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Browser-based Access & Management

Created: July 27, 2016 | Updated: May 06, 2017

This documentation page references Altium Vault, which has been discontinued. All your PCB design, data management and collaboration needs can now be delivered by Altium Designer and a connected Altium 365 Workspace.

 

Parent page: Installation, Licensing & Management

In addition to connecting to an Altium Vault through Altium Designer, and interfacing to it through the Vaults panel, you can also connect to it through a dedicated browser interface. In fact, connection in this way is more than just a connection to the Vault itself. Rather it is a connection into the Altium Vault platform, with access to management interfaces for the various services available as part of the wider Vault installation. Indeed, with some of these services, your only interaction with them is through this browser-based interface.

Accessing the Interface

To access your local Altium Vault through its browser-based interface, simply use a preferred external Web browser and type the address for the Vault in one of the following formats:

  • http://<ComputerName>:<PortNumber>
  • http://localhost:<PortNumber> - if accessing from the same computer on which the Vault is installed.

(e.g. http://designerhome:9780, or http://localhost:9780, for an Altium Vault installed using the default port assignment). You will be presented with a Sign-in page.

Depending on your browser, you can drop the http:// part, and simply enter <ComputerName>:<PortNumber>, or localhost:<PortNumber>.

Sign in through the browser interface using the same Vault credentials used to connect through Altium Designer. For a newly installed Altium Vault, there is a default administrative user with the credentials:

  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin
While the default admin user could be left for general entry to the Vault by administrators, it is a good idea to change the First Name, Last Name and Username to something more meaningful for your organization. And it's definitely a good idea to change the default password from admin to something only known/passed to authorized administrators – otherwise everyone could simply access the Vault as an administrator!
If you want to sign in using your Windows login credentials - taking advantage of the Vault's support for Windows Authentication - enable the Use Windows Session credentials option.

Access an Altium Vault, and its associated platform services, through a preferred external Web browser. Roll the mouse over the image to see the effect of successfully signing
in to the interface.

What's Provided?

The interface provides a number of key technologies and services, and can be coarsely divided into two groupings, as shown in the following image, and listed thereafter.

The overall browser interface can be divided into two distinct sets of interface elements - those accessible in general by all users of the Vault, and those accessible only by Vault
Administrators.

  1. Interface elements that can be accessed by any Vault user. Note that some sub-elements may be admin-only, and they will be highlighted in the detailed sections that follow. To access a page, simply click on its name in the header.
  2. Interface elements that can only be accessed by a Vault Administrator. A single, administrative user is provided, admin. This user, and any additional user, is bestowed administrative powers by membership to the role Administrators. To access a page, simply choose the required entry in the ADMIN drop-down menu.
The banner area at the top of the interface reflects the user that is currently signed into the Vault, with a control for signing out. The Inbox control will flag any notifications - click this to access your STREAM page, from where you can browse and read these notifications. Many such notifications can also be sent from the Vault through its email notifications service. For more information, see Configuring Vault Email Notifications through the Browser Interface.

General Access Interface Elements

The following sections summarize the elements of the Vault's browser interface that can be accessed by all users of the Vault - both administrators and standard users.

HOME

This page provides quick reference information, tailored to, and relevant for, the Vault user who is currently signed in through the interface.

Example content for a user on their Home page.Example content for a user on their Home page.

The page presents two lists:

  • Recent Activity - this is very much a reflection of the real-time notifications found on the STREAM page of the interface. Each message includes a link to the entity affected by the event, on the relevant page of the interface. The most recent event appears at the top of the list.
  • My Projects - this is a listing of managed projects, complete with description (where available), that have been created by the signed-in user. The name of a project acts as a link to that project, on the PROJECTS page of the interface. The most recently created project appears at the top of the list.

USERS

Related pages: Managing Users, How to Configure LDAP Sync with the Altium Vault

This page provides the interface to the Identity Service (IDS), to define Vault (and other service) access, through specification of users and roles.

Access and manage the users of your Altium Vault.Access and manage the users of your Altium Vault.

