Defining Data Management Preferences for Altium Designer

The pages in the Data Management category of the Preferences dialog provide access to preferences relating to data management features and functionality.

Version Control

The Data Management – Version Control page of the Preferences dialog allows you to set up version control options. SVN - Subversion is built-in and is, therefore, installed by default. This extension delivers the implementation of version control functionality through the use of SharpSVN. This implementation has full support for Unicode (multi-byte) characters in file names. As an example, this allows you to add files to your SVN VCS repository that include Russian characters in their names.

The Data Management – Version Control page of the Preferences dialog

Providers

• Provider - lists the version control providers available.
• Enabled - check to enable SVN - Subversion to enable the default provider.

SVN version control provider, which supports Unicode file name

Choose the SVN Version format for your local working copy when checking out new projects from all design repositories - select the desired SVN version working copy format. 

Design Repositories

The Data Management – Design Repositories page of the Preferences dialog allows you to create or connect to a design repository.

The Data Management – Design Repositories page of the Preferences dialog

Design Repositories

A Design Repository is a version control system that contains your team's design document.

• Design Repository List - displays all the current available design repositories.
• Create New - use to create a new design repository.
• Connect to - use to connect to an existing design repository.
• Properties - click to open a dialog in which you can edit the selected design repository's properties.
• Remove - click to remove the selected design repository.

Servers

The Data Management – Servers page of the Preferences dialog includes controls to configure current Workspace usage and project release options.

The Data Management – Servers page of the Preferences dialog

Servers

• Active – this region displays information for the currently active connected Workspace.
  • Off/On – click to toggle between connecting and disconnecting to/from the Workspace. When Off is selected, a confirmation dialog opens to confirm your decision to disconnect from the Workspace. Clicking Yes in the confirmation dialog will immediately disconnect you from the Workspace. In order to reconnect to the Workspace, use the Sign In command in the upper-right corner of the design space as stated in this region of the dialog.
  • Active – shows that the Workspace that is currently active.
  • Properties – click to access a drop-down to access the properties edit commands. Choices are:
    • Server configuration – click to open the Admin – Settings page of the Workspace's browser-based interface.
    • Lifecycles – click to open the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog to edit lifecycle definitions.
    • Naming schemes – click to open the Edit Revision Naming Schemes dialog to edit the naming schemes.
    • Operations – click to open the Edit Operation Permissions dialog to edit the operation permissions.
    • Dictionaries – click to access the Settings – Vault – Dictionaries page of the Workspace's browser interface from which a Workspace administrator can manage the Workspace's dictionaries – custom component parameter types with several defined values. The dictionaries can then be used when defining a component template: learn more.
      Note that only the administrators of the connected Workspace can manage dictionaries. As such, the Dictionaries option will be available only for administrator users.

    • Connection – click to open the Connection Properties dialog to configure your connection to an Enterprise Server Workspace.

      

      Enter the address for the server. The format is: <ComputerName>:<PortNumber> (or localhost:9780 if accessed from the same machine on which the server is installed), along with your login credentials. If you want to use your Windows login credentials, enable the Use Windows Session Credentials option (the User Name field will present your Windows user name). If you're going to be frequently using the server it can be a good idea to enable the Automatically sign in after start option too, so that you connect to it straight away after launching Altium Designer.

      If you have environment configurations defined as part of your Enterprise Server Workspace, you can elect to use a specific configuration (as applicable and available to you) using the available control and drop-down field.
• Known Servers – click to open information for any available (yet not currently active) Workspaces.
  • Off/On – click to toggle between connecting and disconnecting to/from the Workspace. When Off is selected, a confirmation dialog opens to confirm your decision to disconnect from the Workspace. Clicking Yes in the confirmation dialog will immediately disconnect you from the Workspace. In order to reconnect to the Workspace, use the Sign In command in the upper-right corner of the design space as stated in this region of the dialog.
  • Connected/Disconnected – when Connected is displayed, you are connected to this Workspace but it is not currently the active Workspace. When Disconnected is displayed, you are not connected to this Workspace.
  • Properties – click to access a drop-down to access the properties edit commands. Choices available are:
    • Server configuration – click to open the Admin – Settings page of the Workspace's browser-based interface.
    • Dictionaries – click to access the Settings – Vault – Dictionaries page of the Workspace's browser interface.
    • Connection – click to open the Connection Properties dialog (detailed above) to configure your connection to an Enterprise Server Workspace.
  • Automatically connect Altium Content Vault – enable to automatically connect to the Altium Content Vault.
  • Clear Cache – select to delete any locally cached component data that has been retrieved from a Workspace. After clearing the cache and restarting Altium Designer, cached components from the Workspace library will not be available for use from the Components panel. Refer to the Searching for & Placing Components page to learn more about component data caching.

