Altium Concord Pro on A365 - Web Review

Parent page: Managed Projects

The Altium Web Review feature provides universal access to PCB project documents through a standard web browser. Much more than just a web-based viewer, Web Review's advanced browser technology allows users to navigate through the project structure, interact with design documents, extract information about elements in the design and highlight areas or objects for commenting notes.

When viewing documents the visual quality of schematics and PCBs are not compromised by its web format, which also provides full pan and zoom capabilities, and in the case of PCB documents, a high-quality interactive 3D view of the board.

Altium's Web Review functionality provides an immersive and interactive experience for reviewing the source schematic and PCB documents in your design project. Shown here is a schematic - hover over the image to see the PCB.

As an independent browser based view platform, the Web Review feature offers interactive read-only access to design documents without the need to open the project in the design editing environment. Others that are working on the design, such as the engineer who 'owns' it, will not be affected by actions in the Web Review space - except for any related comment notifications.

Web Review Access

The Web Review interface is utilized in the following instances:

• As an integral part of the Projects Management interface, when managing a specific project. This view is for the latest version of the source project data, rather than a specified release from that project, and so could be considered to be a work-in-progress (WIP) view.
• As a trimmed-down variation when viewing the Fabrication and Assembly data for a released design package, through the Manufacturing Portal.
• As a trimmed-down variation when viewing the Fabrication and Assembly data for a manufacturing package through the Manufacturing Package Viewer.

The following sections detail how each of these instances is accessed.

Web Review of Design Project Source

In this instance, the Web Review interface is presented through the Design view of the Projects Management page. The latter can be accessed from the Projects page of the Workspace's browser interface by selecting the required project, clicking the  control above the listing of projects, and choosing the Open entry on the associated menu. Alternatively, double-click directly on the required project entry in the list. The page will open in a new browser tab.

Also available in the 'preview' display mode of the Projects page by selecting the tile for the required project, then clicking the  control and choosing the Open command from the context menu.

Accessing the CAD-centric Projects Management page for a project from the Projects page of the Workspace's browser interface. Web Review functionality is presented through the page's Design view.

The Projects Management page can also be accessed from within Altium Designer. For the active managed project, use the Project » Show in Web Browser command, from the main menus. Alternatively, right-click on the entry for the project in the Projects panel and choose the Show in Web Browser command from the context menu. When browsing the project through Altium Designer's Explorer panel - configured in its default Project View rather than Classic View - access to the Projects Management page is made by clicking the  button.

Web Review of Fabrication and Assembly Data for a Released Design Package

In this instance, the Web Review interface - or a trimmed variant of it - is presented through the Fabrication and Assembly views of the Manufacturing Portal, for the chosen release package of the managed project actively being inspected. To access the portal:

1. From the Projects page of the Workspace's browser interface, select the required project, click the  control above the listing of projects, and choose the Open entry on the associated menu. Alternatively, double-click directly on the required project entry in the list. The page will open in a new browser tab.
2. On the Projects Management page, switch to the Manufacturing view.
3. To open a specific release of the project, select its entry in the list of releases, click the  control at the far right, then choose the Open entry from the associated menu. An opened project release is presented in a new Manufacturing Portal browser tab.

Accessing Web Review functionality through the Manufacturing Portal, to inspect the fabrication and assembly data contained within a specific release package of a design project.

From the Manufacturing Portal, switch between Fabrication and Assembly views to interact with those elements through the Web Review interface:

• Fabrication - the PCB fabrication view applies the Web Review interface to show a 2D rendering of the board layout. Standard review features include Layer Visibility selection, Comment markup, object search and object property data.
• Assembly - the PCB assembly view applies the Web Review interface to show a 3D rendering of the board layout. The view may be zoomed, panned and angled to provide a realistic graphical view into the PCB and its constituent objects.

Web Review of Fabrication and Assembly Data for a Manufacturing Package

In this instance, the Web Review interface - or a trimmed variant of it - is presented through the Fabrication and Assembly pages of the Manufacturing Package Viewer, when viewing a specific manufacturing package. Access to view a manufacturing package in the Manufacturing Package Viewer can be made in the following ways:

• The manufacturer to whom you sent the package will receive an email invite to access that package through Altium 365. Once they click the  button in the email they will be taken to the Altium 365 Sign In page. Upon signing in, they will be taken to the Manufacturing Package Viewer, with the shared package loaded.
• Any manufacturing package that you have sent, or has been sent to you, will be available from the Home page of the Altium 365 Platform Interface. A manufacturing package is denoted by the  icon within its tile. To open the package in the Manufacturing Package Viewer, select the package of interest, click the  button within its tile, then choose the Open command from the associated menu. Alternatively, double-click directly on the tile.
• Any manufacturing packages that you have created and sent for a specific project will be listed in the Sent region of the Manufacturing view, when accessing the Projects Management page for that project. To open the package in the Manufacturing Package Viewer, select the package of interest, click the  button within its tile, then choose the Open command from the associated menu.

