Configuring Schematic Designator Object Properties in Altium Designer

Parent page: Designator

Schematic Editor object properties are definable options that specify the visual style, content and behavior of the placed object.

The property settings for each type of object are defined in two different ways:

• Pre-placement settings – most Designator object properties, or those that can logically be pre-defined, are available as editable default settings on the Schematic - Defaults page of the Preferences dialog (accessed from the  button at the top-right of the workspace). Select the object in the Primitive List to reveal its options on the right.

• Post-placement settings – all Designator object properties are available for editing in the Properties panel when a Designator is selected in the workspace.

The Designator default settings in the Preferences dialog and the Designator mode of the Properties panel

Location (Properties panel only)

• (X/Y) 
  • X (first field) - the current X (horizontal) coordinate of the reference point of the object, relative to the current workspace origin. Edit to change the X position of the object. The value can be entered in either metric or imperial; include the units when entering a value whose units are not the current default. 
  • Y (second field) - The current Y (vertical) coordinate of the reference point of the object, relative to the current origin. Edit to change the Y position of the object. The value can be entered in either metric or imperial; include the units when entering a value whose units are not the current default. 
• Rotation - use the drop-down to select the rotation. Choices are: 0 Degrees, 90 Degrees, 180 Degrees, and 270 Degrees.

Properties

• Object (Properties panel only) - displays the associated object.
• Name - displays the name of the designator. 
• Value - displays the value opf the designator. Toggle the  ​to show/hide the value.
  • Autoposition - the default behavior of the designator is to auto-position it if a component is rotated during placement. Disable this option if this is not desired.
  • Lock Parameter - check to lock the parameter.
  • Allow Synchronization with Database - check to synchronize with the database.
• Font - use the controls to select the font, font size, font color, and add any desired special characteristics to the font, such as bold, italics, and underlines.
• Justification - click the arrows to configure the justification of the text or circle to center.  
• Override Library Primitive (Preferences dialog only) - enable this option to ensure comment values are no longer overidden.