IntegratedLibrary_Cmd-AddRemoveLibrariesAddRemoveLibraries_AD

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to run the Available Libraries dialog, from where you can define the list of currently available libraries for the active project. The Available Libraries consist of Project Libraries, Installed Libraries, and libraries found along specified search paths.

Access

This command can be accessed in the following ways:

• From the PCB Editor, by choosing the Design » Add/Remove Library command from the main menus.
• From the Libraries panel, by right-clicking within the Components, Models, or Supplier Links regions (where populated) and choosing the Add or Remove Libraries command from the context menu.

Use

After launching the command, the Available Libraries dialog will appear. The dialog is essentially divided over the following three tabs, which together constitute the full list of available libraries for the current project:

• Project - this tab lists all of the Project Libraries; those libraries that have actually been added to the active project, and appear listed as constituent documents for the project in the Projects panel.
• Installed - this tab lists all of the Installed Libraries; those libraries that are available for all projects. This list is persistent across design sessions. Project libraries may be added to this list, but are not initially part of it. Supported library formats can be installed from file (on a local or network drive), or from an Altium Vault. In the latter case, you are simply creating a named collection of Vault folders, containing the Component Items that you wish to have access to through the Libraries panel.
• Search Path - this tab lists all libraries that have been found along the Library Search Paths defined for the project. These paths are defined on the Search Paths tab of the Options For Project dialog. Clicking the Paths button will take you directly to this tab, from where you can define further search paths, or modify existing ones as required.

Manage the libraries available through these three avenues as required, and click Close once done.

Tips

1. When the available libraries are interrogated as part of model-link verification and the required model is not tied to an integrated library, or a fully specified file, the search order is: Project Libraries > Installed Libraries > Search Path Libraries. In each case, libraries are searched in top-down order, with user-control over this order. The search stops when the first match for the model is found.
2. The only limit to the number of libraries that can be added to the Installed Libraries list, is the free memory on your computer.
3. Installed Libraries can be simply deactivated, rather than uninstalled. Bear in mind that the Libraries panel will only present those libraries in the list that are currently activated.