Web Review functionality is used by the Manufacturing Package Viewer, when inspecting the fabrication and assembly data contained within a specific manufacturing package (a build package that has been created from a specified release of a design project).

Web Review Features

The Web Review interface offers a range of integrated capabilities that allow detailed access to the design's data and layout. Other features such as the Comments system - when used from the Design view of the Projects Management page - communicate directly, and in real-time, with Altium Designer.

Choosing a Variant

When using the Web Review interface to inspect the design project source, if that project includes defined variants you will be able to inspect them too. The control for doing so can be found to the right of the project's name, at the top-left of the interface. By default, this will be set to [No Variations] - presenting the base design.

Accessing the control to choose a variant of the design.

Choose a defined variant from the list of all variants defined for the project - the view will update to reflect that variant, including the visual options enabled for not fitted components.

The interface caters for variants. By default, the base design ([No Variations]) will be presented (shown here). Use the highlighted control to switch to a different variant (hover over the image to see an example).

Navigation

The pane on the left-hand side of the interface defaults to present in Navigator mode. This mode allows the selection of a project design document for display and analysis. All schematic source documents and PCB document(s) are presented.

If the left-hand pane is not currently in Navigator mode, click anywhere on the header of the pane and select Navigator from the associated menu. Use the  control - at the top of the interface - to toggle display of the pane.

In Navigator mode, the left-hand pane presents the schematic and PCB documents for your design project and is where you come to select which document to analyze next.

Click on a document entry to have it loaded within the main viewing area of the interface.

To navigate within the design document display:

• Hold the right mouse button and drag to pan.
• Use the mouse wheel to zoom.
• Click the  button to access a menu of view-related commands.
• When viewing a PCB in 3D mode hold the left mouse button and drag to alter the viewing angle.

When inspecting a PCB document, click the  control to switch to the 3D view of the board. To switch back to viewing the board in 2D, click the  control.

A PCB document is, by default, presented in 2D viewing mode, as shown here. Using the highlighted control you can quickly switch to 3D viewing mode. Hover over the image to see the result and the highlighted control that can be used to take you back to 2D viewing mode again.

In-Document Navigation of Design Hierarchy

When inspecting a schematic document that is part of a hierarchical design project, the rendered document display itself can provide interactive navigation between the levels in the project structure hierarchy:

• Double-click on a sheet symbol object to load the target schematic document (hover over the image to see the result).

• Double-click on a sheet entry object within a sheet symbol to be taken to the corresponding port on the target child schematic below (hover over the image to see the result).

• Double-click on a port object to be taken to the corresponding sheet entry of the sheet symbol in the parent schematic above (hover over the image to see the result).

Cross-Probing

The Web Review interface supports cross-probing between schematic and PCB documents.

Click to select an object on a schematic source document to have the corresponding object selected on the PCB document, and vice-versa. The following are examples:

• Schematic Part <--------> PCB Component
• Schematic Pin <--------> PCB Pad
• Schematic net (e.g. click a Wire/Port/Power Port) <--------> PCB net (selects all track in that net)

The relevant object(s) on the target document will be zoomed and centered (where possible) within the main viewing area of the interface.

An example of cross-probing in action. Here, the part U3 is selected on a source schematic document. Hover over the image to see the result of the cross-probe, whereby the corresponding component U3 is selected on the PCB document.

Object Properties

Along with hover summary information associated with a selected design object (when viewing a schematic), the Web Review interface also provides a more comprehensive data listing for that selected object in its Properties pane, which is presented on the right-hand side.

Use the  control to toggle display of the Properties pane.

The Properties pane presents a detailed listing of the properties for the currently selected object.

When viewing a PCB document, getting at an object can sometimes be a little tricky. The Web Review interface provides a couple of features to help you with this:

• Collocated Objects -  where objects overlay each other, such as when they occupy the same 2D space on different layers, clicking on the layout will open a listing of collocated objects so the desired object may be selected. As you move the mouse over an entry in the list, the potential object is highlighted, so that you can see exactly what will be selected.

