Managed Schematic Sheets

Parent page: Design Reuse

Being able to re-use design content is something that all product development companies want, and can greatly benefit from. Not only does reuse save time, being able to easily reuse a section of a previous design means that all the qualification and testing of that part of the design is done. Design reuse is much more than copy and paste, though, true reuse requires the content to be locked down so you're guaranteed that it is the same as before. No quick edits to change the color of a component or a tweak to a resistor value, working with reusable content must be like working with off-the-shelf components; place the content, wire it in, and it works just like it did last time.

Altium Designer, in conjunction with a managed content server, caters for the ability to create Managed Schematic Sheet Items in that server. Such items can be created:

• Through Direct Editing.
• Through release of the current schematic sheet.
• By uploading the relevant schematic document (*.SchDoc) to a revision of a target Item.

Once a Managed Schematic Sheet 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.

Just What is a Managed Sheet?

A managed sheet is a standard Altium Designer schematic sheet containing components and wiring, that has been stored in a managed content server, so it can be reused in other designs. It is edited like any other schematic sheet. The managed sheet concept is not limited to a single schematic sheet either, you can place a managed sheet in your design that is the top of a tree of other managed sheets.

The decision to move from device sheets to managed sheets comes when there is a desire to make the transition from reuseable content to managed reuseable content - that is, when there is a desire or need to be able to control the release, revision status and lifecycle state of that design content.

By making it managed content you can be sure that the revision of a managed sheet that you use in a design can be easily identified and traced back to its source whenever needed. And because it is managed content it can be revised and updated when needed, and the usage relationships can all be traced -  both down to the components on that sheet, and up to the designs that use that sheet. This ensures you have all the information needed to decide if that revised sheet must be pushed through to existing designs, or if a particular design must continue to use the previous revision.

Folder Type

When creating the folder in which to store Managed Schematic Sheet Items, you can specify the folder's type. This has no bearing on the content of the folder - releasing a schematic sheet will always result in a corresponding Managed Schematic Sheet 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 Managed Schematic Sheet Items, set its Folder Type as Managed Schematic Sheets, 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 Type

When creating a target Managed Schematic Sheet Item in which to store your schematic sheet, ensure that its Content Type is set to Managed Schematic Sheet, in the Create New Item dialog. If you are creating the Item in a Managed Schematic Sheets type folder, this Item type will be available from the right-click context menu when creating the Item.

Creating a Managed Schematic Sheet Item within a Managed Schematic Sheets folder - the correct Content Type is available on the context menu.

Releasing a Schematic Sheet

Related page: Creating and Editing Items Directly through a Server

So far, we've discussed the support for a Managed Schematic Sheet Item in the server, in terms of related folder and item types. Releasing an actual defined schematic sheet into a revision of such an item can be performed in a couple of ways.

Direct Editing

A schematic sheet can be edited and released into the initial revision of a newly-created Managed Schematic Sheet 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 great integrity, and in a manner that greatly expedites changes to your data.

When you create a Managed Schematic Sheet Item, you have the option to edit and release a schematic sheet 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 Schematic Editor will open, presenting a .SchDoc document as the active document in the main design window. This document will be named according to the Item-Revision, in the format: <Item><Revision>.SchDoc (e.g. SCH-0007-1.SchDoc).

Example of editing the initial revision of a Managed Schematic Sheet Item, directly from the managed content server - the temporary Schematic Editor provides the document with which to define your schematic sheet.

Use the document to define the schematic sheet as required. Because managed sheets are stored in a managed content server, the components on them should also be stored in the server. That way, you get the full benefit of the managed content system that the server provides, including being able to identify and locate all the components used on the managed sheet (the children), and also being able to identify and locate which designs the managed sheet has been used in (where-used). For more information see Working with Managed Components.

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 Schematic 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.
•  - Save to Server. Use this button to release (effectively save and release) the defined schematic sheet to the managed content server, storing it within the initial (planned) revision of the target Managed Schematic Sheet Item. The Edit Revision dialog will appear, in which you can change Name, Description, and add release notes as required. The document and editor will close after the release. The document containing the source schematic sheet (*.SchDoc) 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 Managed Schematic Sheet Item.

These controls are also available as commands - Save (Shortcut: Ctrl+S), Save to Server (Shortcut: Alt+Ctrl+S), and Cancel Edit - from the main File menu.

The released data stored in the server consists of the source schematic sheet, defined in the Schematic Document file (<Item><Revision>.SchDoc), as well as any associated harness definition files (*.Harness). In the Explorer panel, switch to the Preview aspect view tab to see a graphical representation of the sheet, along with a listing of its constituent components (and managed schematic sheet template if applicable).

Browse the released revision of the Managed Schematic Sheet Item, back in the Explorer panel. Switch to the Preview aspect view tab to see a graphical representation, and a listing of the child Component Item Revisions.

The child components used on the sheet can also be browsed from the Children aspect view tab. Double-click an entry to cross-probe, right-click to access a set of component-related commands.

Browse the constituent components on the managed sheet, through the Children aspect view.

Saving an Existing Sheet to the Server

While direct editing is the preferred approach for most design Items that can be stored in a managed content server, when it comes to existing schematic sheets (or device sheets for that matter), you also have the ability to save a sheet directly to the server. This requires that you have a planned revision of an existing Managed Schematic Sheet Item, into which the sheet will be released. The process is as follows:

1. Create a new Managed Schematic Sheet Item and initial planned revision, or have a planned revision of another existing Item, as required.
2. Open the schematic sheet, or device sheet, within Altium Designer.
3. Choose the File » Save to Server command from the main menus.
4. The Choose Planned Item Revision dialog will appear. Use this to choose the target revision of the required Managed Schematic Sheet Item (which must be in the Planned state), then click OK.

