Placing Polygons on Signal Layers of Your PCB in Altium Designer

A Polygon Pour (brighter red) being used to create a large GND area on a board.

A polygon pour is a group design object that is made up of simpler primitive objects, either regions, or tracks and arcs. Polygon pours are used to create a solid or hatched (lattice) area on a PCB layer, using either Region objects or a combination of Track and Arc objects. Also referred to as copper pours, polygon pours are similar to a region except that they can fill irregularly shaped areas of a board as they automatically pour around existing objects, connecting only to objects on the same net as the polygon pour.

On a signal layer, you can place a solid polygon pour to define an area for carrying large power supply currents, or as a ground-connected area for providing electromagnetic shielding. Hatched polygon pours are commonly used for ground purposes in analog designs.

Availability

Polygon Pours can only be placed in the PCB Editor. You can place them directly or create them from selected primitives. To place a polygon, switch to the required layer then perform one of the following:

• Choose Place » Polygon Pour from the main menus.
• Click the Polygon Pour button () in the drop-down on the Active Bar located at the top of the design space. (Click and hold an Active Bar button to access other related commands. Once a command has been used, it will become the topmost item on that section of the Active Bar).
• Right-click in the design space then choose the Place » Polygon Pour command from the context menu.

Placement

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a cross-hair and you will enter polygon pour placement mode. 

1. Position the cursor then click or press Enter to place.
2. Continue placing further polygon pours or right-click or press Esc to exit placement mode.

Additional actions that can be performed during placement are:

• Press the Tab key to pause the placement and access the Polygon Pour mode of the Properties panel from where its properties can be changed on the fly. Click the pause button overlay ( ) to resume placement.

Placement Modes

• While placing a polygon there are five available corner modes, four of which also have corner direction sub-modes. During placement:
• Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the available corner modes.
• Press Spacebar to toggle between the two corner direction sub-modes.
• When in either of the arc corner modes, hold the , or . key to shrink or grow the arc. Hold the Shift key as you press to accelerate arc resizing.
• Press the 1 shortcut key to toggle between placing two edges per click or one edge per click. In the second mode, the dashed edge is referred to as the look-ahead segment (as shown in the last image in the set below).
• - click to delete the currently selected vertex entry. You will be prompted for confirmation before the deletion occurs.

Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the five available corner modes; press the 1 shortcut to toggle placement between two edges or one edge.

Defining a Polygon from Selected Objects

As well as interactively placing a polygon, they can also be created from a set of existing track and arc objects that define a closed shape. To define a polygon from an existing closed shape:

1. Select all primitives that form the closed shape
2. Click Tools » Convert » Create Polygon from Selected Primitives

The polygon will be created with its Fill Mode set to Outline. Note that the originally selected primitives are not removed and the new polygon is poured inside the selected objects. Double-click to repour the new polygon as solid or hatched. Note that the edge of the new polygon will lay along the centerline of the selected objects that were used to create it.

As the Create Polygon from Selected Objects algorithm uses the centerline of the selected objects, it requires that the end and start locations of touching objects are exactly co-incident (at the same location). If this is not the case, a Confirm dialog will appear, giving the location where the algorithm failed and also providing the opportunity to instruct the algorithm to attempt to define the polygon from the edges of the objects instead. As long as the selected objects overlap slightly, this option should create a polygon with the edge of the polygon tracing the outer edge of the selected objects.

Graphical Editing

The following sections describe a number of commands available to graphically modify a polygon.

Move Polygon Vertices

Polygons contain two types of points or "handles" with which to edit the shape of the polygon.

1. Full Handles - these filled handles are located at the corners of the polygon.
2. Empty Handles - these blank handles are located in the centers of the segments created by the Full Handles.

An existing polygon can be reshaped by moving these handles, or vertices, located at each corner or at the center of each edge.

To modify the polygon shape:

1. Click and select a polygon, which will highlight the vertices for the polygon and change the cursor to a crosshair.
   • Click, hold and drag a Full Handle to move that corner.
   • Click, hold and drag along an edge to move the entire edge.
   • Click, hold and drag an Empty Handle to move the whole side (for track and for arc).
   • Ctrl+Click on an Empty Handle to break that edge into two edges. Ctrl only needs to be held at the beginning of movement. The Shift+Spacebar hotkeys can then be used to cycle through modes (arc, miter, and any angle).

