New in Altium Designer

 

This page details the improvements included in the initial release of Altium Designer 24, as well as those added in subsequent updates. Along with delivering a range of improvements that develop and mature the existing technologies, each update also incorporates a large number of fixes and enhancements across the software based on feedback raised by customers through the AltiumLive Community's BugCrunch system, helping you continue to create cutting-edge electronics technology.

You can choose to continue with your current version, update your current version, or install Altium Designer 24 alongside your current version to access the latest features. Your current version can be updated from within the software in the Extensions and Updates view. If you prefer to install Altium Designer 24 alongside your current version, visit the Altium Downloads page to download the installer, then choose New Installation on the Installation Mode page of the installer.

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Altium Designer 24.9

Released: 11 September 2024 – Version 24.9.1 (build 31) 

Release Notes for Altium Designer

Schematic Capture Improvement

Empty Sub-parts Omitted during Placement

If a multi-part component has empty sub-parts in its alternate view mode, these sub-parts are now omitted during placement.

Javascript ID: MultiPart_Placement_AD24_9

An example of a schematic symbol of a dual op amp component. The normal mode represents the component in two sub-parts. An alternate mode represents the component as a single sub-part.

When placing the component in its alternate view mode, the empty sub-part B is not placed.

For more information, refer to the Searching for & Placing Components page.

PCB Design Improvement

Ability to Overlap Courtyard Outlines

It is now possible to place components close enough that their courtyard outlines exactly overlap. When the Check clearance by component boundary option is enabled, and the Minimum Horizontal Clearance value is set to 0 in the corresponding Component Clearance design rule, there will not be any violations of this rule when component courtyard outlines exactly overlap, as shown below.

When the selection bounding box of a component is defined by the courtyard layer tracks, the centerline of these tracks is used to define the bounding box (as selecting the component shows – ). Note that this is only the case when the shape defined on the courtyard layer is a closed shape, with the track end vertices being coincident (exactly touching). Otherwise, the bounding box is defined by the smallest rectangle that encloses all of the objects on the courtyard layer, and placing components so their courtyard outlines exactly overlap will result in a violation of the Component Clearance design rule.

For more information, refer to the Placement Rule Types page.

Constraint Manager Improvements

Ability to Apply Default Keepout Rule

The Apply zero Keepout clearance option has been added to the Clearances Settings region in the Clearance options and Physical options​​​​​ Properties panels. When this option is enabled, a default clearance rule is applied, with a gap of ‘0’, between a keep out and all other primitives in the design. Note that this rule is not visible on any of the Constraint Manager views and, therefore, cannot be modified. If disabled, the regular clearance matrix values will be followed.

For more information, refer to the Defining Design Requirements Using the Constraint Manager page.

Ability to Enable/Disable Basic Rules

You can now enable/disable basic rules defined in the Constraint Manager's All Rules view when accessed from the PCB. Double-click a cell in the Enabled column and toggle the state of a specific basic rule between True (enabled) and False (disabled). Cells corresponding to disabled basic rules are labeled (Disabled) and grayed out in the Physical and Electrical views.

For more information, refer to the Defining Design Requirements Using the Constraint Manager page.

Enhanced Representation of the Clearance Matrix in the All Rules View and ECO Dialog

Presentation of the Clearances Matrix on the All Rules view (when accessed from the PCB) has been improved, with all custom values now displayed as separate lines.

Javascript ID: CM_ClearanceMatrixRep_AD24_9

In the Clearance Matrix, there are specific rules between each net class and all nets.

On the All Rules view, these rules are displayed as separate lines.

In addition, the entries and level of detail presented in the Engineering Change Order dialog when passing changes made to the Clearances Matrix have also been improved. All rules included in the matrix are now listed, including information about the scope and affected layers, as well as changes in scopes (added/removed).

For more information, refer to the Defining Design Requirements Using the Constraint Manager page.

Configuring Constraint Sets for Different Layer Stacks

When accessing the Constraint Manager from the schematic and configuring constraints for different layer stacks (e.g., for different boards in the same project), constraint sets now remember which layer stack they were created in. For the currently chosen layer stack, it is no longer possible to assign or modify a constraint set that was created for a different layer stack. The message This Constraint Set was created for a different layer stack will appear in the Properties panel when this is the case.

In addition, a caution is provided when opening a project that has constraint sets saved for custom layer stacks in an older version of the software.

For more information, refer to the Defining Design Requirements Using the Constraint Manager page.

