Altium Designer 16 Libraries WTF

[EEVblog]

Clarification regarding the documentation - The documentation is actually okay but finding what you are looking for is a pain in the derriere.

Yep, agreed.

[julianhigginson]

I'm doing the same thing. PCBlib, SCHlib, glued together with an excel table, edited in excel, and a DBlib. Oddball, one-off components just SCHlib and PCBlib, in the project folder.
I dont think this is the correct way of doing it. I need a third party software like Excel, because Altium does not provide the right tool?

It's OK - You need excel installed to be able to have BOM templates, anyway.
 

(Note that if you don't use BOM templates, and just want the spreadsheet parts database, you *can* use libre office. so no need to actually buy any extra software. Just a need to install and use freeware)

I think the issue is that really for a database driven system (which this feature is really about - excel spreadsheet is just a simple way to have an easily dealt with portable "database" on disk in your dev machine) And you do need a way to properly manage and maintain a database - for a start, database allows any kind of data to be stored, in whatever order you organise it - all defined by your manifest.. so it'd be hard for them to write a tool that let you properly manage the database for an arbitrary manifest... or write your own manifest to create a new database in the first place... and what about big data imports and exports to/from other business systems? Also, if Altium was your only access method to a database, then stuff goes wrong, how do you rescue it? By forcing you to be responsible for the database, I think they do you a massive favour in the long run.

[julianhigginson]

So how does Vault work when you drop your subscription, I assume you can still use placed parts but can't update or access new parts anymore?
If that is the case, Altium likely did this in part to cripple pirated versions and encourage subscription.

Someone has posted a torrent here where they uploaded all the old intlib's, I think it was here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/altium/altium-designer-14-3-13-unified-library/

Vault is licensed the same way as Altium Designer (and the same way as the new CST PDN plugin)

1) you pay a license fee upfront to buy a perpetual licence that you can install and use forever.
2) Altium require you to maintain a subscription on that license in perpetuity if you want to get updates ongoing. (they used to sell major version upgrades to perpetual licenses before this)

So if you stop paying vault license fees you are stuck with whatever was the latest version of the vault at the time your license expired.

if you have multiple licenses that you need to use (ie, a team) Then you're limited to updates to vault software by the date of the subscription that expired first.

[carljrb]

The documentation is actually okay but finding what you are looking for is a pain in the derriere.

True enough. Lots of times it's easier to find the information elsewhere by googling it.

Then again, they'd like you to pay for their expensive training services (a few thousand dollars for 4 days). There's other options (Robert Ferranec's videos for instance) but no matter what you pick it just won't cover everything, and there's always gonna be some new features to keep up with.

Sometimes you'll manage to find tips elsewhere (like ninedot connect's videos) but I wish Altium would make these redundant. They haven't posted a single video in the community video library since 2014. It wouldn't be too hard to post a few quick how-to's for their new features on there... Their blog also has very little content. Webinars are a pain to watch and seem mainly like a sales pitch instead of training.

I far prefer to just use plain PcbLibs+SchLibs as-is, without Vault or DbLibs (only seems to complicate things, without actually being useful in any way)

[DerekG]

So if you stop paying vault license fees you are stuck with whatever was the latest version of the vault at the time your license expired.

I thought you actually lost access to the vault full stop!

I started out with SmARTwork in 1988 the moved across to Protel in 1990 (in the days when Nick Martin told me in Adelaide that "the software is so good we don't need to supply a demo version for people to try"). I upgraded a number of times until several years ago when I decided to bite the bullet & move over to DipTrace (& Proteus as a contract engineer).

I just got so sick of all this so called Altium "integrated" stuff that caused me so many headaches.

Yes, Altium is very powerful & yes, with Altium you can do almost anything you want when designing a PCB.

But, I can move from the schematic to the PCB in DipTrace smoothly without any "hassles" which makes DipTrace a more productive package for me.

A group of us have been working with DipTrace to implement lots of shortcut keys in a similar fashion to Altium.

We have also been working hard on the libraries, which got implemented in Ver 3.0

Instead of going down the path of providing the multitude of manufacturers parts (ie via part number from On Semi, Microchip etc), we have gone down the path of simply searching for the generic footprint name (ie TO220, SOT23, SOIC8 etc). If there is an odd ball footprint, just choose a standard part that is close, make the modifications to it in 2 minutes flat, then save it.

Yes, I still use Altium when upgrading legacy boards, but I often cringe when something that should be simple turns out not to be.

In the Protel days most of the menus where logical & self explanatory. Unfortunately with Altium, this is often no longer the case.