Project Release

• Folder for temporary files storage during release generation
  • Automatically (in system %temp% folder) – select to automatically generate a folder for file storage during release.
  • Manually – select to manually generate a folder for file storage during release. When enabled, use the browse icon to search for and select the desired folder.
  • Delete contents after exiting release mode – enable to delete the contents of the folder after completing release.
  • Prepend revision HRID to file names – add revision prefixes to file names.

Publishing Destinations

The Data Management – Publishing Destinations page of the Preferences dialog provides controls to set up publishing destinations or storage spaces where data can be published. Publishing Destinations offer you the ability to publish release data for a revision of a PCB Fabrication Data Item, PCB Assembly Data Item, or PCB Project Design Item, directly from a Workspace, or Output Job, to storage space – such as Box.com, Amazon S3, an FTP server, or a simple folder location on a shared network.

The Data Management – Publishing Destinations page of the Preferences dialog

Publishing Destinations

• Publishing Destinations List – lists the name, type, and status of any existing Publishing Destinations. Double-click on an entry to open the Edit Connection dialog for that publishing destination.
• Add Destination – click to select one of the following options:
  • Amazon S3 – select to open the Add Amazon S3 Publishing Destination dialog, which allows you to enter information for their Amazon Web Services Account in order to set the account as a publishing destination.
  • Box.com – select to open the Add Box.com Publishing Destination dialog, which allows you to enter information for an existing Box.com account for use with Altium Designer as a publishing destination.
  • Folder – select to open the Add Folder Publishing Destination dialog, which allows you to enter information for a new or existing root folder location to be used as a publishing destination.
  • FTP – select to open the Add FTP Publishing Destination dialog, which allows you to enter information for an FTP server to be used as a publishing destination.
• Edit Connection – select a publishing destination from the table then click this button to edit information for that entry in the Edit Connection dialog.
• Remove – select an entry from the publishing destination table then click this button to remove that entry. Only one entry can be removed at a time.

Backup

The Data Management – Backup page of the Preferences dialog provides controls to set up data backup location and frequency. The Auto Save feature saves a copy of every open document that has been modified but not saved (indicated by the * symbol on the document Tab). Note that a copy of the document is saved, not the actual open file, which will continue to display the modified document flag (* symbol) until you initiate a Save. Each file that remains modified but not saved (has the * symbol), is auto saved every Auto Save cycle, regardless of whether it has been modified or not since the last Auto Save event.

The Data Management – Backup page of the Preferences dialog

Auto Save

• Auto save every - check this option to enable the auto save function. Use the associated Minutes control to set the desired backup interval. 
• Number of versions to keep - enter or scroll to the maximum number of versions you want to keep. You can only access previous versions up to the number entered. Other versions are overwritten.
• Path - this displays the path location where the files will be saved. Click  to open a dialog in which you can search for the desired location to save the files.

File Locking

The Data Management – File Locking page of the Preferences dialog includes controls related to file locking.

The Data Management – File Locking page of the Preferences dialog

Options

• Enable File Locking – check this option to enable local file locking. When enabled, the current Altium Designer instance will try to acquire ownership of files while they are open. In the Projects panel, this state is indicated by a lock icon () associated with each open file.
  If any of these files are simultaneously opened by another instance of Altium Designer, they will be associated with a red lock icon in the Projects panel () and any changes cannot be saved – the file is currently 'owned' by the first instance of Altium Designer.

