Altium Toggling of Layers - Too Slow, Too many clicks

[FivePoint0]

I'd just like to gauge opinion on this one . . .

Is it too slow in Altium to turn layers on and off?

In Easy-PC, as in Mentor Graphics Expedition, it is as easy as unticking / ticking a check box.

In Altium it's
Click at bottom of PCB area
Select show layers
then click the layer to show

It might not sound like much but when you need to do it a lot, it's a real PITA!

Comments?

EDIT: Just watched the DipTrace guided tour that looks to have check boxes too.  Hmm Diptrace looks better for speedy layer changes too!  Altium really should get themselves in order.

[free_electron]

you are doing it wrong

method 1 : O-L  lets you pick exactly what you want
method 2 : define custom views by clicking on the little LS icon left of the layers and select 'board layer sets. here you can customize layer view sets. these can be saved to a file and loaded at will.
method 3 : cycle through single layer modes using shift-S . make sure to enable the options under dxp\prefrences\pcb editor\board insight display and tick all three options under 'available single layer modes'

Altium users dont 'click'. they use keyboard shortcuts

[FivePoint0]

Hmm not really convinced, why bring up a big form (O-L), when a little check box would suffice?

I generally do use custom views, but also find that clunky compared to little checkboxes.


Any tips on faster layer changes then that has always annoyed me compared to other packages?

[DerekG]

Hmm not really convinced, why bring up a big form (O-L), when a little check box would suffice?

Any tips on faster layer changes then that has always annoyed me compared to other packages?

Actually you just need to press "L" on the keyboard for "Layer".

This will automatically pull up the layer menu. Just tick / untick the layers you want active.

As free_electron says above, one of Altium's strengths is that there are so many keyboard shortcuts. It has been proven over & over that pressing a single key on the keyboard is faster than navigating the mouse to a specific checkbox.

EDIT: Just watched the DipTrace guided tour that looks to have check boxes too.  Hmm Diptrace looks better for speedy layer changes too!  Altium really should get themselves in order.

Changing layers is obviously different to turning layers on & off.

In Altium, you can simply change layers by clicking on the layer colour / layer name displayed in the LS menu at the bottom of your workspace.

I use DipTrace too. It is a well priced package that is pretty capable, but not nearly as powerful as Altium. Also take a look at Proteus. It is more powerful than DipTrace but costs more than DipTrace.

I have been petitioning DipTrace to support many more keyboard shortcuts (ie for measuring distances & changing between imperial & metric grids).

Sometimes people want to use the most powerful software in the marketplace, but remember Altium is pretty expensive now & you should examine carefully if you need all the features to make it a value for money package for your particular situation.

[T3sl4co1l]

I've taken to, not only using custom layer sets (PITA to define, but you do it once for one board and copy the settings..), but using Favorite filters (Y key is it?).

The only problem there is...

If you call up a filter, it'll do whatever the default setting is, like mask filtered objects.  But not make them unselectable...  So I have to go to the Filter panel, check that the correct checkboxes are set (all objects, mask and dim..) and click the filter button.

After double checking it from the panel... Shift+C then filtering from the fav list again works correctly.



The filters by the way are such things as "OnTopLayer AND OnLayer('Inner Layer 1')", to complement a layer set that's, say, Top Copper, Inner Layer 1, Top Silk, and so on.  So you only see, and are able to select, components on top, and the copper just below (e.g. for correct routing of high speed signals or low impedance rails over a not-100%-solid ground plane).

Tim

[hamdi.tn]

Never found any problem with that , keyboard shortcuts like shift-s than + and - to move quickly through layers, and * to move from top bottom directly 

[DerekG]

Of course don't forget the quick layer change keys of "+" & "-" on your side calculator keyboard.

If you are working on a two layer board, Altium will automatically cycle between the top & bottom layers by using the
"+" & "-" keys.

Edit - Beaten to the post by hamdi.tn above.

And yes, don't forget the "*" key on your side keyboard. This cycles between the layer pairs with a single press.

Type "Keyboard Shortcuts" into the Help menu & print out all the keyboard shortcuts for future reference.

[free_electron]

Hmm not really convinced, why bring up a big form (O-L), when a little check box would suffice?

I generally do use custom views, but also find that clunky compared to little checkboxes.


Any tips on faster layer changes then that has always annoyed me compared to other packages?

wait. are we talking layer visible / invisible or just changing layers ?

changing layers is a s simply as clicking on the layer tab of your choice atthe bottom of the screen.
+ and - cycle up and down in the stack
* cycles in the electrical layers only , skipping non-routable layers such as mechanicals , planes and other stuff