Component libraries can now be constructed with all symbol reference, model linking and parameter information stored in an ODBC or ADO based database, or an Excel spreadsheet. Each record in the database represents a component, storing all of the parameters, along with links to the models. The record can include links to inventory or other corporate component data.

With this approach the schematic component is only used as a symbol, with the models (footprint, 3D Model and simulation model) stored in standard schematic library files, PCB library files, and so on.

Components are placed from the database by installing a new DBLib document in the Libraries panel, with the DBLib document being configured to reference the component database.

It is now possible to place components directly from a database using the new Database Library feature. The new Database Library, or DBLib, is added to and presents like any other library in the Altium Designer Libraries panel – you can browse the list of components, examine the component symbol and its models, and place the component.

Behind the DBLib that you are browsing in the Libraries panel is your database, each component in the panel corresponding to a record in the database. As well as company type data, such as cost or stock number, the database will also specify the Altium Designer schematic symbol, the footprint, and other models that are part of the component. When you click the Place button in the Libraries panel the symbol is extracted from the specified Schematic library, and component properties, such as the footprint and component parameters, are added as you place it on the sheet.

The DBLib is a document that you edit in Altium Designer. You can think of the DBLib as a set of mapping instructions, where you specify what data in each record is to be mapped to the component’s parameters and models. The link to the database can be established in a variety of ways, from simply browsing and selecting the Access database or Excel spreadsheet, right through to using a Data Link File (*.UDL).