  • Enable File Locking in Project Output Directory – check this option to enable file locking in the Project Output Directory, which is the default location for files generated by the project (such when releasing a project locally). The default output directory path for the current project is as specified in the Project Options dialog under the Options tab (Output Path).

    If the Enable File Locking in Project Output Directory option is checked, all files in the Project Output Directory and their sub-directories will be locked.

Warning Level

You will receive a warning when opening or saving files that are owned by another instance of Altium Designer. Use the following options to select the type of warning message you want to receive in each case. Select Warning in Dialog box to receive a warning dialog; select Warning in Message Panel to receive the warning message in the Messages panel.

• Warning level for locked files during Open – use the drop-down menu to set the type of warning message you want to receive upon opening a locked file.
• Warning level for locked files during Save – use the drop-down menu to set the type of warning message you want to receive upon saving a locked file.

Local History

The Data Management – Local History page of the Preferences dialog allows you to set up local history-related features. When enabled, each time you perform a save, the software will also save a copy of the previous version of that document into the Local History folder, before overwriting the working file with the just-saved version. This allows you to perform recovery operations, such as Revert to a specific version, in the Storage Manager panel. Local History files are stored using the ZIP-compression format.

The Data Management – Local History page of the Preferences dialog

Local History

• Number of days to keep documents in history - use the up/down arrows to change the number of days to keep the documents in the history repository. Once the number of days have been exceeded, those documents that are older than the defined number of days are erased from the repository.
• Add autosaved documents to history - enable this option to also add documents saved by the auto save feature, to the local history repository. However, their life span is limited by the number of days the documents are allowed to remain in the local history repository.

Repository

• Use global repository - enable this option if you want to have all local histories of documents in different projects in Altium Designer stored in one global repository. If this option is not enabled, the default behavior is to save the Local History files into a \History folder within each project folder.
• Global repository - edit the path to the global repository or click the Browse Folder button on the far right of the path field to open a dialog and choose the folder in which you want the global repository to be stored.

Templates

The Data Management – Templates page of the Preferences dialog allows you to specify the default templates used for new projects and documents and allows you to specify the path for the document template directory.

Templates Tab

The Data Management – Templates page of the Preferences dialog (the Templates tab)

This tab lists the local file-based/Workspace-based templates and the associated Name, Revision ID, Description, Revision State (see note below), Note, and Default. Workspace-based templates and local file-based templates are listed under the <Workspace> and Local regions, respectively, in the grid.

• – use the drop-down menu to choose a new template type to be added or loaded. Templates are created and edited in their corresponding document type editor.

• – use to open the selected template in the corresponding document type editor.

• – use to delete the selected template. Templates can be removed in batches using multi-selection. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion before it is finalized.

The following options are available when an entry is right-clicked:

• Edit – use to open a template in its associated editor. Once editing is complete, you can send the template back to the Workspace by using the Save to Server command. After launching the command, the Create or Edit Revision (When Releasing) dialog will open. The dialog allows you to add release notes and modify the name and description for the next revision of the item that is being released to the Workspace. If desired, revisions of parent items related to (referencing) the current revision of the item being released can also be updated. Once editing is complete and the template has been sent back to the Workspace, it will appear on the Templates tab.
• Migrate to Server (this option is only available for local file-based templates) – use to migrate the local file-based template to the connected Workspace. Once the migration is complete, the template will be available as a Workspace-based template of the same name, while the existing local template will be archived as a zip file in its source folder (shown in the Local Templates folder field).
• Upload – use to upload a constituent object into a template, such as a schematic document into a Schematic Template Item or an OutJob file into an OutputJob Template Item from your computer.

• Set as Default – use to set the selected entry as your default. Once set, the chosen template will reflect My Default in the Default column.