The top images show empty handle editing. In the bottom images, Ctrl has been clicked while grabbing the handle to move for editing.

2. If the 'any angle' placement mode creates unwanted vertices, click and hold on the vertex and drag the edge to reduce the vertices on that edge to one. To delete a vertex, click and hold on the vertex as if you were going to move it then press the Delete key.

3. When you have finished, right-click then select Polygon Actions » Repour Selected to repour the polygon in its new shape.

Modify Polygon Border

In addition to vertex editing, you also can use the Polygon Actions » Modify Polygon Border right-click command to easily change the shape of polygons. Once the command is launched, the cursor becomes a crosshair. Each time you click, a new vertex is added. As during polygon placement, the Shift+Spacebar shortcuts can be used to change corner shapes.

Rotate a Polygon

Click and hold to move an existing polygon. During movement, press the Spacebar to rotate the polygon pour counterclockwise or Shift+Spacebar for clockwise rotation. Rotation is in accordance with the value for the Rotation Step defined on the PCB Editor – General page of the Preferences dialog.

Polygon Pour Cutout

To create a cutout or hole inside a polygon, place a polygon pour cutout on top of the existing polygon. To do this:

1. Click Place » Polygon Pour Cutout.
2. The cursor will change to a crosshair, starting inside the boundary of the polygon. Click the Left Mouse button to define the starting location.
3. Move the cursor across the polygon. The cutout is actually a Region object with the Polygon Cutout option enabled. Press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the region corner modes.
4. Continue to click and move the mouse to define the cutout outline.
5. Right-click to exit polygon cutout placement mode.
6. The original polygon must now be repoured. Click on it to select it, then use the Tools » Polygon Pours » Repour Selected command from the main menus - it will pour around the new cutout.

Slice Polygon Pour

An existing polygon can be sliced into two smaller polygons. To do this:

1. Click Place » Slice Polygon Pour. 
2. The cursor will change to a crosshair, starting outside the boundary of the polygon. Click the Left Mouse button to define the starting location.
3. Move the cursor across the polygon. The slicing process uses the Line placement mode to define both the slice path and width. Press Tab to change the width; press Shift+Spacebar to cycle through the line placement corner modes.
4. Continue to click and move the mouse to define the slice path.
5. Once the slicing line has been placed across and out the other side of the polygon, right-click to terminate line placement.
6. Right-click a second time to terminate slicing. A Confirm dialog will appear asking if you want to split the polygon into two; click Yes to split it.
7. A second Confirm dialog will appear asking if you want to rebuild two polygons. Click Yes to rebuild the two new polygons.

Since these are now two independent polygons, each can be edited and repoured as required.

Combining Selected Polygon Pours

Two or more polygon pour objects can be combined by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Place new (or drag existing polygon pours) so that they are overlapping each other as required.
2. Select all polygon pours that are to be combined.
3. Right-click over one of the pours in the selection then choose the Polygon Actions » Combine Selected Polygons command from the context menu.

Subtracting Selected Polygon Pours

One or more polygon pour objects can be subtracted from another 'base' polygon pour by performing the following sequence of actions:

1. Place new, or drag existing polygon pours so that they are overlapping the required base polygon pour -  this is the pour from which to be 'subtracted'.
2. Select the base polygon pour, right-click then choose the Polygon Actions » Subtract Polygons From Selected command from the context menu.
3. Select the polygons to be subtracted.
4. Right-click or press Esc to complete the process.

Polygon Fill Modes

The polygon pour placement engine can construct polygons from either solid regions or from a combination of tracks and arcs. To help you decide which of these to use, consider the following:

• Region-based polygons result in far fewer objects being placed making for: smaller files; faster redraws, file opening, DRC and net connectivity analysis; and smaller output files since the region object is fully supported in Gerber and ODB++.
• Track/Arc-based polygons allow a hatched polygon to be created by setting the Track Width to be smaller than the Grid Size. Note that they can also be solid by setting the Track Width to be larger than the Grid Size.
• Outline Only polygons are simply Track/Arc polygons without the internal tracks and arcs.