5. The Edit Revision dialog will appear, in which you can change Name, Description, and add release notes as required.
6. After clicking OK, the sheet will be released and stored in the revision of the Item.

Example of sending an existing device sheet to the managed content server to which you are actively signed in. The release must be to an existing revision of a Managed Schematic Sheet Item, and that revision must be in the Planned state.

Uploading a Schematic Sheet

You can also upload a schematic sheet into the revision of a Managed Schematic Sheet Item. This can be performed in a couple of ways.

Upload Menu

A schematic sheet can be uploaded by right-clicking on the required Managed Schematic Sheet Item in the Explorer panel, and choosing the Upload command from the context menu. The Create New Revision dialog will appear, in which you can change Name, Description, and add release notes as required. Use the Sources region of the dialog to load the required schematic sheet. This can be performed by dragging and dropping the file from Windows Explorer, onto the region. Alternatively, click the  button - the Add Files dialog (a standard Windows open-type dialog) will appear. Use this to browse to, and open, the required file (*.SchDoc).

Manually specifying the schematic sheet to be uploaded to the target Managed Schematic Sheet Item.

Once the desired sheet is dropped in, or selected and the Open button clicked, an entry for it will appear back in the Sources region. Proceed with the upload by clicking the OK button. The uploaded sheet will be available on the Preview aspect view tab for the Item Revision, in the Explorer panel.

The uploaded sheet can be viewed on the Preview aspect view tab for the revision of the Managed Schematic Sheet Item, along with a listing of its child items.

Drag and Drop from Windows Explorer

A schematic sheet can also be uploaded by dragging the selected file from a source folder in your Windows Explorer, and dropping onto the required target Managed Schematic Sheet Item in the Explorer panel. The Create New Revision dialog will appear, with the dragged file listed in the Sources region. Modify Name (which will be the file name, including extension) and Description (which will be in the format Uploaded from <FileNameandPath>, Size <FileSize>, Created on <FileCreationDate>), and add any Release Notes as required, and then click the OK button.

Uploading a schematic sheet using the drag and drop method.

Reusing a Managed Schematic Sheet Item

Related pages: Managed Projects and Releasing a Design, Controlling Access to Server Content

Once a schematic sheet 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 sheet can be reused in future board-level design projects. And keeping to the use of the server as the source of all content in and for a design, it is good practice to reuse your managed sheet content in Managed Projects - which themselves are under the server's wing.

It is the way you include a managed sheet in the current design that lets Altium Designer know it is not a regular schematic sheet. You add a regular schematic to your project via the File menu, whereas you add a managed sheet to your project by placing it from the server. Placement is performed from Altium Designer's Explorer panel.

Prior to Placement...

Placing a managed sheet truly is simplicity itself. But before you do anything, there are a couple of points to note:

• A managed sheet's sheet symbol cannot be placed onto a free schematic, the target sheet must be part of a project.
• Ensure that the schematic sheet that is to receive the associated sheet symbol is open in Altium Designer and is the active document. If documents are open across multiple windows, ensure also that the window containing that active schematic document has focus.

Placement

To place from the Explorer panel:

1. Browse or search for the Managed Schematic Sheet Item you wish to place.
2. Right-click on the specific revision of the Managed Schematic Sheet required (typically the latest, in which case just right-click directly on the top-level Item entry).
3. Choose the Place command.

A sheet symbol that references the sheet will float attached to the cursor - just pick a ball-park spot on the active schematic sheet and click to effect placement. You can fine-tune and nudge it into its final location at a later stage.

As you place the sheet symbol, Altium Designer copies the managed sheet that the symbol represents, from the server into the project folder, within a sub-folder called \Managed\Sheets. A copy of each managed sheet is stored here, each within its own sub-folder identified by a system-generated unique identifier (GUID).

Placement of a managed sheet. Right-click on the desired Item Revision and choose the Place command - a sheet symbol representing the managed sheet is available on the cursor for placement into the design.

Drag and Drop from the Explorer Panel

For more express placement of your managed sheets from the Explorer panel, Altium Designer provides the ability to drag & drop revisions of Managed Schematic Sheet Items directly onto the active schematic document.

Browse your managed content server for the required Managed Schematic Sheet Item to be placed. Placement involves a specific revision of that Item, so be sure to expand the main Item entry to list all of its available revisions. Then click on the required revision and drag an instance of it onto the schematic sheet.

You may need to disable the Show only latest option for the Explorer panel's Items view. Click the  control (at the top-right of the panel) to access this option.

Re-Releasing a Managed Schematic Sheet Item

At any stage, you can come back to any revision of a Managed Schematic Sheet 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 schematic sheet 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 Managed Schematic Sheet Item.

Updating a Managed Schematic Sheet Item

If you need to change the schematic sheet stored in a Managed Schematic Sheet Item, and you have the updated sheet, you can upload that sheet to that Item - the new sheet will be stored in the next revision of that Item.

Downloading Released Data

Download the data stored in a revision of a Managed Schematic Sheet Item by right-clicking on that revision and choosing the Operations » Download command from the context menu. The applicable file(s) 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.