3D-MID Design Improvements

Added Net Color Override Feature

You can now override the color of specific nets in a 3D-MID document (*.PcbDoc3D). Use checkboxes for nets in the Nets mode of the PCB panel to enable and disable the Net Color Override feature for these nets.

Javascript ID: 3DMID_NetColorOverride_AD24_9

A 3D-MID document with the Net Color Override feature enabled for all nets.

A 3D-MID document with the Net Color Override feature disabled for all nets.

For more information, refer to the 3D-MID Design page.

Added Ability to Edit Tracks

Added the ability to edit a track by clicking and dragging.

  • Click and drag a track to add a new vertex.
  • Click and drag a vertex to move it.

For more information, refer to the 3D-MID Design page.

Harness Design Improvements

Project Releaser for Harness Designs (Open Beta)

This release introduces high-integrity harness design release management using the Project Releaser, a process long-enjoyed by those preparing their PCB design projects for manufacture.

The harness design release process is automated and repeatable. One-touch releasing enables you to release your design projects without the risks associated with manual release procedures. From taking a snapshot of the design files through validation and output generation, there is no interaction. If a part of the process fails, the release fails. You also get to review all generated data before finalizing the release.

The user interface to the Project Releaser is provided courtesy of a dedicated Release view. Access this view using the Project Releaser command, available from the main Project menu (with a source document for the project open as the active document) and the right-click context menu for the harness project's entry in the Projects panel.

Currently, releasing to a connected Altium 365 Workspace and local releases (offline) are supported.

This feature is in Open Beta and available when the HarnessDesign.ProjectReleaser option is enabled in the Advanced Settings dialog.

For more information, refer to the Design Project Release page.

Data Management Improvements

Ability to Change Project Parameters from a Workspace Template

When creating a new project using the Create Project dialog (File » New » Project), you can now change (names and/or values) or remove parameters sourced from the selected Workspace project template.

For more information, refer to the Creating Projects and Documents page.

Ability to Copy Workspace-side Project-level Parameters

From the Parameters tab of the Project Options dialog (Project » Project Options), you can now copy Workspace-side project parameters (those that appear with the  icon in the dialog). Right-click the parameter entry and select the Copy command from the context menu to copy the name and value of the parameter.

For more information, refer to the Accessing, Defining & Managing Project Options page.

Ability to Share Read-only Project Snapshots

This release brings back the ability to share a read-only snapshot of a Workspace project using the Share dialog, which has been hidden since Altium Designer 24.4.

For more information, refer to the Sharing a Design page.

Updated Message for Subscriptions of Perpetual Licenses

Text throughout the License Management UI has been updated to make it clear that subscription renewals are no longer available for perpetual licenses. After expiration, a perpetual license can still be used, but you will not have access to later updates for Altium Designer beyond that point (no new features/functionality), nor will you have access to cloud capabilities delivered through and by the Altium 365 platform.

For more information, refer to the License Management page.

Feature Made Fully Public in Altium Designer 24.9

The following feature is now officially Public with this release:

Altium Designer 24.8

Released: 21 August 2024 – Version 24.8.2 (build 39)

Release Notes for Altium Designer

Altium Designer 24.7

Released: 23 July 2024 – Version 24.7.2 (build 38)

Release Notes for Altium Designer

Altium Designer 24.6

Released: 18 June 2024 – Version 24.6.1 (build 21) 

Release Notes for Altium Designer 

Altium Designer 24.5

Released: 22 May 2024 – Version 24.5.2 (build 23) HotFix 1

Release Notes for Altium Designer 24.5.2

Altium Designer 24.4

Released: 16 April 2024 – Version 24.4.1 (build 13)

Release Notes for Altium Designer 24.4.1

Altium Designer 24.3

Released: 19 March 2024 – Version 24.3.1 (build 35)

Release Notes for Altium Designer 24.3.1

Altium Designer 24.2

Released: 15 February 2024 – Version 24.2.2 (build 26)

Release Notes for Altium Designer 24.2.2

Altium Designer 24.1

Released: 16 January 2024 – Version 24.1.2 (build 44)

Release Notes for Altium Designer 24.1.2 

Altium Designer 24.0

Released: 13 December 2023 – Version 24.0.1 (build 36) 

Release Notes for Altium Designer 24.0.1

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Note

The features available depend on your Altium product access level. Compare features included in the various levels of Altium Designer Software Subscription and functionality delivered through applications provided by the Altium 365 platform.

If you don’t see a discussed feature in your software, contact Altium Sales to find out more.

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