Workspace Components

The Enterprise Server Workspace gives you convenient access for browsing all of the Workspace library components that are currently stored within the Workspace. Accessible through the Workspace's browser interface, the Components view allows you to see what (and how many) components you currently have at your disposal, and the detailed information and data for each part.

Accessing Your Components

Access your Workspace library components through the Components page of the Workspace's browser interface. The page presents a tiled array of the various component types, along with the total number of existing components of each type. From here you are able to drill down to see individual components and get detailed information about them.

The component supply chain data is sourced from Octopart, however for some organizations, component supplier data is (and must be) sourced from an internal company enterprise system that provides a proprietary set of parts supplier data. This might be based on a tightly approved range of vendors and/or special pricing structures.

The above situation is catered for by the alternative Altium Custom Parts Provider, which when configured for synchronization through Altium Designer, allows the supplier data from a specified database source to be mapped to the Workspace supply chain data. This functionality requires Altium Designer version 20.2 (or newer). For more details, see Supply Chain Database to Workspace Data Synchronization.

Browsing Components

When first accessed, the Components page presents a summary of the components in the Workspace, by type. Clicking on a tile will present a flat listing of all components of that type. This listing can also be accessed by choosing a component type from the drop-down at the top-left of the page. The type of component category a particular component is listed under is determined by its Component Type parameter. This parameter is specified when creating or editing a component, or when components are imported into the Workspace. See Building & Maintaining Your Components and Libraries for more information.

An example of browsing all diode-type components in a Workspace.

Click the control at the far right of the header region to access a window in which to control which columns of data are displayed. All parametric data can be displayed in unique columns. Use the Search field to quickly find a particular component.

Selecting a component entry will present its detailed information within the right-hand information pane, as shown in the following image and list.

Select a component entry to load detailed information for it in the right-hand pane.

• Component Name
• Description
• Item ID
• Revision State icon and Revision ID
• Stock Availability
• Median Price
• Manufacturer Lifecycle State color icon
• Parametric Data
• Models – symbol and footprint(s)
• Reference Documentation – datasheet(s), pinouts, etc.
• Part Choices with Lifecycle State color code
• Where-used Information – where the component is used (within a design project, a reuse block, or on a managed schematic sheet) with a link to the parent entity, where applicable.

Accessing the Component View

For each component entry, you can open the selected component in a dedicated viewer that includes the parametric data, models, and supplier information associated with that item's revision. This view is essentially an enhanced version of the component data information presented in the right-hand (Information) pane. To open the Component view for a selected component, double-click on the entry or choose the Open option from its associated the  menu.

Double-click on a component item entry or use the Open menu option to access a read-only view of the component.

The Component view, which opens in a new browser tab, is formatted to include related information under selectable tabs (Part Choices, Where Used, etc) and also allows a particular component revision to be selected for viewing (Revision drop-down menu). Links included in the tab views are active and will open the target reference (manufacturer/supplier data sheets, where-used entities, etc) in a new browser tab.

❯ ❮ Javascript ID: AES_ComponentView_Tabs_7_0

Additional features of the Component view include:

• Detailed Part Choice data – select the Show More option within a Part Choice tile entry to view the component's parameters and details of the supplier options for that manufacturer part.

  ❯ ❮ Javascript ID: AES_ComponentView_PartChoiceDetails_7_0

  Select a Part Choice tile's Show More option and the sub-view's Parameters tab to access detailed parametric information for that component. The view under the SPN tab includes listed supplier part solutions with associated stock information and price break details – click on a Part Number entry to open the related supplier data. The Alternates tab provides a confidence-rated list of alternative parts provided by the Altium Parts provider sources, which includes each part's associated compliance and supplier information.

  The Stock information included in a Part Choice entry is the sum of the stock levels available from the enabled Suppliers, as defined in the Altium Part Provider source accessed through the Admin – Part Providers page. The Part Choice pricing information is the lowest price of the lowest available MOQ solutions – typically the unit (single item) price.

  Note that the stock/price information is derived from only those enabled suppliers who offer a purchasing solution for the part.

  

• Component Revision access – choose a component item ID option from the Revision drop-down menu to view an earlier version of the Workspace component (as denoted by its ID number suffix). An associated icon indicates that you are not viewing the latest revision, which will also appear if a newer version becomes available (such as when the component has just been modified/updated).

Use the revision drop-down menu to select and view an earlier revision of the current component, which will be classed as out of date.

Accessing the Manufacturer Datasheet

The option to view a component's manufacturer datasheet can be available where the selected component includes a valid Datasheet URL parameter (see example). In this case, you can directly access the datasheet by choosing the Open Datasheet option from  the  menu at the far right of the component entry. The linked datasheet will open in a new browser tab. You can otherwise open such a link from the component's right-hand information pane.

Access the manufacturer datasheet for the selected component, which opens on a separate browser tab.

Accessing the Component Page in Octopart

For each component, you can quickly access its page within the Octopart site (which opens on a separate browser tab). To do so, select the component of interest, click the control at its far right, then choose the Show in Octopart command from the associated menu.

Access the page on the Octopart site for the selected component, which opens on a separate browser tab.

Opening a Component in Altium Designer

If you have Altium Designer installed on the machine from where you are browsing the Components page, you can view a component in Altium Designer by  clicking the control at the far right of the component entry and selecting the Open in Desktop App command from the associated menu. After selecting the command, you will be prompted to open Altium Designer, and the component will open in Altium Designer’s Components panel.

Open a component in Altium Designer's Components panel directly from the Components page.

Deleting a Component

You also can delete a component (provided you have editing rights to the folder in which it resides). To do so, select the component in the list, click the control at its far right, then choose the Delete command from the associated menu. The Delete window will appear, in which to confirm the deletion. The action is actually a 'soft delete', whereby the component will be moved into the Trash area of the Workspace. You can also opt to delete the component's child items (e.g. symbol, footprint model(s), simulation model, datasheet). Note that these can only be deleted if they are not being used elsewhere (by one or more other components).

Delete a component directly from the Components page. This is a 'soft delete', with the component (and any related items as applicable and permitted) moved to the Trash.

To proceed with the deletion, click the button. The component will be removed from the main listing of components. A Deletion Summary window will confirm the successful deletion of the component. If any related items could not be deleted, this will be flagged to you.

All components deleted in this manner can be found on the Trash page of the interface. Note that you can only view components (and any other items for that matter) that you have personally soft deleted. Administrators will be able to see the full content of the Trash page – so all items that have been soft deleted.

Things to consider in relation to a soft deleted component:

• The component will not be available from Altium Designer, or from within the browser interface.
• Anywhere the component was being used will reflect that the component has been deleted.
• A component can be restored or permanently deleted from the Trash page. Permanent deletion is only possible provided if it is not being used on a managed schematic sheet, or within a design.