[Randy_Clemmons]

Take a look at Parts for Altium, this is a free turnkey DBLib library.

http://pcbparts.blogspot.com/p/downloads.html

You can us this free Access database library as a starting point to to create you own DBLib library.  This is an Access database, however you do not need to purchase Access to use an Access database with Altium.

Also, there is an optional (not required) Frontend application that is reasonably priced that greatly simplifies DBLib library maintenance.

The Frontend supports drag and drop from Digi-key and Mouser.  No typing required to create parts !

Regarding the optional Frontend app.

If you don't have Access installed and you wish to take the Parts Frontend for a test drive, you can download a free Access runtime.

See: http://pcbparts.blogspot.com/2015/01/parts-getting-started.html

best regards
Randy

[julianhigginson]

So if you stop paying vault license fees you are stuck with whatever was the latest version of the vault at the time your license expired.

I thought you actually lost access to the vault full stop!

I think that was the original vault (the one that was all hosted in the cloud during that period when when Altium was based in China, and the userbase collectively lost their minds over the idea of their precious IP all being stored on a server in Beijing...) 

So yeah - The first version of the vault could only be subscribed to as a service (you can still get components managed by altium off a similar vault now!) and so when you lost your subscription I assume you lost access to the vault.

Now when you buy Altium vault, you have an installer that you can put it on your own server, which you need to maintain yourself, and you have your own vault instance, with whatever version you're subscribed to... so while it's got the same name and does mostly the same things, it's a very different product.

[julianhigginson]

Take a look at Parts for Altium, this is a free turnkey DBLib library.

http://pcbparts.blogspot.com/p/downloads.html

You can us this free Access database library as a starting point to to create you own DBLib library.  This is an Access database, however you do not need to purchase Access to use an Access database with Altium.

Nice to see a simple example dblib project available, and at that price for the frontend it would make sense for many people to just adopt this rather than roll their own system in many cases.

One thing I'm a little curious about is the access database approach... to me, Access seems, well, a bit niche and a bit dependent on microsoft. SQL database, to me, seems more like something that is appropriate for ongoing use. Even if it needs a server, and can't run off a drive or network drive.... have you considered doing the same thing with a SQL database?

[EEVblog]

I think that was the original vault (the one that was all hosted in the cloud during that period when when Altium was based in China, and the userbase collectively lost their minds over the idea of their precious IP all being stored on a server in Beijing...) 

There was a huge outcry during that period. All the big US defence contractor Altium users were going to ditch it if they didn't back peddle. Altium back peddled 

[julianhigginson]

There was a huge outcry during that period. All the big US defence contractor Altium users were going to ditch it if they didn't back peddle. Altium back peddled 

To be fair, it was never a requirement to use the vault. They only ever offered it as a paid add-on. And I get the impression that very very few people paid to add that particular version of it on.

Now I think back to that time, I remember there were people on the Altium forum who were doing US defence work that were freaking out badly enough just over the move to China "I CAN'T DESIGN TOP SECRET PROJECTS FOR THE US GOVT USING SOFTWARE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE IN CHINA!!!" At the time I remember thinking - if the chinese govt want to hack your computer and steal your data, they don't need your EDA software to be written in china... also, maybe, if you don't want to be hacked, it's probably best not to advertise yourself as someone doing top secret military design work....

[Kelbit]

One useful library feature for Altium is actually somewhat hidden, it's the IPC compliant footprint wizard, accessible from the tools menu when a PCBLib is open:





This is *way* better than the default wizard you get when you do right click -> component wizard. It supports way more package types, and actually follows the IPC design rules for footprints (you can even specify board density and it'll add or remove copper as applicable). As of AD16 it also can generate realistic looking 3D models for your parts (not just an extruded box). It's improved my workflow significantly - I don't go looking for footprints anymore, I just create them.

Of course, this feature is rarely mentioned in Altium promotional materials because it's not a value-add for them since it's part of the base price, so some people aren't even aware it exists.

[free_electron]

I've found the Altium component vault quite nice, but I do admit that it's tricky to find where to add the "Altium Content" vault.

Also, I don't know how to copy the vault items into my libraries, so I can't edit footprints (for example). There's probably a way....

To configure the standard vault, you must first sign up for an Altium account. Then, go to the "Vault Administration" preferences pane, and click "Add Altium Content Vault". The address is "http://vault.live.altium.com". It won't ask for a server name, but it will demand that Altium has already been signed into an Altium account.

After that, you can search the vault, and drag items from the vault onto schematics.

See attached photos.

THIS.. By default vault is turned off. go to vault manager click on 'add altium vault'
and the rest is all automatic.

if you have your own vault : same thing.
you can also map the vault as a generic library. that makes searching parts even more easy.