The same Polygon poured using regions then poured using tracks/arcs.

Remove Islands Less Than

Remove any areas of copper that are less than the specified area. This option is area-based only; it does not consider if that island is connected to a pad or via. Note that all small unconnected areas of copper are always removed if the Remove Dead Copper option is enabled in the Properties panel.

Arc Approximation

In a region-based polygon, circular holes are approximated by a series of straight edges. Reducing this value will result in a larger number of straight edges being used to give a better approximation of an arc.

Remove Necks When Copper Width Less Than

Use this to remove narrow slithers of copper. Note that when this option has a larger value, there will be a greater number of tight locations where the polygon cannot pour. The value should not be smaller than the narrowest track width that the fabricator can support. As a guide, it can be set to be the same as the narrowest track width used on the board.

Net Options

• The Pour Over Same Net drop-down includes the following options to control the pouring behavior when objects on the same net are encountered:
  • Don't Pour Over Same Net Objects - pour the polygon in free space only.
  • Pour Over All Same Net Objects - pour the polygon in free space and also pour over any objects that belong to the same net (i.e. tracks, arcs, fills, regions, other polygons).
  • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only - pour the polygon in free space and also pour over existing polygons that belong to the same net, but not tracks, arcs, fills, and regions.

• Remove Dead Copper - if this option is enabled, any area of the polygon that does not include at least one connection to another net object (such as a pad or via) is automatically removed. Note that if your polygon does not enclose any pads on the assigned net, then it is all dead copper and will all be removed. In this situation, the outline of the polygon is still shown to indicate that a polygon exists in this location.
• Optimal Void Rotation -  enable this option to ensure that the polygon's edges are arranged to give the maximum neck width where a polygon passes between adjacent objects that belong to other nets.  Polygon arcs are replaced by short straight edges, whose lengths are determined by the Arc Approximation setting.

Hiding and Restoring Polygons (Shelving and Unshelving)

To perform design tasks within a polygon, such as repositioning a component or moving routing, the polygon can be Shelved. Shelving a polygon does not remove it from the design; it is simply hidden from display and the DRC and net connectivity analysis engines.

• To shelve a polygon, click Tools » Polygon Pours » Shelve xx Polygons.
• To restore a shelved polygon, click Tools » Polygon Pours » Restore xx Shelved Polygon(s).

Repouring Polygons

If you have changed the design within a polygon, once it has been restored it will need to be repoured to clear any violations created by the design changes. To repour polygons, click the appropriate Repour command Tools » Polygon Pours » Repour nn.

The Polygon Pour mode of the Properties panel

Actions

• Repour – click to repour a polygon. This feature is useful if you have changed the design within a polygon. Once it has been restored, it will need to be repoured to clear any violations created by the design changes.
• Shelve – click to shelve a polygon, which does not remove it from the design, but hides it from display, the DRC, and net connectivity analysis engines.
• Assign net – click to assign a net to the desired polygon. Once selected, the Net Name dialog will appear.
• Bring to front – click to change the pour order so that the selected polygon is in front of all other overlapping polygons (has the highest precedence).
• Send to back – click to change the pour order so that the selected polygon is behind all other overlapping polygons (has the lowest precedence).
• Modify – click to redefine the polygon's shape from the PCB document itself.