Controls are spread over the following sub-pages:

  • Users - use this page to create and manage a list of users; people who are to have access to the Vault and/or the associated technologies installed with it.
  • Roles - use this page to create and manage a list of roles; roles allow you to further organize your users according to, for example, the particular section of the organization in which they are involved, or the design team they are in. Roles also make the sharing of Vault content, and the configuration of other Vault-served technologies, more streamlined.
  • LDAP Sync - use this page to configure and run an LDAP Sync task. This allows the administrator of your Altium Vault to leverage the network domain’s existing username and password credentials, so that user credentials do not have to be created manually one at a time on the USERS page. When setup correctly, the USERS page will automatically populate with user credentials, enabling any user listed to sign into the Vault using their regular corporate network username and password.
  • Sessions - use this page to quickly assess which of your users are currently signed into the Altium Vault. Provision is made for an administrator to terminate a user's access to the Vault by effectively 'killing' their active session, thereby freeing connections to the Vault for use by others.
Two administrative users are provided with a new Vault installation - admin and System. The former allows you to quickly get access to your Vault as an administrator. Once you have added other users, you can keep and edit the admin user (change its name and password for example), or delete it. The System user is used for all background tasks (including LDAP Sync, and Notifications). This user cannot be edited or deleted and is permanently online.
Only an administrative user has full access to management controls. While a non-administrative user can browse Users and Roles, they cannot access LDAP Sync or Sessions. And while management of users by a non-administrative user is not generally possible, they are able to change the profile of their own user - including changing username and password.

PROJECTS

Related page: Managed Projects

This page provides the interface to the Projects service, to create and manage projects in a central location, and share those projects for team collaboration as required. The page lists all Managed Projects for the organization. Managed Projects target the development stage of the project lifecycle, simplifying the creation and ongoing workflow for version controlled projects. From here you can create new projects, and open and manage existing ones. From this interface, a project can also be shared, or rather its access permissions configured.

The beauty of Managed Projects is that they are version controlled by default, and can be collaboratively worked upon without having to worry about shared drives, servers, agreements etc. Version control is handled courtesy of the Altium Vault's local SVN-based Version Control Service.

Centralized project management - all part of your Altium Vault installation.Centralized project management - all part of your Altium Vault installation.

A project created through this interface, or through Altium Designer, will initially be available to the designer who created it, and all Administrators for the Altium Vault, in terms of full Read/Write access. The project will also be shared publically, for Read-only access, to all users of the Vault. To make it accessible to others simply share it, by configuring its permissions.

VAULT

Related page: Browsing Content from a Web Browser

This page gives you access to the structure of the Altium Vault, and is similar in presentation and layout to that of the Vaults panel. From here, you will be able to browse the folders and Items within the Vault. And although you can't create or edit Items from within the browser interface (you can remove them), you are able to create and edit folders, and so build the structure of the Vault, without having to be connected to that Vault through Altium Designer.

You can also define sharing from this interface - controlling who is able to see what content in the Vault, and whether other users can simply view a folder and its content, or also edit it (effectively releasing design data into it). A single Vault can be partitioned into various effective 'zones' of content, but with controlled permissions, the content can be made selectively visible, or hidden, as required - giving the right people, the right access, to the right data.

Content can also be downloaded from the Vault, directly from this interface.

Browse and define the structure of your Altium Vault, as well as defining access and being able to download content.Browse and define the structure of your Altium Vault, as well as defining access and being able to download content.

Vault Administrators will be able to see and manage all Vault content. For a shared user of the Vault (non-admin), only those folders that have been shared - i.e. the user has permissions to access - will be accessible when the user signs in to the Vault.
Non-administrative users can only share a folder they have created.

PART REQUESTS

Related page: Part Requests

This page enables you to create and manage requests for new Vault components. An engineer can simply put in a request for one or more parts to be created, to a member of a librarian-nominated role, and get notified when that request has either been rejected (and why), or processed, and the component(s) made available. The requestor supplies as much key information to support their request as possible (manufacturer and part number(s), description(s), any relevant datasheet (PDF or URL)). Stub Component Items can even be created that the librarian can then run with (and finish off).

You'll need to specify which role (or roles) should be used to fulfill the role of Librarians for your organization. In essence, you are simply configuring a set of users of your Altium Vault, that can be assigned to a part request. This is performed by a Vault Administrator, through the SETTINGS page of the Vault's browser interface.

Create and manage requests for new parts through the Part Requests area of the Vault's browser-based interface.Create and manage requests for new parts through the Part Requests area of the Vault's browser-based interface.

Initially, a part request is visible to the original requestor, and all members of the nominated librarian role(s). Once the request has been assigned to a particular librarian, only the requestor and that librarian will see it, and receive notifications about it.
Upon creation of a part request, the requestor, and members of the Librarian role, will receive notification in their message stream, on the STREAM page of the Vault's browser interface (and summarized on the HOME page of the interface). Once a specific librarian has been assigned to a request, only that librarian, and of course the original requestor, will receive notifications generated in relation to that request. In addition to the these event notifications, email notifications will also be received - providing the Email Notifications feature is enabled and configured. This is performed by a Vault Administrator, through the SETTINGS page of the Vault's browser interface.

