Sheet Properties

Now reading version 16.0. For the latest, read: Sheet Properties for version 17.1

The Sheet Properties dialog.
The Sheet Properties dialog.

Summary

This dialog enables you to define the page properties of a Draftsman document.

For a high-level look at how the Altium Draftsman Drawing System provides an interactive approach to the creation of production documentation for your PCBs, see Draftsman.

Access

With a Draftsman document (*.PCBDwf) open as the active document, the dialog can be accessed from the PcbDrawing Editor by:

  • Choosing the Tools » Sheet Properties command from the main menus.
  • Right-clicking within the main design workspace and choosing the Sheet Properties command from the context menu.

Format & Size Tab

 Sheet Properties dialog - Format & Size tab. Sheet Properties dialog - Format & Size tab.

Use the dialog's Format & Size tab to access manual or template-based settings for the document's page size/content.

Options/Controls

Choose from one of the following options to specify how the sheet should be sized:

  • Custom template – enable this option to use a customized template to provide the sheet sizing and formatting. The associated list includes any defined Draftsman Sheet Templates (*.DwsDot) found in the Templates Location, specified on the Draftsman - Templates page of the Preferences dialog. Select one of these templates to apply the page settings defined within it, to your Draftsman document. The field below the list reflects the currently chosen template file. The graphics defined in the template will be loaded into the page, along with template data including sheet sizes, settings and zone and border margin definitions. Use the Reload button to refresh the list with templates stored in the defined Templates Location.
A variety of Draftsman Sheet Template files are supplied as part of the installation. For a default installation of Altium Designer, these can be found in the following location (which is the default Templates Location): \ProgramData\Altium\Altium Designer <GUID>\Extensions\Draftsman\Templates.
Click the Browse button to browse to, and open, a different template file, in a different location.
  • Standard Sheet Size – enable this option to use a standard sheet size. The associate list provides the following sizes: A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, ANSI A, ANSI B, ANSI C, ANSI D, ANSI E, Letter, Legal, and Tabloid.
  • Custom Size sheet – enable this option to specify your own custom sheet size, entering required sheet measurements in the associated Width and Height fields.

Margins & Zones Tab

Sheet Properties dialog - Margins &amp; Zones tab.Sheet Properties dialog - Margins & Zones tab.

Use the dialog's Margins & Zones tab to define settings for the page border and its graphical divisions.

Options/Controls

Margins

Use the fields in this region of the tab to define the distance from the edge of the page to each border line (Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins).

Zones

Use the options in this region of the tab to control the number (and display) of horizontal and vertical reference divisions within the border.

  • Show zones - use this option to control the display of zone information (enabled), or hide such information (disabled).
    • Horizontal zone count - use this field to specify the number of horizontal zones for the sheet (these appear as A, B, C, D and so on).
    • Vertical zone count - use this field to specify the number of vertical zones for the sheet (these appear as 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on).
When using a Draftsman Sheet Template, all fields on this tab will be pre-filled with margin and zone information contained within that template. These should be already as required, but can be changed manually here if a deviation from the template 'norm' is required.

Additional Controls

  • Apply to - use this field to determine the scope of the defined settings, applying to the active page (Current Page), or all pages in the document (Entire Document).
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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.