Properties

• Net – use to choose a net for the polygon. All nets for the active board design will be listed in the drop-down list. Select No Net to specify that the polygon is not connected to any net. The Net property of a primitive is used by the Design Rule Checker to determine if a PCB object is legally placed. Alternatively, you can click on the Assign Net icon () to choose an object in the design space - the net of that object will be assigned to selected polygon(s).
• Layer – use the drop-down to select the layer on which the polygon is placed.
• Name – specify a suitable name for the polygon. As well as helping identify each polygon, the name can be used to target a specific polygon (or family of polygons) in a design rule. By default, automatic polygon naming based on the layer and the net is applied to the polygon. Naming is based on the chosen naming scheme specified in the Polygon Naming Scheme field of the Board mode of the Properties panel. If you have entered a custom name and wish to revert to automatic naming, simply clear the field and press Enter.
  Clearing custom naming and reverting to use automatic naming can also be performed from the PCB List panel and the Polygon Pour Manager.
  Auto-assigned names are continually monitored and managed by the software. If an attribute changes, such as the net assignment or the position of the layer in the layer stack, the auto-assigned name is automatically updated. Affected design rules are also automatically updated.
• Area – the area that the given polygon encapsulates, listed in square millimeters.
• Fill Mode – choose the fill mode for the polygon pour. There are three modes available, each with its own advantages and options:
  • Solid (Copper Regions) - region-based polygons result in far fewer objects being placed, making for: smaller files, faster redraws, file opening, and DRC and net connectivity analysis, and smaller output files as the region object is fully supported in Gerber and ODB++. The preview image changes to present a graphical depiction of a solid polygon pour with the following associated options:
    • Remove Necks When Copper Width Less Than – specify a width value. Polygon pour copper with width is smaller than this value will be removed. Typically this is set to be no smaller than the smallest width track used in the design, or the smallest copper width supported by the fabricator.
    • Arc Approximation – specify the maximum deviation from a perfect arc (curved edges are created from multiple short, straight edges).
    • Remove Islands Less Than In Area – specify an area value. Any islands of polygons whose area is smaller than this value will be removed.
  • Hatched (Tracks/Arcs) - track/arc based polygons allow a hatched polygon to be created by setting the Track Width to be smaller than the Grid Size. Note that they can also be solid by setting the Track Width to be larger than the Grid Size. The preview image changes to present a graphical depiction of a hatched polygon pour with the following associated options:
    • Track Width – specify the width of track used to create the polygon.
    • Grid Size – specify the spacing, or grid, that the tracks are placed on for the hatched polygon.
    • Surround Pad With – specify the shape used to surround the pads: Arcs or Octagons.
    • Hatch mode – there are four modes available: 90 Degree, 45 Degree, Horizontal, or Vertical.
    • Min Prim Length – specify how short the track/arc objects in the fill mode are allowed to be.
    • Obey Polygon Cutout – enable this option if the hatched polygon should not encroach boundaries of a Polygon Cutout. When this option is disabled, the centerlines of the hatched polygon pour tracks will be placed along the boundaries of a Polygon Cutout.
  • None (Outlines) – outlines only polygons are simply track/arc polygons without the internal tracks and arcs. The preview image changes to present a graphical depiction of an outline only polygon pour, with the following associated options:
    • Track Width – specify the track width for polygon outline.
    • Surround Pad With – specify the shapes to surround the pads: Arcs or Octagons.
    • Min Prim Length – specify how short the track/arc objects in the fill mode are allowed to be.

• Pour Over Same Net – use the drop-down to control the pouring behavior when objects on the same net are encountered:
  • Don't Pour Over Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
  • Pour Over All Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour over all objects on the same net as the polygon that are within the polygon's area. For example, existing routes on that net will be completely covered by the polygon.
  • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only – select this option for the polygon to only pour over existing polygon objects on the same net as this polygon. The polygon will pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.

• Remove Dead Copper – enable this option to remove any isolated area of polygon copper that does not connect to the specified net. Note that a polygon that is not connected to a net is considered to be Dead Copper and it will be completely removed if this option is enabled.
• Optimal Void Rotation – enable this option to ensure that the polygon's edges are arranged to give the maximum neck width where a polygon passes between adjacent objects that belong to other nets. Polygon arcs are replaced by short straight edges, whose lengths are determined by the Arc Approximation setting.

Outline Vertices

Use this region to modify the individual vertices of the currently selected polygon pour object. You can modify the locations of existing vertices, add new vertices or remove them as required. Arc connections between vertex points can be defined and support is provided for exporting vertex information to and importing from a CSV-formatted file.