STREAM

This page provides a live feed of event notifications, applicable to, and relevant for, the Vault user who is currently signed in through the interface. The page can be accessed in two ways:

  • By clicking the STREAM page header - this will list all notifications.
  • By clicking the Inbox control, at the top-right of the interface - to the left of the  button. This will list all unread notifications (The number next to the Inbox control reflects the number of currently unread messages in the stream).

Example content for a user on their Stream page.Example content for a user on their Stream page.

Each message in the stream carries similar information:

  • The name of the user whose action has resulted in the event.
  • The time the event happened (in terms of how many minutes, hours, or days have elapsed since the event occured).
  • An automated message describing the event. A link is also included to the entity affected by the event. This can be:
    • A Managed Project (on the PROJECTS page of the interface).
    • A Component Item Revision (on the VAULT page of the interface).
    • An Item Revision at the center of a state transition approval request (on the VAULT page of the interface).
    • A Part Request (on the PART REQUESTS page of the interface).
  • An optional user-added note, where available, that gives extra information.
The most recent event appears at the top of the list.

By default, all notification types are presented (unless accessed from the Inbox control, in which case only unread notifications will be listed). To change this, click on the All control and choose a particular notification type to display. Supported notification types are:

  • All
  • Unread Notifications
  • Projects:
    • Projects (Create)
    • Projects (Update)
    • Projects (Delete)
    • Projects (Commit)
    • Projects (Release)
    • Projects (Revision State Change)
    • Projects (Access Rights Grant)
    • Projects (Access Rights Remove)
  • Components:
    • Components (Create)
    • Components (Release)
    • Components (Revision State Change)
    • Components (Delete)
  • Approval Request:
    • Approval Request Create
    • Approval Request Assignee Change
    • Approval Request Complete
    • Approval Request Cancel
    • Approval Request Remind
  • Part Request:
    • Part Request Create
    • Part Request Update
Use the Mark as read control, to the right of a notification, to mark it as read. This removes that message from the unread list, and also from the number of unread messages indicated next to the Inbox control. To quickly clear the unread status from all messages, click the Mark All as Read control, at the top-right of the list.

Admin-Only Interface Elements

The following sections summarize the elements of the Vault's browser interface that can only be accessed by Administrative users of the Vault - those who are part of the Administrators role. Access to these elements is through the dedicated ADMIN menu, located to the far right of the standard page headers.

If signed into the Vault as a non-administrative user, the ADMIN menu will simply be hidden.

VCS

Related page: Local Version Control Service

This page (ADMIN » VCS) provides the interface to the Vault installation's local Version Control Service, for managing the SVN-based Design Repositories that designers in the organization can validly access and use while working on design projects. Repositories can be created through this service, or external repositories can be connected to.

A default Design Repository is available, named DefaultRepository. Rename and manage user access to this repository as required.

The browser-based interface to the Altium Vault's local SVN-based VCS service.The browser-based interface to the Altium Vault's local SVN-based VCS service.

Use the sharing controls to configure user access to the repositories. When a user signs in to the Altium Vault, the design repositories available to them will automatically be added to the Data Management - Design Repositories page of the Preferences dialog.

PART PROVIDERS

This page (ADMIN » PART PROVIDERS) enables you to define a list of Part Sources - facilitating centralized supply chain management, with designers across the entire organization using the same approved list of Part Sources, with which to source supply chain intelligence for parts used in their designs.

The available Part Sources in the Vault are:

  • Altium Parts Provider - an aggregate supplier data service that provides access to live component information from a comprehensive range of parts suppliers. This Part Source is installed by default.
The Altium Parts Provider settings that are established in the Altium Vault will override those in Altium Designer (through the installed Altium Parts Provider extension) when a user signs in to the Vault.
  • Custom Database Provider - for situations where parts supply data needs to be accessed from a local database, such as a company’s internal parts database, the Vault's Custom Database Provider feature offers interface connectivity for all common database systems (directly, or via an ODBC or OLE-DB interface). The connection can be established manually, through a nominated interface and connection string, or by using the Vault’s Connection Wizard. Any number of such connections can be defined.
A database connected to by the Custom Parts Provider interface system must be locally available to the Altium Vault - that is, the database itself must be located on the PC that hosts the Vault.

The actual supply chain intelligence - comprising Manufacturer (and part number), Supplier (and part number), Description, Pricing and Availability - is sourced from the Vault's local Part Catalog and the relevant Part Source.

