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Documentation Altium Designer Documentation ... Dialog Reference A to F

Favorite Interactive Routing Widths

Created: August 07, 2017 | Updated: February 21, 2018 | Applies to versions: 18.0 and 18.1
Now reading version 18.1. For the latest, read: Favorite Interactive Routing Widths for version 22

The Favorite Interactive Routing Widths dialogThe Favorite Interactive Routing Widths dialog

Summary

The Favorite Interactive Routing Widths dialog allows you to predefine favorite track widths for use when interactively routing a board when using the Interactive Router.

When you run the Interactive Routing command and click to start routing, a series of track objects are created from the nearest pad up to the current cursor location. The width of these tracks is either taken from your preferred width or the applicable routing width design rule. The former is referred to as User Choice and it is the Favorite Interactive Routing Widths dialog that provides the cornerstone of this feature.
When using the User Choice feature and predefined routing width, you still have the full protection of the rules system. If a chosen predefined routing width is outside the applicable min-max rule setting, the width will be clipped back to the minimum or maximum, whichever is appropriate.
Click here for more information about interactive routing.

Access

The dialog is accessed from the PCB Editor in the following ways:

Options/Controls

  • Widths Grid - the main region of the dialog presents a listing of all currently defined interactive routing widths. For each defined width, the following information is presented:
    • Imperial - the width in imperial units (mil).
    • Metric - the width in metric units (mm).
    • System Units - the preferred system units when using the defined width (Imperial or Metric).
Entries without shading indicate that the preferred system units will be used when those widths are chosen. The board units are switched automatically.
The display of the Imperial, Metric, and System Units columns can be toggled through commands available on the region's right-click menu. These main columns can also be re-ordered. Simply drag a main column horizontally - vertical green positional arrows indicate a valid position. Data can also be sorted by the various sub-columns.
Double-click an entry to access the Preferred Routing Width dialog in which the value for the width can be changed as required.
  • Add - click to open the Preferred Routing Width dialog to add a new routing width to the list. 
If you enter a value with no units, it will default to Imperial preferred system units. To control the preferred system units used for the width, ensure to specify the units (especially if Metric is desired).
  • Delete - click to delete the currently selected routing width(s) from the list.
The grid supports standard multi-select techniques (Ctrl+click and Shift+click).
  • Edit - click to open the Preferred Routing Width dialog to edit the currently selected routing width. 

Right-Click Menu

The following commands are available from the grid's right-click menu:

  • Add - click to open the Preferred Routing Width dialog to add a new routing width to the list. 
  • Delete - click to delete the currently selected routing width(s) from the list.
  • Show Imperial - use to toggle the display of the Imperial column and its data.
  • Show Metric - use to toggle the display of the Metric column and its data.
  • Show System Units - use to toggle the display of the System Units column and its data.
  • Properties - use to open the Preferred Routing Width dialog the edit the currently selected routing width.

Using Favorite Widths

A variation of the Favorite Interactive Routing Widths dialog is accessed when wanting to change the current routing width to one of the predefined favorites. To access this variation, press Shift+W while interactively routing.

The Choose Width dialogThe Choose Width dialog

Options/Controls

  • Widths Grid - this region of the dialog presents a listing of all currently defined interactive routing widths. Click on an entry to switch to using that routing width (in accordance with the boundaries of the applicable min-max routing Width rule).
  • Apply To All Layers - enable to use the chosen routing width on all of your signal layers.
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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.

If you don’t see a discussed feature in your software, contact Altium Sales to find out more.