Setting Up a Draftsman Document in Altium Designer

Draftsman creates and saves PCB drawing files in dedicated file format (*.PCBDwf).

Creating a New Draftsman Document

To create a new Draftsman document, use the File » New » Draftsman Document command from the main menus or right-click on the entry for the required project in the Projects panel and then choose the Add New to Project » Draftsman Document command from the context menu. The New Document dialog that opens allows you to select a predefined document template or the [Default] option that creates a blank A4 document.

Create a blank or template-based Draftsman document from a specified project and PCB.

For Workspace templates (listed under the entry of your connected Workspace in the format <TemplateName> (v.<Revision>)), the latest revision of each available template will be used. Click the  button to access the Data Management – Templates page of the Preferences dialog.

Along with the desired document template, a specific Project (when multiple projects are opened in Altium Designer) and PCB source Document found within the chosen project can be selected. The new document will be added to, and therefore draw data from, the nominated project, which will become the active project.

The dialog's Layers checkboxes determine which board layers (Signal/Plane, Mask, Paste, and/or Silk, as defined by the layer stack) are used to generate fabrication drawings in the document when a fabrication document template is used. Fabrication drawings will be created at one per sheet, where the Layer of the corresponding board fabrication view is set to All (for document template) in the selected template.

Keeping Draftsman in Sync with the PCB

Draftsman extracts design data directly from the copper, component, and mechanical layers in the PCB. When the PCB data has changed, you can refresh the data in Draftsman by right-clicking anywhere on the document and selecting Import Changes From <PCBDocumentName>.PcbDoc from the context menu or by selecting the Tools » Import Changes From <PCBDocumentName>.PcbDoc command from the main menus.

General Document Options

The settings for the overall Draftsman document (potentially composed of multiple sheets/pages – learn more) are defined under the General tab of the Properties panel when no object is selected in the design space. These settings determine the document’s source design data, graphic styling, drawing behavior, and applied units. Changes to the settings override the default property settings, which are defined by the applied document template.

Option	Description
General ()
Grid Size, Show Grid	Use these options to configure the document's grid. For more information, refer to the Configuring the Grid and Snapping Options section.
Snapping, Snapping Distance	Use these options to configure the snapping feature. For more information, refer to the Configuring the Grid and Snapping Options section.
Document Font	Set the base font style and any additional attributes used in document sheet(s). This defines the document-level font that is applied to drawing objects, such as the title of a board assembly view. You can override the document-level font for individual objects using the Properties panel for those objects.
Sheet Border	Set the zone border line and character color for the document sheet(s).
Sheet Color	Set the background color for the document sheet(s).
Variants Display, Pattern, Not Fitted Text, Not Fitted Font, Font Size (Min/Max)	Use these options to configure the display of components set as not fitted for the selected design variant on board assembly views. For more information, refer to the Board Assembly View page.
Source ()
PCB Document	Set the board design that is used as the data source for the Draftsman document. Use the drop-down menu to choose from the available PCB documents in the current project.
Variants	Use the drop-down menu to select a board design variation (variant) that will be used as the data source for the Draftsman document. For more information, refer to the Support for Design Variants section.
Scale	Set the size of newly placed full board views (such as board assembly view, board fabrication view, or drill drawing view) in the current document. To learn more about controlling the scale of a placed view, refer to the Working with Views page.
Line Styles ()
Dash Pattern	The line/spacing definitions for the dashed line options in units of 0.02mm (when in metric mode). For example, a pattern value of 20,10,20 defines a repeating 0.4 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm dash arrangement, with a cycle length of 1 mm (50 units). A custom dashed line option can be created using the  button and removed with the  button.
Line Thicknesses	The weight or thickness of the available line style options. Use the  button to restore the default values
Units ()
Units	Set the document's primary measurement unit type. You can quickly verify the active primary units from the Status Bar by looking at the entry for the coordinates at the left-hand end of the bar ().
Dual Units	Set the document's secondary (dual) measurement unit type. The additional dual units can enabled for a drawing object in its Properties panel.
Decimal Separator	Select the character to be used as the decimal separator from the drop-down menu.
Remove Leading Zero	Enable to automatically remove leading zero when using values less than "1". For example, "0.5" would display as ".5" with this option enabled. Dimensioning and Tolerancing, ASME Y14.5, specifies that for values less than 1, leading zeros should be omitted when using inch units.
Primary Units	Value Precision – set the standard measurement precision accuracy definition (up to five digits to the right of the decimal point, with the last digit rounded). Tolerance Precision – set the precision accuracy definition (up to five digits to the right of the decimal point, with the last digit rounded) for the standard measurement tolerance, where enabled.
Dual Units	Value Precision – set the dual unit measurement precision accuracy definition (up to five digits to the right of the decimal point, with the last digit rounded). Tolerance Precision – set the precision accuracy definition (up to five digits to the right of the decimal point, with the last digit rounded) for the dual unit measurement tolerance, where enabled.