Where objects are collocated, use the pop-up list of objects to choose the right one. As you move the cursor over the list, the potential selection will highlight in the main view.

• Layer Visibility - click a layer entry at the bottom of the view (on its color swatch) to toggle display of that layer On or Off. Click on a layer entry away from its swatch to make it the active layer - bringing it to the foreground. Click the  button to access a menu of layer related controls - for showing and hiding layers, and for setting the layer name length.

Toggle layer visibility to get at the object(s) you need. Here, getting at components for this project is made easier by enabling the display of just the relevant Courtyard layer.

Object Search

The Web Review interface includes an advanced search capability that can be used to find any object in the design, including objects with a specific property. This is performed from the Search pane - accessed by clicking the  control at the top-right of the left-hand pane.

The Search pane facilitates powerful searching of your design project to find any object contained on a source schematic or the PCB.

Notes on working with the search feature:

• When you first access the Search pane you will see a list of object types that are included in a search. Select an entry from the list of object types to include it as a prefix in your search string, and therefore constrain the search results to just that object type. Use the File entry to constrain your searching to only the documents within the design themselves (searching by filename). This can be a time saver if the project contains a sizeable number of documents. Use the Property entry to search for objects possessing a specific parameter, and value of that parameter.

• As you type within the search field, a dynamic listing of matching objects will be presented below. Objects are grouped by type, with each entry highlighting the matching string. Hover over an object to get further information on which document it resides, its name and what type of object it is.

• Click an entry in the results list to zoom to the selected object. If the object does not reside on the active document (the document currently being viewed), its parent document will be opened automatically, and will become the active document.
• To clear the active search click the  control, at the right of the search field, or Backspace to clear the existing string. Once cleared, either enter a new search string, or click away from the Search pane - the left-hand pane will revert to its previous mode (Navigator, ERC Reports, DRC Reports).

Comments

The Web Review interface supports commenting of your design documents. Comments correspond to, and interact with, the Comments system in Altium Designer. A comment is a user-added note that is assigned to a specific area, object or point on a schematic or PCB document, and may be replied to by other users. Comments promote collaboration between users without altering the project itself, or its constituent documents, because comments are stored by the Workspace independently of the design project. Comments are accessed through the Comments pane, which is presented on the right-hand side.

Use the  control to toggle display of the Comments pane.

Commenting functionality is used in the following places:

• From the Design view of the Projects Management page. Comments made here appear in Altium Designer and vice versa.
• From the Fabrication view of the Manufacturing Portal, for the chosen release package of the managed project actively being inspected. Comments made here appear in Altium Designer and vice versa.
• From the Fabrication and Assembly (2D) pages of the Manufacturing Package Viewer, when viewing a specific manufacturing package (created from a specific release of a design project). Comments made within the Viewer are not shared with Altium Designer. They are only seen by stakeholders with whom the manufacturing package has been shared, and whom are using the Viewer to inspect that package.

Example comments overlayed on a child schematic sheet of a managed project. The Comments pane reflects all comments, across all schematic and PCB documents in the design.

A comment markup, which defines where or what the comment note applies to, is added by selecting one of the available types from their respective controls located at the top of the main viewing area:

• Comment on object - click the  control and then click on an object on the active document being reviewed (schematic or PCB) to automatically create a comment area that applies to that object.
• Comment on area - click the  control and then hold the left mouse button and drag to define an area that the comment will apply to.
• Freehand comment - click the  control and then use the mouse to draw line shapes on the schematic. Hold the left mouse button and drag to create a freehand line, and then repeat as needed.

When a markup has been placed, a comment icon ( on a schematic,  on a PCB) will appear next to it in the view, along with a bounding rectangle, and a blank text window will open in the Comments pane, ready for your comment note. Type your comment, then click the  button beneath. The comment will be committed, appearing in the pane.

Hover over a comment icon to access a pop-up with information showing the original comment that started the thread. Click the icon to toggle selection of that comment in the pane, and display of the bounding rectangle in the view. On a schematic document, the active comment icon is red (), while a non-active comment icon is black (). On a PCB document, the comment icon is white (), irrespective of whether it is the active comment or not.

Comments applied in the Web Review interface become available in Altium Designer, and vice-versa, and all changes to comments are reflected in both spaces.

