Browsing the Active PCB Design using the PCB Panel in Altium Designer

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Modes of the PCB panel

Summary

The PCB panel allows you to browse the current PCB design using a range of filter modes to determine which object types or design elements are listed, highlighted or selected. The panel also has editing modes for specific object types or design elements that provide dedicated controls for editing procedures. You also can access the properties for any element listed in the panel.

Panel Access

When the PCB editor is active, click the Panels button at the bottom-right corner of the design space then select PCB from the menu. Alternatively, you can access the panel through the View » Panels » PCB command from the main menus.

Panel Modes

The PCB panel's functionality can change, depending on which mode is used. The different panel modes can be accessed and selected by clicking on the drop-down at the top of the panel.

The various panel mode options available.

• Nets – used to browse and edit nets. Refer to the Browsing Nets section of the Understanding Connectivity on Your PCB page to learn more.
• xSignals – used to manage xSignals in the PCB. Refer to the Managing xSignals page to learn more.
• Components – used to browse and manage components. Refer to the Browsing Components section of the Component Placement page to learn more.
• From-To Editor – used to add and remove user-defined From-Tos. Refer to the Applying a Custom Topology section of the Understanding Connectivity on Your PCB page to learn more.
• Split Plane Editor – used to view and manage split planes. Refer to the Reviewing and Editing Split Planes section of the Internal Power & Split Planes page to learn more.
• Differential Pairs Editor – used to create and edit differential pairs. Refer to the Viewing and Managing Differential Pairs on the PCB section of the Differential Pair Routing page to learn more.
• Polygons – used to browse and manage polygons. Refer to the Browsing Polygons section of the Polygons on Signal Layers page to learn more.
• Hole Size Editor – used to browse and manage holes of pad and via objects. Refer to the Browsing Pad and Via Holes section of the Working with Pads & Vias page to learn more.
• 3D Models – used to browse and manage 3D models. Refer to the Browsing 3D Bodies section of the Additional Tools for Working with 3D Bodies page to learn more.
• Structure Classes – used to browse and manage structure classes. Refer to the Browsing the Class Structure Hierarchy section of the Working with Classes on a Schematic & PCB page to learn more.
• Layer Stack Regions – used to configure Layer Stack Regions for both rigid and flex designs. Refer to the Browsing Layer Stack Regions and Bending Lines section of the Designing a Rigid-Flex PCB page to learn more.
• Unions – used to browse and manage Unions and the primitives contained within Unions. Refer to the Managing Unions section of the Working with Unions page to learn more.
• Pad & Via Templates – used to browse and manage Pad & Via Templates. Refer to the Locating a Pad or Via in the PCB Design Space section of the Working with Pad Via Templates page to learn more.

Setting the Visual Filtering

The visual result of the applied filtering on the document in the design editor window is determined by a series of highlighting controls toward the top of the panel. The effect that is imposed in the editor view can be set to Normal, Mask or Dim; in practice, Mask has the most obvious highlighting effect. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy design space, and can also be used in the PCB Rules and Violations panel and the PCB Filter panel.

The Normal/Mask/Dim drop-down list provides options for visibly contrasting filtered and unfiltered objects within the design editor window.

Select the type of visual filtering applied using the masking mode drop-down list.

The visual highlighting effect for each masking mode:

• Normal - filtered objects are visible in the design space and the appearance of unfiltered objects remains unchanged.
• Mask - filtered objects are highlighted in the design space with all other objects made monochrome.
• Dim - filtered objects are highlighted in the design space with all other objects retaining their colors but shaded.

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by the Dim and Mask slider controls, which are in the Mask and Dim Settings section of the View Options tab of the View Configuration panel - learn more.

Filter Options

The panel's three checkboxes apply these filter actions:

• Select - when enabled, the filtered objects will be selected in the design space.
• Zoom - when enabled (default), the filtered objects will be zoomed and centered (where possible) in the design editor window. Use the Zoom Level button to adjust the zoom factor that will be used to close-in on filtered objects.
• Clear Existing - when enabled (default), any existing filter will be cleared before applying a new one. Disabling this option allows you to extend an existing filter, essentially refining the filter further by applying a new filter in addition to the existing one.

Any combination of these options can be enabled. For example, you might want to have all filtered objects zoomed, centered and selected in the design editor window while applying masking to take away the clutter of other design objects.

Click the Clear button to disable the currently-applied filter. All objects in the design space will become fully visible and available for selection/editing. If you want to reapply the filter, click the Apply button.

Panel Mini-viewer

The bottom section of the PCB panel provides a mini-viewer for the current document with an image of the PCB board central to its window. A white viewing box is imposed on the image to show the area currently displayed in the design editor window. As the editor display automatically pans and zooms in response to the PCB panel filter selections, the box moves and expands accordingly to indicate the board viewing area.

As you manually pan around the document in the design editor window - using the editor's horizontal and vertical scroll bars or the right-click panning hand - the viewing box in the panel will also move accordingly. Conversely, if you click inside the viewing box and drag it around the board image, the document in the design editor window will pan accordingly and at the current zoom level.

As you zoom in or out in the design editor window, the viewing box will be resized accordingly in the panel. Conversely, resizing the viewing box in the panel by clicking and dragging on any of its vertices will cause the zoom level to change in the design editor window. The smaller the size of the viewing box, the more the actual document has been zoomed-in.