• Vertices Grid – lists all the vertex points currently defined for the polygon pour.
• Index – the assigned index of the vertex (non-editable).
• X – the X (horizontal) coordinate for the vertex. Click to edit.
• Y – the Y (vertical) coordinate for the vertex. Click to edit.
• Arc Angle (Neg=CW) – the angle of an arc that is drawn to connect this vertex point to the next. By default, connections are straight-line edges with this field remaining blank. Click to edit then enter an arc angle as required. Entry of a positive value will result in an arc drawn counterclockwise. To draw a clockwise arc, enter a negative value.
• Add – use to add a new vertex point. The new vertex will be added below the currently selected (highlighted) vertex entry and will initially have the same coordinates as the previously selected entry.
• – click to delete the currently selected vertex entry. You will be prompted for confirmation before the deletion occurs.

To export the entire grid contents to file in CSV format, right-click anywhere within the grid and choose the Export To CSV command. The Export Outline Vertices dialog will appear in which to determine where, and under what name, the file is saved. By default, the file will be named Outline Vertices.CSV. To import vertex information from a CSV file, right-click anywhere in the grid and choose the Import From CSV command. The Import Outline Vertices dialog will appear, with which to browse to and open the required CSV file. Note that importing will overwrite whatever is currently defined in the grid.

If any changes have been made – either manually, or through importing of data from a CSV file – the panel will flag that there are changes pending in a blue banner at the top of the Polygon Pour mode of the Properties panel, and prompt you to apply them.

View/Edit

This is a list of all existing polygons in the PCB document. The Pour Order list groups polygon outs by layer, which presents only those polygon pours on the same layer as the currently selected polygon pour (or first selected if multiple pours are selected across different layers). Click a column heading to sort by that column. Polygon names may be edited. Once named, they can be used to scope polygon rules or create queries. You may select one or more polygons in the grid (Ctrl+Click) then perform the grid functions described below.

Grid

• Name – specify a suitable name for the polygon. As well as helping identify each polygon, the name can be used to target a specific polygon (or family of polygons) in a design rule. By default, automatic polygon naming is applied to the polygon. Naming is based on the chosen naming scheme specified in the Polygon Naming Scheme field of the Board mode of the Properties panel. If you have entered a custom name and wish to revert to automatic naming, simply clear the field and press Enter.

  Clearing custom naming and reverting to use automatic naming can also be performed from the PCB List panel and the Properties panel (with the polygon pour selected in the design space).

  Also, for reverting multiple polygons to automatic naming from within the Polygon Pour Manager, you can select them in the grid using standard multi-select techniques (Ctrl+Click, Shift+Click), clear the Name field in the Properties section of the properties far-right region then click within another property field.

• Area – the area that the given polygon encapsulates, listed in square millimeters.
• Net – the assigned net.
• Shelved – enable to shelve the polygon.
• IsModified – shows if the polygon has been modified.
• Locked – toggle to lock/unlock the polygon.
• Ignore On-Line DRC Violations – enable to ignore violations.

Buttons

• Repour – use the sub-menus to select which polygon(s) to repour: Modified Polygons, Selected Polygons, Violating Polygons, or Force Repour All Polygons. The number listed in parentheses after the first three choices is the total number of polygons affected with that specific action.
• Shelving – use the sub-menus to select which polygon(s) to Shelve or Unshelve: All Polygons or Selected Polygons. To commit the action, click Apply or OK.

• Locking – use the sub-menus to select which polygon(s) to Lock or Unlock: All Polygons or Selected Polygons. To commit the action, click Apply or OK.

  If you try to graphically move or edit a locked polygon, you will be prompted with a warning message before proceeding.

• Violations – use the sub-menus to selectively Ignore Violations or Keep Violations of online DRC violations for All Polygons or Selected Polygons. To commit the action, click Apply or OK.

  Do not forget to check and resolve the violations of all polygons before submitting the PCB for manufacturing.
• New Clearance Rule – click to open the Edit PCB Rule dialog to create a clearance rule with a new query for the selected polygons. This rule specifies the minimum clearance between any two primitives on a copper layer.
• New Connect Style Rule – click to open the Edit PCB Rule dialog to create a polygon connection style rule with a new query for the selected polygons. This rule specifies the style of the connection from a component pin to a polygon plane.
• New Polygon Class – click to create a polygon class for the selected polygons. You will be required to provide a name for the new polygon class in the Object Class Name dialog. An object class is a set of objects treated as a group used by the design rules for example.
• New Polygon from – click to create a new polygon then choose:

  • Selected Polygon – click to create a new polygon in which the settings are cloned from the selected polygon by default. The new polygon pour is automatically added to the list of existing pours in the View/Edit and Pour Order region of the Polygon Pour Manager dialog.

