Thursday, March 8, 2018

Port Cross References

My Preferred Port Cross References












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DXP Preferences














Sheet Style > Number
Location  Style > Zone

That's it !


Wednesday, February 28, 2018

NETS - Show Connections

To display Nets for selected Components

Click on image to view


















Watch the Video: 















Vote for Idea: #9095: AD18 - Show Selected Components Nets

Tip: View > Connections > Show . . .

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Via-in-Pad Design Considerations

Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Via-in-Pad Design Considerations for Bottom Terminated Components on PCB Assemblies:

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'via Blog this'

AD18 Project Outputs

Project Options - Point the Output Path to the Project Folder







Example: Project Outputs for 510-0105-xx_Rhino2

Add Section













Select Options


















Check Custom Docs - Old Style . . . 


























Check Include Custom Data  - Project Outputs and Rename to Project Outputs




Save Project File and Commit to SVN if the Project is under Version Control (SVN)






















Select Prepare


















And Wait for it . . . 

Monday, November 27, 2017

Using Database Libraries with 32-bit and 64-bit Altium

Related Link:  Parts for Altium

Using Database Libraries with 32-bit and 64-bit Altium Design Software on the same Computer | Online Documentation for Altium Products

In the above link Altium offers 3 possible solutions to connect 32bit and 64bit versions of Altium to Microsoft Excel and Access.


Solutions:


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Note:


Altium Solution 1 (Install 64bit Office) applies to only AD18. You can not ping-pong between AD17 and AD18 if you install a 64bit version of MS Office.


Solution 1 does not apply to AD17, because AD17 is a 32bit application.

To support both AD17 and AD18 you need to use a 32bit version of MS Office and a 64bit Access Database Engine.


Altium Solution #2 for 32-bit Office 2007,2010,2013 or 2016 

Install 64-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine (2010)

then, 

Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe from a Windows search) and browse to the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common\FilesPaths

Delete or rename the mso.dll registry entry.

Source Altium: 

Procedure for Installing 64-bit MS Access Database Drivers alongside 32-bit MS Office


Altium Solution #3 for Office 2007


The procedure to install the 64-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine (2010) first, followed by the 32-bit version (2007) of Microsoft Office, is as follows:
  1. Uninstall all 32-bit Office installations (including language packs and so on). If you have installed the 32-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010, or 2016, you must uninstall this too.
  2. Install the 64-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010.
  3. Reboot your computer.
  4. Test if your 64-bit Altium Design Software works with Database Libraries.
  5. Install the 32-bit version of Microsoft Office (2007).
  6. Reboot your computer.
  7. Test if your 32-bit Altium Design Software works with Database Libraries.

My Solution for Office 2007 and AD17 / AD18 DBLib Access databases.


I used a variation of the Altium Solution #3 for Office 2007.


I had trouble completing the uninstall for Office 2007.  I used a Microsoft easy fix tool to completely uninstall Office 2007 and clean up the machine's registry.


Look for the Option 2 Download at:  Uninstall Office from a PC 










I chose to: Download Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable ...

After installing the 2016 Access Database Engine 64bit, I installed Office 2007.


Office 2007 is available only as a 32bit application. 64bit versions of Office started in 2010.

Now both AD17 (32bit) and AD18 (64bit) are able to connect to the same Access database.


Click on image to view















Related Links: 

Receiving the error message "We can't install the 64-bit version of office because we found the following 32-bit programs on your PC:"