Configuring Draftsman Board Assembly View Object Properties in Altium Designer

Parent page: Board Assembly View

Draftsman object properties are definable options that specify the visual style, content and behavior of the placed object. The property settings for each type of object are defined in two different ways:

• Pre-placement settings – most Board Assembly View object properties, or those that can logically be pre-defined, are available as editable default settings on the Draftsman - Defaults page of the Preferences dialog (access from the  button at the top-right of the workspace). Select the object in the Primitive List to reveal its options on the right.
• Post-placement settings – all Board Assembly View object properties are available for editing in the Properties panel when a placed Assembly View is selected in the workspace.

     The Assembly View default settings in the Preferences dialog and the Board Assembly View mode of the Properties panel

Scale

• Scale – select the drop-down to choose from a range of preset scale ratios to set the visible size of the object. This option is not available if the Use Custom Scale option is checked.
• Use Custom Scale – select this option to enter a specific scale in its associated field. The scaling of the drawing object is relative to 1, where 0.9 would represent a scale of 90%.

Title

• Title – the title name string that will be displayed (if enabled) with the Assembly View object. Use the associated button to toggle its visibility. Enter the title name and any desired system/custom parameters to create a meaningful name for the placed view. See the Parameters section in the panel's Document Options mode for a list of the currently available parameters.
• Location – select the drop-down to choose from a range of relative locations for the title. The Manual option is automatically selected if the title is manually moved (dragged and dropped to a new location).
• Font – sets the displayed font used for the view's title string.
  • Use Document Font checkbox selected – the title font used is that defined by the document options. See the Document Font entry in General section of the Properties panel when in Document Options mode.
  • Use Document Font not selected – use the drop-down menus to choose the desired font type and size and select the lower buttons to enable text attributes. The associated color button () opens the color selector where the font color can be specified by RGB or HEX value, by freeform selection, or from a range of presets. Note that the slider control sets the color Opacity level, where 0% represents full transparency.

Style

• Board Line – the thickness and style of the Assembly View's border/outline. Use the line weight drop-down menu to choose from a range of line thickness presets and the line pattern menu to choose from a range of line styles. The associated color button () opens the line color selector where the font color can be specified by RGB or HEX value, by freeform selection, or from a range of presets. Note that the slider control sets the color Opacity level, where 0% represents full transparency.
• Component Line – the line thickness and style used to render the component geometry in the Assembly View. Use the line weight drop-down menu to choose from a range of line thickness presets and the line pattern menu to choose from a range of line styles. The associated color button () opens the line color selector where the font color can be specified by RGB or HEX value, by freeform selection, or from a range of presets. Note that the slider control sets the color Opacity level, where 0% represents full transparency.
• Font – the font style used to notate the view's board components (designator, BOM entry etc). Use the drop-down menu to choose the desired font type and select the lower buttons enable text attributes.
  • Use Document Font checkbox selected – the title font used is that defined by the document options. See the Document Font entry in General section of the Properties panel when in Document Options mode.
  • Use Document Font not selected – use the drop-down menus to choose the desired font type and size and select the lower buttons to enable text attributes. The associated color button () opens the color selector where the font color can be specified by RGB or HEX value, by freeform selection, or from a range of presets. Note that the slider control sets the color Opacity level, where 0% represents full transparency.
• Font Size (Min/Max) – the minimum and maximum font size that can be automatically applied to a component when its Component Designator property (see below) is set to Center/Fit, where designators are auto-scaled to fit in to the component outline.

Properties

• View Side – the direction of view used to render the board drawing. Use the drop-down menu to select from a range of preset view directions.
• Rotation – the angle of rotation used to render the board drawing, as applied by the drop-down menu.
• Display Holes – use the drop-menu to set which board (through) holes will be shown.
• Minimum Diameter – sets the smallest board hole size that is shown when the Minimum diameter only option is selected for Display Holes.
• Variation (Properties panel only) – select a project PCB Variant (if available) as the data source for the Assembly View. The Document:xx option is a Variant specified for the document under Document Options in the Properties panel (Source section).
  In the placed Assembly View, omitted variant components are not shown or are indicated as a colored mesh as determined by the Variants Display and Pattern settings (under General) in the Properties panel's Document Options mode. See Design Variants for an overview on managing board design variations.
• Component Caption – set the parameter source for the text captions associated with components (Designator or BOM Item Position) from the drop-down menu. Check the Show Silkscreen option to enable the appropriate silkscreen overlay on the drawing (Top or Bottom overlay, depending on View Side setting). Note that component graphics on the Silkscreen layer are not shown and silkscreen sourced designators will only be shown if a component's Designator Location is set to Silkscreen.

 Show Pads

• SMD and Through-Hole checkboxes – check these options for their respective pads shapes to be rendered in the Assembly View. Select their associated color button () to specify the pad display color.
• Components (Properties panel only) – click to open the Component Display Properties dialog where the display configuration for all components is available.

Component Display Properties

This section of the Properties panel is enabled when a component (or its designator) is selected in the placed Assembly View. Its property fields apply to the currently selected component, and are equivalent to those available for each component in the Component Display Properties dialog (when its Show option is set to Components).

• Component (Properties panel only) – identifies the currently selected component Name. Use the checkbox to toggle the component's visibly and the associated button to specify the component outline color through the color selector dialog.
• Geometry Source – select the data source used for rendering the component graphic. The range of options match those available under the Geometry tab of the Component Display Properties dialog.
• Reference Marker – use the drop-down menu to enable a reference marker, a dot indicating pin 1, on the component graphic.
• Hatching Pattern – displays and sets the component graphic fill pattern and color, which is used to render the component's profile when displayed in a board Section View. Select the associated button to access the fill options.
  • Pattern – the graphic pattern for the component profile fill. Select Solid fill or an ANSI pattern from the drop-down menu, and use the associated color buttons () to specify colors for the fill and/or hatch pattern. Select a no-fill preset or an opacity level of 0% to set the color as transparent.
  • Scale – the relative line spacing of the applied ANSI hatch pattern.
  • Rotation – the angle of the ANSI hatching lines, where a value of 0 is equivalent to 45°.
  • Hatch Thickness – the line weight of the ANSI pattern lines.
• Designator Location – sets the Designator parameter position relative to the component graphic. Use the drop-down menu to choose from a range of positions (which match those available in the Component Display Properties dialog). Toggle the Show Designator checkbox to enable/disable the designator's visibility. The Manual option is automatically selected if the component's Designator is manually moved (dragged and dropped to a new location).
  ► Designator move example
• Designator Font Size (Properties panel only) – set the Font size used for the selected component's designator. This field becomes available when the Use Document Font option in the panel's Style section is unchecked.
  • Apply changes to all instances same BOM item (Properties panel only) – check this option to apply a change in the designator Location and Font size to all board components of the same type (those that share the same BOM entry). This is equivalent to locating and changing the properties of that component's BOM entry in the Component Display Properties dialog.
    ► Apply to all instances example