Each Altium Vault instance has its own dedicated Part Catalog. This is a managed local part catalog database, dedicated to the management and tracking of manufacturer parts and their associated supplier parts. The catalog is installed as a service (Part Catalog Service), provided through the Altium Vault platform, and works only with the Altium Vault. The local Part Catalog stores items representative of actual Manufacturer Parts, along with one or more items representative of Supplier Parts - the incarnations of those Manufacturer Parts, as sold by the Suppliers/Vendors. Each Supplier Part is a reference to an item in a parts database - either the aggregate parts database of the Altium Parts Provider (which itself interfaces to, and gathers the parts from, enabled Suppliers), or a linked local parts database.

Enabling required Suppliers and determining Location/Currency ranges for the Altium Parts Provider. This is the default Part Source for the Altium Vault. You can also add
any number of links to internal company parts databases.

INSTALLATIONS

Related page: Network Installation Service

This page (ADMIN » INSTALLATIONS) provides the interface to the Network Installation Service, through which you can perform installations or updates to Altium products over your local network, and enables centralized control of software availability, configuration and its capabilities. Using NIS, you acquire software product files from Altium, and then assemble these into a configurable software deployment package. The locally stored package can then be deployed to networked workstations as a software installer executable (*.msi), or as a direct installation using Microsoft’s Active Directory Group Policy.

To use the NIS, the computer on which the Altium Vault is installed must have connection to the internet.

The INSTALLATIONS page of the Altium Vault's browser-based interface - your connection to the Network Installation Service.The INSTALLATIONS page of the Altium Vault's browser-based interface - your connection to the Network Installation Service.

Controls are spread over the following tabs:

  • Products & Extensions - your view into the set of available Altium product and extension installers, available to you based on your provided AltiumLive credentials. These are stored in Altium's Cloud Vault.
  • Deployment Packages - where you create and configure a Deployment Package, which stipulates how to install the chosen product and extensions. Once created, an associated Windows Installer Package file (*.msi) can be downloaded, and used to install the software on a target client machine, or on all client machines throughout the company.
  • Updates - presents a convenient area in which to configure how you want your products and extensions, in your local Altium Vault, to be updated. You can configure them to either be updated manually, or automatically.
  • Server Storage - lists what products and extensions are available in your local Altium Vault (those that you have previously acquired). A deployment package can only include products and extensions that are listed in this tab.
  • Tasks - presents an Operations Log reflecting a task that is currently running, or has been run.

CONFIGURATIONS

Related page: Environment Configuration Management

This page (ADMIN » CONFIGURATIONS) provides the interface to the Team Configuration Center (delivered through the Vault installation as theTeam Configuration Service). The role of the Team Configuration Center (sometimes referred to as TC2) is simplicity itself - to give the organization centralized control over the environment its designers operate in. It achieves this through the definition and management of Environment Configurations. These are used to constrain each designer's Altium Designer working environment to only use company-ratified design elements, including schematic templates, output job configuration files, and workspace preferences. In other words, it facilitates Centralized Environment Configuration Management.

Any number of environment configurations may be defined through the Center's dedicated browser-based interface. The data used and enforced by each configuration - referred to as Configuration Data Items - are sourced from the Altium Vault. And by associating each environment configuration with a specific user role, and in turn assigning users to those roles, the correct working environment is loaded into Altium Designer as soon as the user signs in to the Altium Vault. Using this role-based approach ensures that a designer always gets the setup they are entitled to, no matter whether they have their own PC, or are sharing a single PC with fellow designers.

The interface allows for an administrator to craft one or more environment configurations, depending on the needs of the organization. Each configuration requires the definition of:

  • Configuration Name - a meaningful name, perhaps reflective of the people whose working environment it is to govern.
  • Configuration Data - the elemental constraints of the configuration. The revisions of supported data items that can be validly used by a user targeted by the configuration.
  • Target Roles - specification of whom the environment configuration applies to. Roles themselves are simply groupings of users, defined and stored as part of the vault's Identity Service. These are the same roles that are defined and used by the vault to control access permissions.

Access the Team Configuration Service, from where to define and manage environment configurations for your organization.Access the Team Configuration Service, from where to define and manage environment configurations for your organization.

Configuration data is stored in the Altium Vault's database.

STATUS

This page (ADMIN » STATUS) provides status-related information for the Vault, and quick access to log files. It is presented over three regions:

  • Installed Services - providing version information for the current Altium Vault installation.
  • Path to database and files - providing information about the installation paths for the database and data, including the type of database being used by the Altium Vault.
  • Logs - providing information about the installation path to log files. For each distinct service, click on the associated  icon to download a zip containing the relevant set of log files.

