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Preparing Reports

Created: November 14, 2022 | Updated: November 14, 2022 | Applies to version: 22
Now reading version 20.1. For the latest, read: Preparing Reports for version 25

Parent page: Streamlining Generation of Manufacturing Data with Output Jobs

A number of reports relating to the project or a specific project document can be prepared and generated for your design, including:

  • Bill of Materials - this report-type document provides an at-a-glance listing of all components required to build the product – including the bare board, which is essentially the base 'component' upon which all other parts are assembled. The BOM acts as a guide for what needs to be procured to build the product as designed. It also provides a means to calculate cost based on the required number of assembled boards in a requested spin.

    The data presented in the Report Manager dialog - used to configure the Bill of Materials report - can come from one of two sources. If there is an ActiveBOM document (*.BomDoc) associated to the design project, then this will be used as the source of the data. Otherwise, the data will be extracted from the source schematic documents for the project.
  • BOM Compare - a report providing information regarding which components have been changed (such as added, removed, or replaced) during the release of a Workspace project.

  • Component Cross Reference Report - use the report generator to creates a list of components, based on the schematic sheet that they are on in the design.

    The Bill of Materials and Component Cross Reference reports are highly configurable, through the use of a dedicated and powerful report generation engine, the interface to which is the Report Manager dialog. Once the content for the required report is defined and organized as required, the report can be generated - either printed, or exported into one of several file formats - CSV (Comma Delimited) (*.csv), Microsoft Excel Worksheet (*.xls;*.xlsx;*.xlt;*.xltx), Portable Document Format (*.pdf), Tab Delimited Text (*.txt), Web Page (*.htm;*.html), XML Spreadsheet (*.xml). An exported file can be saved in any nominated location. In addition, it can be opened in the relevant software application and/or added to the project after it is created. Use the Report command, from the Report Manager dialog's menus, to access the Report Preview dialog, with the report already loaded. Use the various controls in the window to adjust the view of the report. Click the Print button to launch the Print dialog, from where to determine what is printed and to which printing device the job is sent. The report preview can also be exported into a variety of file formats.
  • Export Comments - creates a PDF file with exported project document comments.
  • Report Project Hierarchy - creates a list of source documents used in the project. This output has no setup options, the ASCII report is written to the specified output folder.
  • Report Single Pin Nets - creates a report listing any nets that only have one connection. This output has no setup options, the ASCII report is written to the specified output folder. A report listing all of the source schematic documents for the design, in terms of their hierarchy within the project. The file is generated directly and is in the format <ActiveDocumentName>.REP.

Report outputs can be added to the active Output Job file from the menu of the [Add New Report Output] control in the Report Outputs region of the file or from the Edit » Add Report Outputs sub-menus of the main menus.

While OutputJob files facilitate streamlined preparation of outputs for your designs and their subsequent generation using the high-integrity project release process, report outputs for the active design can also be generated directly using the command from the main Reports menu of the schematic editor or the Reports » Project Reports sub-menu of the PCB editor.
  • Because the Report Manager dialog is so highly configurable, it can also be used to generate any format report that you need, such as a pick and place file that needs the data structured in a specific way to suit a certain placement machine.
  • All output files will be written to the output folder specified in the Output Path field, on the Options tab of the Options for Project dialog. By default, the output path is set to a sub-folder of the folder that contains the project file and has the name Project Outputs for <ProjectName>. The output path can be changed as required. In the Projects panel, the generated file(s) will be presented under the Generated\Text Documents (.csv, .txt, .rep) or Generated\Documents (.xls, .pdf, .htm, .xml) sub-folders. Bear in mind, that if a different report format is generated from the same active document, the previously generated report file will be overwritten (if it has the same filename).
  • If the option to Use separate folder for each output type is enabled (also on the Options tab), output will be written into a further sub-folder, named Reports (e.g. Project Outputs for <ProjectName>\Reports). In the Projects panel, output will appear under the Generated (Reports)\Text Documents (.csv, .txt, .rep) or Generated (Reports)\Documents (.xls, .pdf, .htm, .xml) sub-folders. This allows you to generate multiple reports from the same active document, without any files being overwritten.
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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.