Draftsman Document Parameters

The Parameters tab of the Properties panel, when no object is selected in the design space, presents a tabular list view of the parameters available in the current document. Project (including variant), system, PCB, and any added custom parameters are shown in the list.

Use the  and  buttons to create or delete your own custom parameters.

Use checkboxes at the bottom of the list to set the range of parameter entries shown in the list:  (project),  (system),  (PCB). The project, system, and PCB parameter entries are read-only, while any added custom parameters are editable and always included in the list. 

The following are the predefined system and PCB parameters.

Configuring the Grid and Snapping Options

Before placing objects in the Draftsman document, set the grids and configure snapping options to enable easier placement. Grid and snapping options are configured in the General tab's General region of the Properties panel when no object is selected in the design space.

In the design space, grid lines are shown as dotted lines, and each tenth grid line is rendered as a solid line. Set the measured distance between grid lines using the Grid Size field in the Properties panel when no object is selected in the document. Alternatively, the grid value can be set using the Snap Grid (1..1000) dialog () accessed by selecting the View » Set Grid Size command from the main menus (shortcut: G).

Use the Show_Grid option to control display grid lines in the document sheet(s).  Use the associated color button to specify the color of the grid in the design space.

Snapping is an aid when placing and moving objects on the sheets of a Draftsman document. The feature pulls a primitive to points or guides generated by existing objects or by the defined grid for the document. This allows you to quickly and easily align the various elements on the page(s) of your document. Snapping can be enabled/disabled using the Snapping option in the Properties panel or the View » Toggle Snapping command from the main menus (shortcut: Shift+E).

When the snapping feature is enabled, you can further configure it by individually enabling/disabling the options below.

Option	Description
Snap to Grid	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap (jump) to grid line intersections while the editor is in object placement mode. Note that snapping to the grid does not work when the grid is not displayed (i.e. when the Show_Grid option is disabled).
Snap to Vertices	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap to an angle corner (vertex) of an object while the editor is in object placement mode. A vertex is highlighted with an orange-colored dot when the preview cursor has snapped to it.
Snap to Boundaries	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap to an object perimeter line (or an extension of that edge) while the editor is in object placement mode. Object perimeter extensions are displayed as a fine dashed line.
Snap to Line centers	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap to the mid-point of an object perimeter line while the editor is in object placement mode. A line mid-point is highlighted with an orange-colored dot when the preview cursor has snapped to it.
Snap to Circle centers	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap to the radius center of a circle object while the editor is in object placement mode. A circle center point is highlighted with an orange-colored dot when the preview cursor has snapped to it.
Snap to component references	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap to component reference points.
Snap to Visible primitives	When enabled, the preview cursor will snap (as determined by the other snap options) to object primitives that are visible in the current view of the sheet. When disabled, the cursor will snap to all objects that are present on the sheet.

Use the Snapping Distance option to enter the distance at which the preview cursor will snap to elements specified as snap targets. Alternatively, use the drop-down to select a value relative to the current grid (e.g., 0.5x Snap Grid).

Configuring Document Sheets (Pages)

Draftsman documents are a multi-sheet format, which allows them to contain individual pages (sheets) that are assigned to particular types of board project production information.