Working with Comments

The following points relate to working with comments and the interface's Comments pane:

• The Comments pane presents comment threads across all documents (schematic and PCB) in the design project. Comment threads are grouped by document.
• If you click on a comment that is not associated with the active document being viewed, the document on which that comment was made will automatically be opened, and made the active document in the view.
• The total number of unique comment threads currently presented in the Comments pane is reflected in the pane's header. Note that this will be the total of Unresolved comment threads if the option to Show resolved comments is disabled (accessed by clicking the  control at the top-right of the pane). If this option is enabled, then this will be the total of Unresolved + Resolved comment threads.
• The Comments pane will track the entire thread of a specific comment, whereas only the first comment in that thread is displayed in the view - hover the cursor over the comment icon to see this.
• The number of posts in a particular comment thread are reflected in the Comments pane, next to the  icon.
• Within a comment thread, the latest reply is always added to the bottom of that thread. Where multiple comment threads are present in a document, the latest thread is presented at the top of the pane.
• The active/selected comment on the Comments pane is highlighted. In the view, the markup that is the focus of the active/selected comment is zoomed and centered in the view (where applicable). For all comment types, a bounding box is placed around the comment markup.
• To reply to a comment, select that comment in the Comments pane and click the  control at the bottom. Type your text in the field provided, then click the  button to commit. To exit without replying, click the  button.
• A comment can be edited or deleted, through the Comments pane only, using the Edit and Remove commands respectively - with the comment selected, these are available from the menu associated to the  control. Note that these commands will only be available for a comment that you yourself have made - you cannot edit or remove a comment made by another user. If you edit an existing comment, make your changes then click the  button to commit. To exit without replying, click the  button.
• To resolve a comment select it, click the  control, and choose the Resolve command from the menu. The comment will be removed from the Comments pane and the main view.
• Resolved comments can still be displayed on the Comments pane. To do so, click the  control at the top-right of the pane, and enable the Show resolved comments option. All comments that have previously been resolved will be displayed on the pane - they will present in a grayed-out fashion, and listed below any unresolved comment threads for the corresponding document grouping.
• You also have the ability to resurrect comments that have been resolved. To do so, click the  control at the top-right of the pane, and ensure the Show resolved comments option is enabled. Select the comment you want to resurrect, click the  control, and choose the Unresolve command from the menu. The comment will be reinstated, both on the Comments pane and in the main view.

Reports

The Web Review interface provides the ability to view any ERC and DRC reports that have been generated for the design project from within Altium Designer. This is performed from the pane on the left-hand side of the interface. By default, this pane defaults to present in Navigator mode. To change to a reporting mode, click anywhere on the header of the pane and select ERC Reports or DRC Reports from the associated menu. Use the  control - at the top of the interface - to toggle display of the pane.

In a report mode the left-hand pane facilitates viewing of ERC and DRC
reports generated for the project through Altium Designer. Shown here
is an example ERC report. Hover over the image to see an example DRC report.

• ERC Reports - the pane will present the results from the last time the project was validated in Altium Designer, listing any violations detected. Violations are grouped by type, and the following color-coding is used:
  •  - Fatal Error
  •  - Error
  •  - Warning
  •  - No Report

Expand a type to see the individual violations. Hover over an entry to see the full violation as a tool tip. Expand further to see the individual offending primitives. Click on an entry to cross-probe to that object - the applicable document will be opened as the active document automatically where needed.

Example cross-probing to a violating object on the applicable schematic source document, in this case Net ESC_M1.

• DRC Reports - the pane will present the results from the last time a batch DRC was run for the PCB document in Altium Designer, listing any violations detected. Hover over an entry to see the full violation as a tool tip. Expand further to see the individual offending primitive(s). Click on a primitive entry to cross-probe to the offending object(s) zoomed and centered (where possible) within the document view. If the PCB document is not the currently active document, it will be made so automatically.

Example cross-probing to a violating object on the PCB document, in this case Net VCC3.

If the project/PCB contains a sizeable number of violations, use the Search feature (accessed by clicking the  control at the top-right of the left-hand pane) to quickly get to the required violation - the list will dynamically filter as you type.

Updating with New Data

When using the Web Review interface to inspect the documents of the latest source project (from the Design view), the data will update automatically whenever the project is committed back to the design repository in the Workspace (from within Altium Designer). Notification will appear within the interface shortly after the commital. Once the new data has been generated, click the  control to update the view with that latest data set.

If you make changes to the design within Altium Designer, then the Web Review interface will automatically detect and make the new data available to you open, once those changes have been committed back to the design repository in the Workspace.