544-4186 (toll free)
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Chat Support & Support Tickets

Available to all subscribers 24/5 in all time zones

Engage with support team members via a live chat session. Through chat support, you can get answers to many common issues, including installation, licensing, error messages, or unexpected software behavior. Need more support? You can escalate your chat to a ticket.

Let´s chat Create a ticket
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Documentation Center and Knowledge Base

Available 24/7 to anyone

Altium's online technical documentation is an expansive set of resources that helps you find the information you need. Whether you’re looking for a high-level overview or need precise information regarding the functionality of a specific UI element, the documentation center and knowledge base has you covered.

Documentation Center Knowledge Base

Migrate to Altium Designer

Discover Why So Many Engineers Choose Altium Designer 

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Migrate to Altium Designer
  • Easily convert your old design files
  • Update your existing designs with the latest tools
  • Use your tool's component libraries in Altium Designer projects
Discover the licensing option that fits your needs
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  • All design features are available in the trial version
  • Includes access to an Altium 365® Workspace
  • Unified design workflow within a single application
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Frequently Asked Questions

What files are needed for a successful migration?

Altium Designer works directly from the PCB design data in your old CAD tool’s native file format. To migrate your old projects into Altium Designer’s file format, typically only a few files are needed:

  • Schematic sheet files
  • PCB layout file
  • Any parts libraries


Depending on the particular CAD format, additional files might be needed, or these may need to be saved in a special format (e.g., ASCII format).

Does Altium Designer use my native design data for migration?

Yes. Simply save your existing PCB design project files in your old CAD program’s file format. The Import Wizard in Altium Designer operates directly from your old PCB project files and creates copies of the data in Altium Designer’s file format. Note that Altium Designer does not provide migration from Gerbers, ODB++, or IPC-2581 files; only native design data can be used for migration.

How long does the migration process take?

As long as all the required files are available and they do not contain errors, the migration process typically takes minutes.

Is cleanup required after the migration process completes?

Whenever you convert between proprietary CAD file formats, there is typically some cleanup required in the translated schematics and PCB layout. The required amount of cleanup depends on the features contained in your old design files. After converting a design into a new CAD format, make sure to give the schematics and PCB layout a thorough review to ensure all features have translated correctly.

Can existing parts libraries be reused in Altium Designer projects?

Yes, in most cases your parts libraries will be converted into Altium Designer’s library format. Once a project is migrated, parts libraries may be created as part of the migration process, or they can be exported from the migrated project. These migrated parts can then be reused in your migrated PCB project, as well as in new Altium Designer projects.