Sheets can be added to and removed from the current document with the Add New Sheet and Remove Sheet commands of the Tools main menus or the design space right-click menu. A new sheet is inserted after the sheet on which the cursor is located when the command is run and will present in accordance with the Draftsman sheet template currently applied to the sheet immediately before it.

The settings for individual pages (sheets) in a Draftsman document can be defined under the Page Options tab of the Properties panel when no object is selected in the design space. These settings determine the page's base structure (size, margins, etc.).

Changes made to the page options properties can be applied to the current page or all pages in the document. Select the  button at the top of the Properties panel to apply changed property settings to the current sheet or the  button to apply changes to all document sheets. The number of the current page is displayed in and can be selected from the Current Page drop-down.

Using the Formatting and Size region of the panel, you can select how the page format is defined.

The options in the Margin and Zones region of the panel define the size of the sheet border graphics and its zone divisions.

Navigating a Draftsman Document Using the Bookmarks Panel

The Bookmarks panel offers a convenient way to navigate and manage multi-sheet Draftsman documents. The panel presents an expandable tree view of the complete document structure, similar to the Projects panel, and includes all document sheets and the primary view objects within those sheets.

Use the Bookmarks panel to navigate through the views on a multi-sheet Draftsman document.

The Bookmarks panel offers a structured tree view of the sheets and objects in a Draftsman document, where each sheet entry may be expanded and collapsed. Sheet entries in the tree are automatically named by Draftsman in descending order. The sub-contents of each sheet entry in the panel include the Draftsman view-type objects on that sheet but not secondary drawing objects such as dimensions, callouts, graphic shapes, etc.

The Bookmarks panel provides active navigation capabilities, where the sheet or drawing object selected in the tree is brought into focus in the design space. An object selected in the tree is also selected in the drawing view, which zooms to fit that object. The tree view navigation is bi-directional, therefore, its own selection will change in response to sheets or objects that have been selected in the design space.

Additional features for managing document sheets are included in the Bookmarks panel, such as the ability to add and remove sheets and change their positional order in the Draftsman document structure. The series of function buttons at the top of the panel are used to manage the view and structure of the document sheets:

• Set the style of document page view using the Single/Continuous buttons, where the  button sets the design space to show a single sheet at a time and the  button enables a continuous display mode that shows all sheets in a scrollable sequence.

• Click the  button to add a new document sheet after the currently selected sheet. The  button removes the currently selected sheet from the tree list, or if a drawing object is selected, removes that object from the sheet.

• Use the  and  buttons to move the currently selected sheet up or down one level in the tree list order. The sheet and its object contents will change position accordingly and the sheet is renamed to match its new position in the tree.

  The Bookmarks panel also supports drag-and-drop techniques for changing the sheet position order in a Draftsman document. Click, Hold&Drag a sheet entry to another location in the tree to move the sheet and its object contents to the new position. When completed, the sheets are automatically renamed in the tree to match their altered order position and the drawing view will update to display the new sheet order. ()

Further options are available using the right-click context menu for a sheet or object in the tree.

• Use the sheet right-click options to delete the selected sheet, add a new sheet to the document, or access its properties in the Properties panel, which will open if it is not already.

• Use the object right-click options to delete the selected object or access its properties in the Properties panel, which will open if it is not already.

Support for Design Variants

In Altium Designer, you can create variations of a board design (design variants) and pass this variant information on to Draftsman, which in turn allows a design variation to be applied to a placed drawing view. Parameters can be added to each variant. These parameters are typically applied as special (interpreted) strings in Altium Designer documents to indicate which variant is currently enabled.

In Draftsman, a project’s current variant selection on the document level is made using the Variants drop-down in the Properties region of the General tab of the Properties panel when no object is selected in the design space.

Placed board assembly view, board isometric view, and board realistic view will reflect the chosen variant. For a board assembly view, rendering of not fitted components applies according to configured document options (learn more). For a board isometric view or board realistic view, not fitted components are not shown in the view (). The current variant for a view can be selected in the Properties panel when the view is selected in the design space.

Special strings, such as the =VariantName and variant parameters, can be placed in the drawing as free strings.

For more information about text objects, refer to the Drawing Annotation page.