Defining Navigation Preferences for Altium Designer

The System - Navigation page of the Preferences dialog

Summary

The System – Navigation page of the Preferences dialog provides controls relating to navigating actions in the Navigator panel.

Access

This page is accessed by clicking Navigation under the System folder in the main Preferences dialog (accessed by clicking the button in the top right corner of the workspace).

Options/Controls

• Highlight Methods - select the desired methods of highlighting graphical objects during navigation, cross-probing, and when exploring differences between documents or compiler messages. Choose from the following:
  • Selecting - enable this option to select your item of interest.
  • Connective Graph - enable this option to show how your item is connected.
    • Include Power Parts - enable this option to show the connectivity through to the power parts as well in the connectivity graph. This option is only available if Connective Graph is checked.
  • Zooming - enable this option to zoom in to display your item of interest.
    • Far/Close - use this slider to control how closely the system will zoom into highlighted objects. The farther to the right (Close) you move the slider, the larger the magnification and vice versa.​
  • Dimming - enable this option to dim the display of all other objects except your item of interest.
    • None/Invisible - use this slider to control the dimming. The farther to the right (Invisible) you move the slider, the more objects will be dimmed
• Objects To Display - enable the following objects you want displayed in the Navigator panel:
  • Pins
  • Ports
  • Sheet Connectors
  • Graphical Lines
  • Net Labels 
  • Sheet Entries
  • Sheet Symbols
• Cross Select Mode - use the following options to cross select objects between the schematic and PCB.     
  • Cross Selection - use to toggle cross selection on and off. When this is checked, each selected object in one editor will be selected in the open documents of the other editor.
    • Dimming - enable this option to dim the display of all other objects except the selected item(s).
    • Zooming - enable this option to zoom in to display your selected item(s).  
    • Reposition selected component in PCB - enables you to select a component in the schematic and reposition it in the PCB.
    • Focus document containing selection if visible - enable this option to transfer focus to the schematic or PCB document that is visible when objects in them are cross selected. 
  • Objects for cross selection - enable the required options you want to cross select: Components, Nets, and/or Pins. Any number of the options can be selected.