New Draftsman Document

The New Draftsman Document dialog. The background image shows local templates available when not signed into an Altium Vault, while the image in the
foreground shows an example of vault-based Draftsman Document Template Items available when signed into an Altium Vault.

Summary

The New Draftsman Document dialog allows for the creation of a new Draftsman document (*.PCBDwf) for a chosen project and source PCB document. You have the option to create the new document based on a defined Draftsman Document Template (*.DwfDot), or create a blank, A4-sized document.

Access

The dialog can be accessed in the following ways:

• From any editor, by choosing the File » New » Draftsman Document command from the main menus.
• Right-clicking on the entry for the required project, in the Projects panel, and choosing the Add New to Project » Draftsman Document command from the context menu.

Options/Controls

• Templates List - this list includes any defined Draftsman Document Templates (*.DwfDot). The templates presented depend on whether or not you are currently signed in to an Altium Vault, and whether there are Draftsman Document Template Items defined in that vault:
  • Not using/not signed in to/no templates defined in, a Vault - local templates are presented, that are found in the Templates Location, specified on the Draftsman - Templates page of the Preferences dialog.
  • Signed into a Vault that has defined (and released) Draftsman Document Template Items - only those Draftsman Document Template Items available to you through your vault login, will be presented (no local templates).

Select one of these templates to use in creating the new Draftsman document. Alternatively, to create a new blank, A4-sized Draftsman document (*.PCBDwf), select the [Default] entry.

• Templates - click this button to quickly access the Draftsman - Templates page of the Preferences dialog, where the location of the templates directory is defined. Note that this is only used for local templates. If signed into an Altium Vault that has Draftsman Document Template Items defined, this location is simply ignored, as no local templates are available.
• Layers - the options here determine which board layers - Signal/Plane, Mask, Paste, Silk, (as defined by the Layer Stack) are used to generate Fabrication drawings in the document (at one per sheet), when a Fabrication document template is used. Drawing layers are always included.
• Project - use this field to select the specific PCB project that you want to create the new Draftsman document for. The drop-down will present a list of all possible projects that are currently open. The newly created Draftsman document will be added to the nominated project.
• Source Document - with the project selected in the field above, this field will typically auto-populate with the PCB design document found within that project. Use the drop-down to select the right board if more than one are defined within the project. The new Draftsman document will use the specified source board document as its context for drawing data from.

Tips

1. A Draftsman Sheet Template (*.DwsDot) can be applied once the new document has been created. Again, if you are signed into an Altium Vault, and that vault contains defined (and released) Draftsman Sheet Template Items, only those vault-based templates will be available to you. If not using a vault, not signed into a vault, or no such templates are defined in the vault, you will be able to choose from local templates, found in the specified Templates Location.