  Only schematic documents, Draftsman documents, PCB footprints, and Output Jobs can be set as default templates.
  Only one default can be chosen at a time. If you'd like to change your default, another template must be chosen and set as default.
• Operations – use to access a sub-menu of commands including:
  • Clone – use to automatically open a copy of the currently selected template in its associated editor. This copy may be altered and sent back to the Workspace by using the Save to Server command. After launching the command, the Create or Edit Revision (When Releasing) dialog will open. The dialog allows you to add release notes and modify the name and description for the next revision of the template that is being released to the Workspace. If desired, revisions of parent items related to (referencing) the current revision of the template being released can also be updated. Once editing is complete and the template has been sent back to the Workspace, it will appear on the Templates tab.
  • Change state – use to open the Batch State Change dialog to change the state of the currently selected template.

  • Download – use to download the currently selected template and save it to another location using the Choose destination folder dialog.

    The Download option is only available for Workspace-based templates.
• Add – select the template you want to add. A new template will be reflected by exhibiting a Planned revision state and appear grayed-out in the list.
• Delete – use to delete the selected template. Depending on whether you are deleting a Workspace-based or local file-based template, this command will vary:
  • When deleting a Workspace-based template, you will be asked to confirm the deletion. Once deleted, the template will be moved to the Trash area of your Workspace.
  • When deleting a local file-based template, you will be asked to confirm the deletion. Once deleted, the template will be removed from your Windows system.
• History – use to access a detailed view for the currently selected template, opened as a new tabbed view within the software. The Item View provides a highly detailed view of the Revision and Lifecycle history of a specific template, as well as all of the elements that make up that template. The view also includes a Timeline. Use the Timeline to examine the exact time and date of any change made to the Revision level or Lifecycle State of that template and who made the change.
• Properties – use to access the View Item dialog in which you can view the properties for the currently selected template. If no revisions for that template have yet been released, the properties can be modified.

Defaults Tab

The Data Management – Templates page of the Preferences dialog (the Defaults tab)

Use this tab to manage, edit, or remove any of the default templates that have been specified. This tab allows you to contain your desired templates in one location. Workspace-based and local file-based templates are separated within the Document Type column. The Template Location column shows the location of the file and Workspace location of each default template.

• Replace – select an entry then hover over it to reveal the Replace link. Click the link to open a trimmed-down version of the Explorer panel in which you can choose a new template from the list to replace the currently selected template.
• – use the drop-down menu to choose a new default template type to be added or loaded. The following templates can be added:
  • From Server – select from the list of Workspace-based templates type you would like to add as your default. A trimmed-down version of the Explorer panel will open in which you can navigate to add the template of your choice. Once added, it will appear on the Defaults tab and replace the previous default template. The new template will also appear on the Templates tab. The Workspace-based template will appear under the <Workspace> region of both the Templates and Defaults tabs.
  • From File – select from the list of local file-based template types you would like to add as your default. A Windows dialog will open in which you can navigate to add the template of your choice. Once added, it will appear in the Defaults tab and replace the previous default template. The new template will also appear on the Templates tab. The local file-based template will appear under the Local region of both the Templates and Defaults tabs.
  Only one default can be chosen at a time. If you'd like to change your default, another template must be chosen and set as default.
  This option is also available from the right-click menu.

• – use the icon to revoke the selected template as a default. This template will still appear on the Templates tab.

  This option is also available from the right-click menu.

Additional Controls

The following controls are available on both the Templates and Defaults tabs.

• Templates visibility – use the drop-down menu to specify whether to display both Workspace and local file-based templates or only Workspace-based templates on the Templates and Defaults tabs.
• – click to refresh either the Templates or Defaults tab to reflect changes.
• Local Templates folder – this field is used to find and set the path to the directory that contains your document templates. To change the location, you must be logged out of the Workspace. To set a new path to the directory, click .

File-based Libraries

The Data Management – File-based Libraries page of the Preferences dialog provides controls to manage the file-based libraries. The libraries defined are part of the Altium Designer environment, and therefore, components/models within are available to all open projects.

The Data Management – File-based Libraries page of the Preferences dialog

The file-based libraries are reflected in and also affected by changes made in the Installed tab of the Available File-based Libraries dialog. This dialog is accessed by clicking  at the top right of the Components panel then choosing File-based Libraries Preferences.