    To see the preview of the new selected polygon pour, you will need to first click the Apply button, which commits and adds the cloned polygon to the board.

  • Board Outline – click to create a new polygon from the board outline. The new polygon pour is automatically added to the list of existing pours in the View/Edit and Pour Order region of the Polygon Pour Manager dialog.

    To see the preview of the new board outline-based polygon pour, you will need to first click the Apply button, which commits and adds the polygon to the board.

  The new polygon is inserted into the repour order according to the following logic:

  Source Polygon	Other Polygon	New Polygon
  Same layer	Same layer	Below Both
  Same layer	Different layer	Below Source
  Different layer	Same layer	Above Source
  Different layer	Different layer	Above Source

Pour Order

This region lists the order in which polygons will be poured. The preview image to the right shows a graphical representation of the polygon pours.

• Move Up – click to move the selected polygon up in the repour order list. The higher the polygon is in the list, the earlier it gets re-poured relative to other polygons lower in the list.
• Move Down – click to move the selected polygon down in the repour order list. The lower the polygon is in the list, the later it gets re-poured relative to other polygons higher in the list.
• Auto Generate – click to have the system determine the pour order of polygons from smallest to largest. You can then use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to fine-tune the pour order if required.
• Animate Pour Order – click to preview the order of polygon pours in the graphical representation of the PCB in the preview area.

Polygon Pour Properties

The far-right region presents the properties of the selected Polygon Pour. The properties can be edited directly in the Polygon Pour Manager dialog, or they can be edited in the Properties panel.

Net Information

• Net Name – the name of the assigned net.
• Net Class – the assigned net class.

