Searching for Components using the Explorer Panel in Altium Designer

Altium Designer's Explorer panel, in conjunction with your connected Workspace, caters for powerful searching functionality. You can either perform generic-level searching, or targeted searching through the use of saved search configurations. The latter allows you to search, with respect to your components, by a particular component type and also use ranged searching – a nice aspect of searching facilitated through unit-aware component parameter data types (supported through a referenced component template). Additionally, you can add a keyboard shortcut to your saved searches that allows you to quickly perform a search from wherever you are within the Explorer panel.

Prerequisites for Search

Related pages: Component, Component Template

To be able to fully appreciate and use all aspects of the Explorer panel's search facility when searching across your components, you need to meet the following requirements:

• Be running Altium Designer and ensure the Component Template Editor and Explorer extensions are installed as part of that installation.

  These extensions are installed by default when installing the software, but in case of inadvertent uninstall, can be found back on the Purchased tab of the Extensions & Updates page (click on the current user control (e.g. ) at the top-right of the design space and choose Extensions and Updates from the menu).
• Be using a Workspace to store your Workspace components.
• If you have not already created your components with referenced component templates – delivering the support for unit-aware component parameter data types – you will need to edit and re-save them to the Workspace. This can be achieved by:
  1. Editing a component, to access its definition in a temporary instance of the Component Editor.
  2. Creating and releasing a component template (CMPT) with:
     • Default revisions of the symbol and primary footprint (as already used for the component).
     • The Default Value for the ComponentType system parameter set accordingly (e.g. Resistors, if editing a generic resistor). A variety of predefined component types are available, with the ability to create new ones where needed.
     • Component parameters defined that match all component parameters currently defined for the component (in this way, the existing values will be kept, while not duplicating any parameters).
     • For relevant parameters (e.g. Value, Tolerance, Power, etc.), set the data type accordingly – thus making those parameters unit-aware. A number of unit-aware component parameter data types are supported.
  3. Assigning this component template to the component being edited – from the Template field under Advanced Settings, when using the Component Editor in its Single Component Editing mode, or from the Add » Templates sub-menu associated to the Required Models/Parameters region, when using the Component Editor in its Batch Component Editing mode.
  4. Tweaking the values of any parameters that are shown in red (i.e. value not valid, or marked as required, but not yet defined).
  5. Committing the component to the Workspace, into the next revision of the component.

Accessing the Search Facility

The interface for the search facility – the Search view – is accessed through the Explorer panel by clicking the Search tab at the bottom-left of the panel. The view is comprised of three key elements, as shown in the following image and detailed thereafter.

The Search view – a dedicated user interface within the Explorer panel.

1. Generic Search field – facilitating standard-type searching. Enter a search string and press Enter.
2. Saved Searches – facilitating targeted searches that can be saved for reuse. These types of searches can target components by their type and also cater for enhanced searches based on the values of unit-aware parameters.
3. Search Results.

Creating a Saved Search

To create a new saved search, right-click in the Saved Searches region and choose New from the context menu. The New Search dialog will appear, in which to define the search.

Creating a new saved search.

Use the dialog to configure a component search as follows:

• Give the search a meaningful name (e.g. Resistors).

  You will be prevented from adding a new search with the same name as that of an existing saved search.
• Define an optional keyboard shortcut for quick access to the search (populate the field by clicking inside it, then performing the required shortcut on the keyboard).

• Set the Content Type field to Component. The drop-down listing includes all supported content types for the Workspace (allowing other searches to be created based on other content types).

  
  Select Component in the Content Type field drop-down for searching by components in the Workspace.

• Use the Parameters region to configure search parameters as required. All parameters detected for the Component content type will be listed. For each parameter, the following three options can be defined:
  • Show Filter – enable to show a corresponding filter field for the parameter, above the search results region of the Search view. It is through such a field that you can fine-tune your searches, based on value criteria stipulated for that parameter.
  • Default Visibility – enable to have a column for the parameter presented by default in the search results region of the Search view. Columns for parametric data can be hidden, or made visible at any stage, directly from the view.

  • Default Value – use this field to constrain use of a parameter to a particular value, or range.

    To narrow the search to a specific type of component, ensure to enter its type into the Default Value field for the ComponentType parameter (e.g. Resistors). It is very important that the ComponentType has been specified for your components prior to saving to the Workspace. This is typically set in the referenced component template, but can manually be set in the Component Editor, while editing a component.
    Remember that in order to use range searches, parameters must be defined through an assigned component template and be unit-aware (of a specific data type).
    When defining a value, range is depicted using the hyphen character, for example 1kOhm-10kOhm, or 1k-10k. You can also use greater than (>) and less than (<). Greater than and less than are inclusive.

    
    Example defined search parameters.

• If you want any user of your Workspace to see and use your saved search, leave the Public option enabled. If you want the search private to only yourself, disable this option.

With the search defined as required, click the Add button. The search will be saved as an entry under Generic Search in the Saved Searches region of the view.

Applying a Saved Search

A saved search can be applied in the following ways:

• After clicking Add for a newly defined search, or Save after modifications to an existing search, the search will be automatically applied.
• Select the search in the Saved Searches region, then press Enter.
• Use the assigned shortcut to switch to the required saved search, then press Enter.
• Double-click on the entry for the saved search.

Filtering of components will be performed based on the defined search criteria, and the results presented in the corresponding results region. If any parameters have their option to Show Filter enabled, as part of the applied saved search, dedicated fields for those parameters will be available above the results list.

Example results after application of a defined saved search – Resistors. The search has four parameters that have their Show Filter option enabled, so fields for those parameters are presented as part of the search interface.

For those parameters whose filter fields are shown:

• If the parameter has a default value specified as part of the search, its field will initially be prefilled with that value, and that value will be applied when the search itself is applied.
• A new value (specific or ranged) can be specified for the parameter by direct entry in the field.

Make any adjustments as necessary and press Enter to apply the revised filtering.

Editing a Saved Search

To modify an existing saved search, select it in the Saved Searches region, right-click and choose Edit from the context menu. The Edit: [<SavedSearchName>] dialog will appear, from where to make any changes to the search as required.

Once changes have been made, click the Save button – the search will be applied in accordance with its new settings.

Deleting a Saved Search

To remove an existing saved search, select it in the Saved Searches region, right-click and choose Delete from the context menu. Click Yes in the subsequent confirmation dialog – the search will be removed from the listing of saved searches.