File-based Libraries

This region displays the file libraries that are available to your design projects in Altium Designer. The following supported library types can be added:

• Integrated Libraries
• Schematic Libraries
• Database Libraries
• SVN Database Libraries
• Simulation Libraries
• Protel Footprint Libraries
• PCB 3D Model Libraries

For each entry, the following information is presented:

• Library Name - the name of the library. 
• Activated - use to determine whether the library is activated and therefore available for use (enabled), or deactivated and therefore not available for use (disabled). A deactivated library is treated as though it has been uninstalled but remains in the file library so it can be quickly reactivated.
• Path - displays where the library resides relative to the nominated path specified in the Library Path Relative To field. 
• Type - the library's type.

Additional Controls

• Library Path Relative To - any libraries added to the File-based Libraries are installed relative to the folder specified in this field. Click on the folder icon to the right of this field to browse to the required folder or enter the path to it directly.

  For a default installation, library paths are relative to the following folder: \Users\Public\Documents\Altium\<Version>\Library.

  While you can enter a full path to a library by editing its Path entry, be aware that the path will change to be relative to the specified path in the Library Path Relative To field after closing and opening the Preferences dialog.
  The use of a relative path makes it easy to switch between different sets of libraries and control the source of components in your designs. Changing the entry for the path in the Library Path Relative To field will automatically reload those existing libraries in the list that are found at the new location.
  A library that is not found along the specified relative path will display in red text for its entry in the list. The entry in its Type field will change to Not Found, and it will be automatically deactivated. A library that cannot be found cannot be activated.
• Move Up - click to move the selected library up in the list (where possible).

• Move Down - click to move the selected library down in the list (where possible).

  The order of the libraries in the list will be the order they appear within the corresponding drop-down in the Components panel.
• Install - click to access a standard dialog in which you can browse to and open the required standard, file-based library type.
• Remove - click this button to remove the currently selected library(ies) from the list. You can select multiple libraries in the list using standard multi-select controls (Ctrl+click, Shift+click).

Device Sheets

The Data Management – Device Sheets page of the Preferences dialog allows you to manage the device sheet related features.

The Data Management – Device Sheets page of the Preferences dialog

Device Sheets are building blocks developed with the intent of being re-used in different designs. They usually contain predefined circuits that are useful in multiple projects, for example, a power supply. A Device Sheet is created and stored as a normal schematic document in a declared Device Sheet Folder. Rather than being added as a document, they are placed and referenced in a project in a similar way as a component. When the project is compiled, Device Sheets are included in the project hierarchy and can be distinguished from standard schematic documents by a different document icon in the Projects Panel.

By default, Device Sheets are usually configured to be read-only. This gives all designers in the team confidence that they are complete and ready for use and also ensures that no one in the design team can inadvertently modify them. Because they are configured to be read-only, the component designators cannot be changed, nor can the schematic sheet number. The fundamental difference between a device sheet and a regular schematic sheet is that the software has additional features to handle component annotation and the schematic sheet numbering when the project includes Device Sheets.

Device Sheet Folders

• Device Sheet Folder List - lists all the added device sheet folder locations.
  • Include Sub-folders - check this option so all sheets in sub-folders also can be used as a device sheet.
• Move Up - click to move the selected entry up in the list of device sheet folders.
• Move Down - click to move the selected entry down in the list of device sheet folders.
• Add - click to search for and select a folder containing device sheet files to add.
• Remove - click to remove a selected device sheet folder from the list.

Options

• Make Device Sheets In Projects Read-Only - disable this option to edit the objects on the device sheet that is associated with the device sheet symbol on a parent sheet. By default, this option is enabled, meaning you cannot edit device sheets.

  When this option is enabled, Constraint Manager directives that have been imported from read-only documents cannot be modified. When the option is disabled (unchecked), the directives can be modified.

• Display "Read Only" Watermark - enable this option so the device sheets will have 'Read Only' as the watermark for the background and denote that device sheets are not editable.

  If the Display "Read Only" Watermark option is enabled, you will quickly see if the device sheet is read-only or editable. This option is accessible only when Make Device Sheets In Projects Read-Only is enabled.

