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Opening projects is primarily completed through the projects panel. Location of the projects tab can be moved wherever is prefered preferred (just click and drag) but it defaults to the left side panel column:
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All projects for NER are stored in the online vault, which can be accessed by right clicking the top of the panel and selecting {“XXX“}:
{screenshot of above}
The panel that opens can then be used to select a project and open it:
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The projects panel has two view modes. This can be toggled with the button in the {XXX} of the above screenshot.
{maybe insert a screenshot of button}
Accessing Files
Opening Files
Once a project is open there are many dropdowns and folders of the project contents. The most important folder will be “Source X{Documents??}”, which contains the actual schematics, layouts, and BOMs of the project.
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Opening any file in a project is as simple as double clicking it!
Click below for more depth on files:
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File Statuses |
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There
{Talk about how to open a project and opening files within a project}
Schematic View
{Highlight key features when a schematic page is open}
Layout View
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All files within the Altium 365 vault will have a series of symbols in the projects pane indicating their status. The below screenshots summarize their meanings:   The full page with further info is https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/managing-project-documents#!indicating-document-status, particularly the “Indicating Document Status” section. Managing Open FilesVery quickly in Altium you’ll find yourself with many files open at once. It is important to be aware that Altium uses a stacked tab system once you have exceeded how many tabs can fit within your working window. {screenshot of a screen with many file types open, showing stacked tabs} When stacked like this, files can be accessed by clicking the stack of the right file type, and then selecting the file name. {screenshot of navigating a tab stack} No matter how many files are open, the projects tab can still be used to pull up files, even if they are already open. Just double click the file you are looking for. |
Closing Files
Just right click on the file name and select “Close”. This can be done from the projects panel or the file tabs.
{2 screenshots side-by-side showing the right click dropdown in projects and in the main work window}
There are many, many options for closing multiple files such as closing all others, closing all of the same filetype, and more. Feel free to explore as you work on projects
Schematic View
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Every filetype has a set of menus & tools available to it. Always be aware that menus may change in Altium depending on what file you have selected! |
Simple navigation within schematics is done by right clicking and dragging. This will pan the schematic. Zooming is achieved by holding Ctrl, right clicking, and dragging or by holding middle click and dragging. Depending on the computer, touchscreens and trackpads may or may not work intuitively (pinch to zoom, 2 finger drag to pan).
Checkout the Schematic Capture page for how to work on schematics
Checkout the Quick Reference & Tips page for schematic view shortcuts
Layout View
Layouts have three fundamental views
Planning view
Layout view
3D view
These can be accessed by just pressing the keyboard key with the corresponding number (1, 2, or 3).
Planning view is rarely used for our purposes, so you can disregard it for now.
Simple navigation within 2D layouts is the same as schematics. Panning and zooming are the same as above.
Within 3D view, the shift key is used to access view rotations. When holding shift and right clicking on certain parts of the control sphere you will be able to rotate and tilt the view. Simple panning and zooming are again, the same as schematics and 2D view.
Checkout the Schematic Capture page for how to work on schematics
Checkout the Quick Reference & Tips page for schematic view shortcuts
Component Workflow
To ensure consistency in our components, a lot of effort goes into keeping them organized. A large part of this is using Altium’s built in state flows to indicate status of components. Below is an example of where you see these states:
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