The STATUS page provides installation details, as well as log files for the various services.The STATUS page provides installation details, as well as log files for the various services.

SETTINGS

This page (ADMIN » SETTINGS) provides a collection of sub-pages relating to configuration of options relating to various features and services provided by, and through, an Altium Vault installation.

The Settings area - part of the admin-only pages within the Vault's browser-based interface.The Settings area - part of the admin-only pages within the Vault's browser-based interface.

The left-hand side provides a navigation tree with which to quickly access various sub-pages of settings. The following pages are available:

  • General - use this page to change the Name and Description for the Vault.
    • AltiumLive Credentials - when using the Network Installation Service (NIS), use this page to enter the credentials used to log into the Altium Cloud (AltiumLive) where the installers are to be sourced from. When using the Private License Service through the Vault, these credentials allow the Private License Service (PLS) to communicate directly with your Altium account for the initial acquisition of your company licenses.
    • Session Lifetime - use this page to enter a value for the IDS Session Lifetime (in hours). This is how long a Vault user has to remain connected, in a single session, when using a seat of the applicable Vault Client Access License (CAL). By default, the session lifetime is 24 hours.
  • License Manager - this page provides settings relating to using the Private License Service, and selection of its mode. A pre-set suitable default value is used for the Altium Cloud portal URL (http://portal2.altium.com/?cls=soap).
For more information, see Private License Service.
  • Network Installation - when using the Network Installation Service (NIS), use this page to define the update checking interval. This is the frequency (in minutes) that the Automatic Updates feature will check for available new versions of the applicable software in the Altium Cloud Vault.
For more information, see Network Installation Service.
  • Email Notifications - this page provides settings to enable and configure the Vault's email notifications feature. This facility flags a variety of events to key stakeholders, relating to Component Items, Managed Projects, Approval Requests, and Part Requests.
For more information, see Configuring Vault Email Notifications through the Browser Interface.
  • Vault - not a page, but rather a structural entry for gathering together settings related to specific functionality within the Vault itself.
    • Part Requests - not a page, but rather a structural entry for gathering together settings related specifically to the Part Requests feature:
      • Librarians Role - use this page to specify which role (or roles) should be used to fulfill the role of Librarians for your organization. In essence, you are simply configuring a set of users of your Altium Vault, that can be assigned to a part request.
      • Custom States - use this page to customize opened and closed states for the Part Request feature.
For more information, see Part Requests.
  • Lifecycle Definitions - use this page to define and manage your Vault's lifecycle definitions, complementing the ability to do this through Altium Designer. Providing better visibility of the states and transitions involved, each lifecycle is built in a graphical way, showing at-a-glance the flows involved.
For more information, see Browser-based Lifecycle Management.
  • Permissions - this page provides a single option that allows Vault Components to be deleted from the Vault, even if they have been placed on a design document.
  • Projects - use this page to specify the default path (within the Vault's folder structure) for newly-released projects.

LICENSES

Related pages: Altium Vault Licensing, Private License Service,

This page (ADMIN » LICENSES) provides the interface to obtain and manage licenses - both for the licensing of the Vault itself, and also for serving to client machines over the local network, through the appropriately configured Private License Service (PLS).

Use the various tabs within the Licenses area to obtain, manage, and assign licensing, for the Vault, and for serving to your local network through the PLS. And use the various
reports that are available to keep an eye on license usage.

Three tabs are available:

  • Licenses - provides a listing of all licenses currently available. At least two licenses will be required to actually license the Altium Vault (Altium Vault and Altium Vault CAL). Other licenses can be added for serving through the PLS. Licenses can be acquired either From cloud (choose from a list of licenses available to your company from the Altium portal), or From file (import existing alf license files from disk).
  • Roles - provides the ability to assign licenses to Roles of Users (or groupings of users). In Local PLS mode, the Vault PLS can selectively offer software licenses that have been assigned to a specific Role. By default (unless otherwise specified), all licenses acquired by the Vault are assigned to the All Users Role, and therefore available to any User that connects to the PLS.
  • Reports - the Private License Service includes a range of license usage monitoring and reporting features that can be used to audit how licenses are used within an organization. This is useful for ensuring that the best use is being made of the available license seats, for anticipating future license requirements, and to determine the usage of individual Users. A range of reporting options are available, accessed by specific sub-tabs. Depending upon the type of information that's required for each report, the associated reporting filters can be applied to tailor the results to include specific Licenses, Roles, Users, and time periods. There is also an option to export the current report to disk in CSV format, compatible with Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet applications, for administration and accounting purposes.

 

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