Properties

• Net – lists the net of the chosen polygon. Use the drop-down to change the net to another on the list.
• Layer – use the drop-down to select the layer on which the polygon is placed.
• Name – specify a suitable name for the polygon. As well as helping identify each polygon, the name can be used to target a specific polygon (or family of polygons) in a design rule.
• Area – the area that the given polygon encapsulates, listed in square millimeters.
• Fill Mode – choose the fill mode for the polygon pour. There are three modes available, each with its own advantages and options:
  • Solid (Copper Regions) – region-based polygons result in far fewer objects being placed making for: smaller files, faster redraws, file opening, and DRC and net connectivity analysis, and smaller output files as the region object is fully supported in Gerber and ODB++. The preview image changes to present a graphical depiction of a solid polygon pour with the following associated options:
    • Remove Islands Less Than In Area – specify an area value. Any islands of polygons whose area is smaller than this value will be removed.
    • Arc Approx. – specify the maximum deviation from a perfect arc (curved edges are created from multiple short, straight edges).
    • Remove Necks Less Than – specify a width value. Polygon pour copper with width is smaller than this value will be removed. Typically this is set to be no smaller than the smallest width track used in the design, or the smallest copper width supported by the fabricator.
    • Pour Over All Same Net Objects – use the drop-down to select other kinds of objects in the same net to also pour over:
      • Don't Pour Over Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
      • Pour Over All Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour over all objects on the same net as the polygon that are within the polygon's area. For example, existing routes on that net will be completely covered by the polygon.
      • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only – select this option for the polygon to only pour over existing polygon objects on the same net as this polygon. The polygon will pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
    • Remove Dead Copper – enable this option to remove any isolated area of polygon copper that does not connect to the specified net. Note that a polygon that is not connected to a net is considered to be Dead Copper and it will be completely removed if this option is enabled.
    • Optimal Void Rotation – enable this option to ensure that the polygon's edges are arranged to give the maximum neck width where a polygon passes between adjacent objects that belong to other nets. Polygon arcs are replaced by short straight edges, whose lengths are determined by the Arc Approximation setting.
  • Hatched (Tracks/Arcs) – track/arc-based polygons allow a hatched polygon to be created by setting the Track Width to be smaller than the Grid Size. Note that they can also be solid by setting the Track Width to be larger than the Grid Size. The preview image changes to present a graphical depiction of a hatched polygon pour with the following associated options:
    • Track Width – specify the width of track used to create the polygon.
    • Grid Size – specify the spacing, or grid, that the tracks are placed on for the hatched polygon.
    • Surround Pad With – specify the shape used to surround the pads: Arcs or Octagons.
    • Hatch mode – there are four modes available: 90 Degree, 45 Degree, Horizontal, or Vertical.
    • Min Prim Length – specify how short the track/arc objects in the fill mode are allowed to be.
    • Obey Polygon Cutout – enable this option if the hatched polygon should not encroach boundaries of a Polygon Cutout. When this option is disabled, the centerlines of the hatched polygon pour tracks will be placed along the boundaries of a Polygon Cutout.
    • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only – use the drop-down to select which other kinds of objects in the same net to also pour over:
      • Don't Pour Over Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
      • Pour Over All Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour over all objects on the same net as the polygon that are within the polygon's area. For example, existing routes on that net will be completely covered by the polygon.
      • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only – select this option for the polygon to only pour over existing polygon objects on the same net as this polygon. The polygon will pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
    • Remove Dead Copper – enable this option to remove any isolated area of polygon copper that does not connect to the specified net. Note that a polygon that is not connected to a net is considered to be Dead Copper and it will be completely removed if this option is enabled.
    • Optimal Void Rotation – enable this option to ensure that the polygon's edges are arranged to give the maximum neck width where a polygon passes between adjacent objects that belong to other nets. Polygon arcs are replaced by short straight edges, whose lengths are determined by the Arc Approximation setting.
  • None (Outlines) – outlines only polygons are simply track/arc polygons without the internal tracks and arcs. The preview image changes to present a graphical depiction of an outline only polygon pour, with the following associated options:
    • Track Width – specify the track width for the polygon outline.
    • Surround Pads With – specify the shapes to surround the pads: Arcs or Octagons.
    • Min Prim Length – specify how short the track/arc objects in the fill mode are allowed to be.
    • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only – use the drop-down to select which other kinds of objects in the same net to also pour over:
      • Don't Pour Over Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
      • Pour Over All Same Net Objects – select this option for the polygon to pour over all objects on the same net as the polygon that are within the polygon's area. For example, existing routes on that net will be completely covered by the polygon.
      • Pour Over Same Net Polygons Only – select this option for the polygon to only pour over existing polygon objects on the same net as this polygon. The polygon will pour around all other objects regardless of the net to which they belong.
    • Remove Dead Copper – enable this option to remove any isolated area of polygon copper that does not connect to the specified net. Note that a polygon that is not connected to a net is considered to be Dead Copper and it will be completely removed if this option is enabled.
    • Optimal Void Rotation – enable this option to ensure that the polygon's edges are arranged to give the maximum neck width where a polygon passes between adjacent objects that belong to other nets. Polygon arcs are replaced by short straight edges, whose lengths are determined by the Arc Approximation setting.

Outline Vertices

Use this region to modify the individual vertices of the currently selected polygon pour object. You can modify the locations of existing vertices, add new vertices or remove them as required. Arc connections between vertex points can be defined and support is provided for exporting vertex information to and importing from a CSV-formatted file.

• Grid – lists all the vertex points currently defined for the polygon pour.
• Index – the assigned index of the vertex (non-editable).
• X – the X (horizontal) coordinate for the vertex. Click to edit.
• Y – the Y (vertical) coordinate for the vertex. Click to edit.
• Arc Angle (Neg=CW) – the angle of an arc that is drawn to connect this vertex point to the next. By default, connections are straight-line edges with this field remaining blank. Click to edit then enter an arc angle as required. The entry of a positive value will result in an arc drawn counterclockwise. To draw a clockwise arc, enter a negative value.
• Add – use to add a new vertex point. The new vertex will be added below the currently selected (highlighted) vertex entry and will initially have the same coordinates as the previously selected entry.
•  – click to delete the currently selected vertex entry. You will be prompted for confirmation before the deletion occurs.