• Display Device Sheets Watermark - enable this option so the device sheets will have the recycle symbol as the watermark for the background.

SVN Libraries

The Data Management – SVN Libraries page of the Preferences dialog provides controls relating to the use of SVN Database Libraries.

The Data Management – SVN Libraries page of the Preferences dialog

Repository Working Copy for Library Editing

Working Folder - the working SVN libraries containing component symbols and models are stored in a specified working directory of your choice. You can work with the files in your local working folder and when you need the latest copies, you can check out the refreshed files from the repository into your working folder. When you make changes to these files, they can be saved in this folder and then committed (pass changes) to the repository. Edit the field to change the working folder or press the browse button at the end of this field if you want to change the default working folder directory.

Repository Cache for Designer

• Do not check files more often than xx minutes - if the elapsed time between the last update and the action is greater than the time threshold, the repository update WILL be performed. Use this field to change the time interval as required.      
• Cache Folder - repository files are cached in a temporary folder on the Designer's computer. Cached files are updated either at the Designer's request, or each time an action requiring the Repository latest copy is performed. 

Parts Providers

The Data Management – Parts Providers page of the Preferences dialog provides controls to configure parts providers including currency, suppliers, and supplier links.

The Data Management – Parts Providers page of the Preferences dialog when connected to a Workspace. Hover over the image to view the page when not connected to a Workspace.

Altium Parts Options

• Location – check the Enabled box(es) of the locations for which you want to search for your parts.
• Currency – check the Enabled box(es) of your preferred currency for your parts.
• Supplier – check the Enabled option for each desired Supplier to be able to search that Supplier's database from within Altium Designer and link Altium Designer components to matching supplier items. You can choose to enable any combination of these Suppliers, for use with the Live Links to Supplier Data feature. By including more Suppliers for use with the feature, you are able to compare and shop for the best deals on the components required by your design. A Supplier with a in the Verified column denotes that Altium receives data directly from that supplier. Use the scroll controls to the right of the field to scroll through the list of suppliers.

Suggested Keywords

To make searching for parts in Suppliers' databases more efficient, the software fills a suggested keyword into the Keywords field at the top of the Add Supplier Links dialog based on the parameters from the source Altium Designer design component. The following fields/parameters are used by default: Comment, Description, and Name. Parameter Name is listed in order of Priority.

• Add – click to create additional parameters.
• Edit – click to edit a Parameter Name. Alternatively, you can double-click on the Parameter Name itself to enable editing.
• Remove – click to remove a selected parameter(s).
• Move Up – move a selected parameter up in the priority order.
• Move Down – move a selected parameter down in the priority order.

Parameter Import Options

Add any parameter name(s) that you would like renamed on import or made visible by enabling the Visible option. Parameters imported along with supplier links or for new components also can be excluded (enable Exclude) or suffixed (enable Suffix). To edit a Supplier Parameter Name or an Imported Parameter Name, click in the text box. Note that any parameter names displayed in gray are not editable.

• Add – click to add a parameter.
• Remove – click to remove the selected parameter.

Component Types

The Data Management – Component Types page of the Preferences dialog provides controls to create and edit the list of Component Types available in the currently active connected Workspace. Each Component Type is assigned a component Template (click the Templates button), and in that Template the Default Folder property defines the default storage location for new components of that Type. The Component Templates are stored in the connected Workspace, and are created and edited through the Explorer panel. Learn more about Workspace Component Templates.

The Data Management – Component Types page of the Preferences dialog

Columns

• Name – the name of the available Component Type (or SubType) parameter. A Component Type can also have SubTypes. For example, in the image above the Integrated Circuits Component Type has a number of SubTypes.
• Template – the name(s) of the Component template(s) assigned to each Component Type. Click the Templates button to change the current assignments, more on this button below. Learn more about creating a new Component Template.

• Default Folder – the default Workspace folder location in which components of that Type are stored, when a new component of that Type is created. The Default Folder name entry will be replaced with an asterisk (*) if Component Types have been merged and each of the pre-merged Component Types already had a unique Template assigned (with each template having its own storage location).

