Draftsman Templates

Parent page: Server Items

Altium Designer, in conjunction with your managed content server, caters for the ability to create and manage Draftsman Template Items - Draftsman Document Template and Draftsman Sheet Template - in that Server. Such Items are created directly within the Server. Once a Draftsman Template Item has been created (and data released into a revision of it), and its lifecycle state set to a level that the organization views as ready for use at the design level, it can be reused in future board-level design projects, when creating Draftsman documents (*.PCBDwf).

Folder Type

When creating the folder in which to store Draftsman Template Items, you can specify the folder's type. This has no bearing on the content of the folder - releasing a Draftsman Document Template or Draftsman Sheet Template will always result in a co rresponding Draftsman Template Item. It simply provides a visual 'clue' as to what is stored in a folder and can be beneficial when browsing a Server for particular content. To nominate a folder's use as a container for Draftsman Template Items, set its Folder Type as Draftsman Templates, when defining the folder properties in the Edit Folder dialog.

Specifying the folder type - its intended use - gives a visual indication of the content of that folder when browsing the Server!

Item Types

When creating a target Draftsman Template Item in which to store your document/sheet template, ensure that its Content Type is set accordingly (in the Create New Item dialog):

• For a Draftsman Document Template Item, set its Content Type to Draftsman Document Template.
• For a Draftsman Sheet Template Item, set its Content Type to Draftsman Sheet Template.

If you are creating these Items in a Draftsman Templates type folder, these Item types will be available from the right-click context menu when creating the Items.

Creating a Draftsman Document Template Item, or Draftsman Sheet Template Item within a Draftsman Templates folder - the correct Content Type is
available on the context menu.

Releasing a Draftsman Template

So far, we've discussed the support for a Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item in the Server, in terms of related folder and item types. Releasing an actual defined template into a revision of such an item can be performed in a single streamlined way.

A draftsman document/sheet template can be edited and released into the initial revision of a newly-created Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item, courtesy of the Server's support for direct editing. Direct editing frees you from the shackles of separate version-controlled source data. You can simply edit a supported Item type using a temporary editor loaded with the latest source direct from the Server itself. And once editing is complete, the entity is released (or re-released) into a subsequent planned revision of its parent Item, and the temporary editor closed. There are no files on your hard drive, no questioning whether you are working with the correct or latest source, and no having to maintain separate version control software. The managed content server handles it all, with the same great integrity you've come to expect, and in a manner that greatly expedites changes to your data.

When you create a Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item, you have the option to edit and release a document/sheet template into the initial revision of that item, after creation. To do so, enable the option Open for editing after creation, at the bottom of the Create New Item dialog (which is enabled by default). The Item will be created and the temporary PcbDrawing Editor will open, presenting a .DwfDot or .DwsDot document (as applicable) as the active document in the main design window. This document will be named according to the Item-Revision, in the format:

• <Item><Revision>.DwfDot (e.g. DFD-001-0001-1.DwfDot) - for a Draftsman Document Template.
• <Item><Revision>.DwsDot (e.g. DFS-001-0002-1.DwsDot) - for a Draftsman Sheet Template.

Example of editing the initial revision of a Draftsman Document Template Item, directly from the Server - the temporary PcbDrawing Editor provides the document with which to
define your document template.

Example of editing the initial revision of a Draftsman Sheet Template Item, directly from the Server - the temporary PcbDrawing Editor provides the document with which to
define your sheet template.

Use the document to define the template as required. For more information, see Draftsman.

There are three relevant controls when direct editing, readily available from the Quick Access Bar (at the top-left of the main application window), or from the Drawing Document Standard toolbar:

•  - Save Active Document. Use this button to save any changes made to the document. This allows you to save current changes, should you wish to come back at a later stage to make further changes before ultimately releasing to the managed content server.
•  - Release Document. Use this button to release (effectively save and release) the defined template document to the managed content server, storing it within the initial (planned) revision of the target Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item. The document and editor will close after the release. The template document, *.DwfDot/*.DwsDot, will be stored in the revision of the Item.
•  - Cancel Editing. Use this button if you wish to cancel editing. The document and editor will close, and nothing will be released to the target Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item.

The released data stored in the Server consists of the source template, defined in the Draftsman Document/Sheet Template file (<Item><Revision>.DwfDot/<Item><Revision>.DwsDot).

Reusing a Managed Draftsman Template Item

Related page: Controlling Access to Server Content

Once a Draftsman document/sheet template has been released to a managed content server, and its lifecycle state set to a level that the organization views as ready for use at the design level, that template can be reused in future board-level design projects.

When you are signed in to your managed content server, use of available Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Items is automatic. If there are released revisions of Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Items, then only those available templates - shared with you -  will be presented in the following areas where a document template, or sheet template, can be chosen, when working with a Draftsman Document (*.PCBDwf):

If there are no released revisions of Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Items in the Server, or if you sign out of your Server, then you will be able to use local, file-based templates.

Re-Releasing a Draftsman Template Item

At any stage, you can come back to any revision of a Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item in the Server, and edit it directly. Right-click on the revision and choose the Edit command from the context menu. Once again, the temporary editor will open, with the template contained in the revision, opened for editing. Make changes as required, then commit the release of the document into the next revision of the item.

Accessing the command to launch direct editing of an existing revision of a Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item.

Downloading Released Data

Download the data stored in a revision of a Draftsman Document/Sheet Template Item by right-clicking on that revision and choosing the Operations » Download command from the context menu. The Draftsman Document/Sheet Template file will be downloaded into a sub-folder under the chosen directory, named using the Item Revision ID. The file can be found in the Released folder therein.