Applied Parameters: Action=TO_REGION
Summary
This command allows you to define a solid (copper) region object using a closed boundary made up of selected track and/or arc objects. This is a region object that has its Kind property set to Copper.
As well as defining areas of electrical copper on a board, solid regions are also used to define other polygonal-shaped design objects, such as a special symbol or a company logo. If an outline of the required shape has been defined in another design tool, such as AutoCAD, it can be exported as DXF and then imported into Altium Designer. That outline can then be converted into a solid region using this command.
Access
This command is accessed from the PCB Editor by choosing the Tools » Convert » Create Region from Selected Primitives command, from the main menus.
Use
First, ensure that all constituent track and arc primitives of the closed boundary are selected in the main design workspace.
For Altium Designer to be a able to perform a track to region conversion, the outline must be correctly defined. That means the outline must form a closed shape, with the ends of touching track segments correctly meeting (starting/ending in the same X, Y location).
After launching the command, a solid region will be created from the closed boundary formed by the track primitives. The region's boundary follows the center line of the bounding track objects and it is not selected. Select and move the region to its required location in the workspace. Select the region to access its properties through the Properties panel (double-click on it if the panel is not visible), from where you can change its properties as required.
Tips
- The region will be created on the current (or active) layer, not the layer that the selected tracks are on. This means you can define the shape on a mechanical Layer then create the region on a signal layer.
- The selected tracks will still exist after the region has been created and will remain selected.