Import from excel to altium.

[idan]

hey,
I'm using altium designer 14.2. I know how to create a BOM, but i want to do the other thing around- to import a BOM from excel to my project.
Meaning, to have an excel document with all the components i need, and with it to create a integrated library.
how can i do it?

[T3sl4co1l]

The spreadsheet doesn't contain any graphical or schematic information, so I don't know how you could hope to even start that...

Do it one at a time by hand?!

Tim

[twistedresistor]

You could make a DBlib based on your Excel and then convert the DBlib to an IntLib.

[idan]

How can i do it? can i draw it right from the excel to create the DBlib?

[tszaboo]

You can store the whole library information in excel. You just need to create 3 additional stuff. A database in excel, a dblib to describe the excel for altium, schlibs for the schematic parts and pcblib footprints. I dont think anyone has a good way of explaining how to do it, this is something everyone has to do only once in their life, and the trivial methods are only for the vaults, and inlibs. If you cannot figure it out how to do, I would contact altium support.

[twistedresistor]

Look here at the section about Database Libraries for an overview
http://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Component,+Model+and+Library+Concepts

This is the documentation about DBLibs
http://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Using+Components+Directly+from+Your+Company+Database

This video shows DBlibs quite nicely, absolutely worth watching.

Keep in mind that you don't have to use Access as source, an Excel sheet will do.

At the least you need 6 columns to define a component in your excel, all the rest are parameters.
Part Number
Description
Footprint Ref
Footprint Path
Library Ref
Library Path

Look at the information I provided and the example library from Altium (where to get it is shown in the video) it's not complicated. It's better explained in the help-files and the video as anyone of us could.
After you created your DBlib, you can convert it to an integrated library within Altium.