Installing CircuitStudio

Created: 12月 16, 2024 | Updated: 9月 07, 2018

Parent article: System Installation & Management

Installation of CircuitStudio is both intuitive and fast, courtesy of the CircuitStudio Installer. This wizard-based installer streamlines the initial installation process, while letting you choose the initial 'flavor' of the installation in terms of installed functionality.

This article describes the procedure for installing CircuitStudio for the first time on a computer.

Pre-Install Preparation

To access the CircuitStudio Installer, you need to first download and run a small executable – CircuitStudioSetup.exe. This executable is downloaded from the CircuitStudio website and can be saved anywhere on your hard disk.

Each version of the software, starting with CircuitStudio 1.0, has its own dedicated installer.

Running the Installer

Click Download CircuitStudio located on the CircuitStudio website.

A dialog will open to begin the download of the execute file. Click Save File.

Double-click the CircuitStudioSetup.exe file. The CircuitStudio Installer welcome page will appear.

Initial welcome page for the CircuitStudio Installer

The installer itself is wizard-based, providing a set of progressive (and intuitive) pages that collectively gather the information to effectively install the version of the software and its initial feature set as you require.

Click NEXT to continue. The following sections provide a summary of the various pages you will encounter.

License Agreement

This page of the Installer presents you with the Altium End-User License Agreement (EULA).

Read and accept Altium's End-User License Agreement.

Before you can continue with the installation of the software, you must read through and accept the terms of this agreement. The agreement can be viewed in different languages, including English (the default), Chinese and Japanese.

After reading the EULA read, continue with the installation by clicking the I AGREE button.

Account Log-In

You will then be presented with an Account Log In pop-up window. This means logging in to your CircuitStudio Account, using the applicable and associated account credentials. The reason for this is two-fold:

First, it verifies your identity and that installation of the software is valid, as determined by your account.
Second, it provides secure access to the Vault in which the installation files reside, i.e. the files that are required to be downloaded before the software can be ultimately installed on the PC.

Select Design Functionality

This next page of the Installer allows you to specify which features are initially installed. The PCB Design option provides the base software and core technologies required to perform PCB design. It is always installed and cannot be deselected. Use the remaining options to tailor the install to suit your needs. This will also have an impact on the initial installation time.

Click to expand an area for greater control over sub-functionality available.

What initial functionality would you like in your installation of CircuitStudio? The choice is yours!

Platform Extensions offer extended functionality to the core platform. Each platform extension is a dedicated package of core platform functionality that has been 'brought out' of the platform and delivered in the guise of an extension. By delivering this functionality as an extension, updates can be delivered to that core functionality without having to release an update to the entire platform itself.

Click to enable the functionality you require. As you select and deselect functionality, text under the selections dynamically updates to reflect the size of the download involved.

Click to enable functionality at the parent level to quickly enable all of its child functionality too.

Remember, no matter what decisions you make at initial install, you can add or remove features and functionality at any stage after installation. This puts you in the driver's seat, as it were, to fully customize your installation in-line with your possibly ever-changing design needs.

After defining the functionality you would like, click NEXT to proceed.

Destination Folders

The next page of the Installer allows you to specify the destination folders for the install in terms of both the Program Files for the software and the Shared Documents that are accessed and used by the software.

Specify where the software and associated documents are to be installed.

These locations become especially important when installing multiple instances of CircuitStudio. If one or both of these destinations is not currently an empty folder (i.e. devoid of content) you will be prevented from proceeding with the installation until you specify an alternate (and empty) destination(s).

The default destinations are:

Program Files

C:\Program Files (x86)\Altium\CS

Shared Documents

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Altium\CS

To specify alternate locations, type the location directly into the applicable field or click the folder icon to the right of a field and browse for the required destination folder.

Once the install locations are specified, click NEXT to continue.

Ready to Install

The Installer now has all the information it requires to proceed with the installation. If you need to change anything, click the BACK button. If you want to cancel out of the install, click CANCEL.

Ready to begin the install

To proceed with the installation, click NEXT.

Installing CircuitStudio

The Installer now changes from the Preparing phase to the Installing phase, as reflected in the Installer's left-hand pane. Installation proceeds, with the required files first being downloaded (from the secure cloud-based Altium Vault). Progress of this download is displayed on this page of the Installer.

Installation commences by downloading the required set of install files.

Once the download of files is complete, they will be installed, again with progress displayed in the Installer.

After the download is complete, the software is then installed.

Installation Complete

When the installation itself completes, you have reached the end of the Installer wizard.

That's it, installation is complete!

To exit the Installer and launch CircuitStudio, click RUN CIRCUITSTUDIO. To exit without launching the software, click FINISH.

That's it. You have installed CircuitStudio on your computer, and initially tailored its functionality to suit your design needs. Now it's time to do what you do best: create that next innovative design.

Within CircuitStudio, the F1 shortcut is definitely worth getting acquainted with. Hover the mouse over anything inside CircuitStudio – a button, command, dialog, panel, or design object – and press F1 to access documentation for it. F1 also works for specific pages in the Preferences dialog, and specific rule constraint pages in the PCB Rules and Constraints Editor dialog. For example, if you're placing a component and are not sure how to rotate it, press Shift+F1 for a list of command-dependent shortcuts.