  • When a new Workspace component is created, it will be assigned the Type you select in the Create New Component dialog. Based on that selection, this list of Component Types defined in the Preferences dialog is searched, the Template specified for a component of that Type is applied, and the new component is stored in the specified Default Folder. Click the Advanced Settings dropdown in the Single Component Editor to show and edit these properties (show image).
  • When the Create New Component dialog is opened, there may be different Component Type icons displayed. A Component Type that has a Template defined uses the   icon, whereas a Component Type that does not have a Template defined uses the   icon. If you create a component of a Type that does not have a Template defined ( ), you must manually configure the Folder location where that component is to be stored in the Workspace in the Single Component Editor (show image).  
  • Merged Component Types (displaying an asterisk in the Default Folder column), present in the Create New Component dialog as a Component Type named as the Type you elected to Merge into, with a SubType of each of the Component Types that were merged together. Think of the parent as a Component Type folder (with no specific Template assigned), holding a number of Component Types (each with a unique Template assigned).

Options

• Search Filter – enter text in the textbox by which to filter the Name list.
• Add – click to add a new Component Type in the list, which will be added with the default name New Type. Enter the new type name in the highlighted text box. The named type is automatically repositioned in the alphabetically ordered list. Use the drop-down to access these additional options:
  • Add Type – click to manually add a new Component Type entry.
  • Add Subtype – click to manually add a new Component Subtype, which will reside in the drop-down under a Component Type entry.
• Remove – click to remove the selected Component Type. A confirmation dialog opens asking to confirm the deletion. Click Yes to confirm, No to cancel the deletion.
• Drag and drop a Component Type entry to a new location to change its position in the hierarchy. An entry becomes a subtype of another when dropped onto it. Close and reopen the dialog to restore the alphabetical listing order if it has been disrupted.

• Templates – click to open the Edit templates dialog, where you configure the assignment of Component Type to each Template. Note that a Template can only be assigned to one Component Type, but a Component Type can be assigned to multiple Templates. The default storage location (Default Folder) is a property of the Template. Learn more about Workspace Component Templates.

Right-Click Menu

• Rename – click to rename the Component Type or Subtype.
• Move
  • Indent – click to indent the selected Component Type entry in the list hierarchy. An Indented entry will become a subtype of the next (lower) entry in the list.
  • Outdent – click to outdent the selected Component Type entry in the list hierarchy.
• Remove – click to remove the selected Component Type. A confirmation dialog opens asking to confirm the deletion. Click Yes to confirm, No to cancel the deletion.

• Merge – use to open the Merging dialog, where you may merge component types. The process changes the component type for components of the merged type to that of the merge target type. Note that the component entries are not affected in any other way. They remain in their existing folders, which are associated with the Component Template, and the templates themselves remain available. When component types have been successfully merged, the folder column of those merged component types will be replaced with an asterisk (*) showing that the folder entry for the component type corresponds to the target folders of those multiple templates.

  Learn more about Merging Component Types.

Component Rule Checks

The Data Management – Component Rule Checks page of the Preferences dialog provides a range of violation types to check for issues with a component and its defined models when committing/releasing the component to your connected Workspace.

The Data Management – Component Rule Checks page of the Preferences dialog

Component Rule Checks

• Violation Type Description – displays all violation types in three categories: Violations Associated with Components, Violations Associated with Footprints, and Violations Associated with Symbols.
• Report Mode – displays the current report mode for the associated violation. Click the current mode to access a drop-down from where you can select the desired mode: No Report, Warning, Error, Fatal Error. Any of the user-defined checks at a level of Error or above that fail would prevent the release of a component to the connected Workspace.

Dictionaries

The Data Management – Dictionaries page of the Preferences dialog provides the Manage Dictionaries control to access the Settings – Vault – Dictionaries page of the Workspace's browser interface from which a Workspace administrator can manage the Workspace's dictionaries – custom component parameter types with several defined values. The dictionaries can then be used when defining a component template: learn more.

The Data Management – Dictionaries page of the Preferences dialog