[DerekG]

One useful library feature for Altium is actually somewhat hidden, it's the IPC compliant footprint wizard, accessible from the tools menu when a PCBLib is open ...

This is *way* better than the default wizard you get when you do right click -> component wizard. It supports way more package types, and actually follows the IPC design rules for footprints .... It's improved my workflow significantly - I don't go looking for footprints anymore, I just create them.

Of course, this feature is rarely mentioned in Altium promotional materials because it's not a value-add for them since it's part of the base price, so some people aren't even aware it exists.

Yes, I agree with you. Altium heavily promote their library vault primarily to keep people paying their yearly subscription fee.

DipTrace have been going down the line of IPC compliant footprints in their libraries - with many hundreds already available including the 3D modelling.

All I have to do is to look at the manufacturers data sheet for the footprint, search for that in the DipTrace IPC library & 99% of the time it is already there for me to select. In the 1% where it is not, I simply modify a footprint that is close to what I need ... which takes about 2 or 3 minutes flat.

[julianhigginson]

Absolutely. the component wizard is what makes doing DIY components with standard packages such a quick and simple task, that most people I know don't bother with downloading parts in the first place.

[Miles Teg]

I'm also finding my way on Altium libraries by first, making a search in the public altium vault (finding commons Ti chips, Microchip, STmicro, wurth connectors) to have a fast component to place.
If I want to keep these sources internally, I just copy/paste symbol and footprints in my files and link them in my database.
Then for unknown component, I find quite easy to use the IPC footprint wizard and create my own component.

With that, now I don't even bother to spend time looking for "foreign" libraries or components than creating the component myself.

[Randy_Clemmons]

Try Altium's Ciiva Search, it greatly simplifies finding parts in Altium Content.

See: http://pcbparts.blogspot.com/2016/12/get-ciiva-parts.html

[KenGaler]

I've been using Altium for a couple years now and I would not be if it weren't for Parts FrontEnd.  I have about 6K in the dbLib.  Forget the silly vault, this is the way to go.

http://pcbparts.blogspot.com/2015/01/parts-getting-started.html

Ken
 

[Vudu]

Hey Randy,

Thought I'd give pcbparts a try to see if I like it. After messing about with having a 64bit install for office, and needing to use 32bit instead, I came across 2 issues:

First, it keeps telling me I have to unzip the files everytime I load from access file>open, but seemingly the desktop shortcut that was installed is ok. Bit weird, and it causes access to crash on me. Using 2013 on a parallels VM.

Second, the import of files from either digikey or mouser doesn't work as shown in the video. Not sure if its beacuse mouser is au.mouser for me, but digikey doesnt work and its not au. However in the video and via the blog site it describes to click and drag the file 'image' from the address bar. I dont have that, and am wondering if it might be because I'm on FF and not chrome or ie...

Anyway I'm not sold on this thing considering its about $500Au. Great in principle coz I dont want to have to work to hard for it haha, but even if it worked well I think its a bit steep on the $$, and would likely get more attention if it was cheaper price point.

[mrtn]

I created a set of IntLibs that contain a load of SMT capacitors (4,000) and resistors (6,000) which I scraped from Digi-Key.
Murata capacitors and Panasonic ERJ resistors.

I know everyone likes their own libs but I thought someone might find these useful.

See this post:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/circuit-studio/generated-capacitor-and-resistor-libraries-from-digi-key/

[Randy_Clemmons]

Vudu,

Thank you for taking time to look at Parts and providing feedback.

Parts (Access) was not tested on a Virtual Machine (VM). I am not surprised to hear you had some issues there.

Regarding the URL drag and drop. Parts was tested with Firefox, I.E. and Chrome, however the feature only supports a few country codes, i.e. USA and Canada.  Users I know in Belgium and Australia have found that if they switch the country code to USA or Canada at Digikey or Mouser the URL drag and drop feature works.

If you can't use the URL drag and drop feature you can still avoid a lot of typing by dragging or using cut and paste to get text and datasheet links into the database without having to key in all of the data one character at a time.

You should be able to select any html text on a webpage then drag and drop the selected text to any text field in the Parts Frontend. For example you can select a Mfr Part Description online then drag it onto the Parts front-end form.

I would like to hold and online meeting with you to better understand the problems you encountered with the Parts Access database. I'm keen to work with you, as I don't get many opportunities to work with Aussies, about 98% of Parts user base is located in the states.

Let me know if you would like to meet online and discuss database libraries, please use the link below to request an online meeting.

http://pcbparts.blogspot.com/p/contact-us.html

best regards
Randy

[technotronix]

I am using Altium designer from last many years and really happy with this.