Component Display Properties

The Component Display Properties dialog.

Summary

Tthe Component Display Properties dialog allows designers to configure how components are displayed in an Assembly view.

Access

From the Board Assembly View of the Properties panel, click the Components button (Under the View region of the panel).

Options/Controls

Using the Show menu, the Component Display Properties dialog can be selected to display the component properties in different formats, with grouping choices of components, classes, footprints and by BOM entry (the BOMItems grouping is selected in the image above). The dialog allows control of the visibility and graphics for individual components, and includes the following options:

• Visible – toggle the visibility of a component's graphics.
• Geometry Source – the data source used for rendering the component's graphics:
  • Default – the component graphics will be taken, in order of priority, from the three options below (3D model, Silk Screen Overlay or Bounding Box).
  • Body projection – the component's 3D model, if available.
  • Silk screen – the Silk Screen printing layer.
  • Bounding box – dimensions derived from the component's contact pads.
  • AssemblyDrawing – the component graphic data contained on a Mechanical Layer, as nominated in the Document Options dialog.
• Color – the color of the component graphics.
• Reference marker display – enable/disable a component's visual reference marker (typically a dot indicating Pin 1 on a component).
• Show Designator – toggle the visibility of a component's Designator notation.
• Location – the position settings for a component designator.
  • CenterFit (default) – the designator is placed in the center of the component graphic and automatically scaled to fit.
  • Center, TopLeft, Left, Right, etc – the designator is placed close to the component outline, in the position described.
  • AssemblyDrawing – the designator, its position and size is defined by the properties of the component designator (generally derived from a .Designator special string) on a specified Mechanical Layer – see Document Options for the Top/Bottom Assembly Layer settings.
• Font – the selected font for a component designator (not available for the Center/Fit option, which scales the font size). Note that when the Designator is derived from a board mechanical layer (the Assembly View Location option), the font style is determined by the Font option but the font size will reflect that defined by the designator on the board mechanical layer.
• Hatching Pattern – the visual pattern and color used to render the component's profile, such as when it is displayed in a board Section View.

To ease the task of locating and changing options for multiple entries, the Component Display Properties dialog also provides smart filtering capabilities, which can be activated from the  icon in each column header. Select the desired entry in the filter drop down list to constrain (filter) the dialog contents to components that match the selected attribute. Multiple filter options can be applied, and then disabled or cleared using the filter entry checkboxes in the dialog's lower border.