P-CAD 2006 - Announcement

With the release of P-CAD 2006, we would like to bring you across some important developments regarding the future for P-CAD customers.

Read letter from Nick Martin, Altium's CEO & Founder (PDF)

These frequently asked questions attempt to address as many issues as possible in relation to Altium's announcement about the future of the P-CAD product line. If you don't find the answer to your question below, please contact your Altium Account Manager or local Altium Sales and Support Center.

Q1. Why has Altium made the decision to retire P-CAD?

A. Altium's goal is to develop and market the best possible electronics design tool help electronic engineers and designers turn their design ideas into products in the easiest and most productive way. We strive to create products that make the engineer as powerful, productive and effective as possible. We want to make things easier for you, the engineer, in any way we can.

We have made the strategic decision to focus our efforts on developing and presenting a unified electronic product development solution. Maintaining two individual product lines is contrary to this focus, impeding our ability to maximize our resources which ultimately affect to provide on-going and continuous solutions that are necessary for our success as a company.

The decision to retire P-CAD has not been taken lightly, and as we show elsewhere in this document, the best of P-CAD is now incorporated into Altium Designer.

Q2. What version of P-CAD will be supported and for how long?

A. P-CAD 2006 is the last version of P-CAD. Maintenance contracts for P-CAD will continue to be honored but will not be renewed. But if you make the switch to Altium Designer, your contract will be transferred. There will be no further support of P-CAD to existing customers after June 30, 2008. The P-CAD website and P-CAD will no longer be supported after this date.

Q3. How will P-CAD 2006 be supported?

A. P-CAD 2006 will be supported until June 30, 2008 in the same manner as it is currently. But there will no longer be any sales for any new P-CAD licenses except to existing P-CAD customers. Additional P-CAD licenses will only be sold to existing customers until June 30, 2008.

Q4. Is it better for me to move from P-CAD 2006 to Altium Designer now?

A. Yes it is. Our special offer lets you upgrade to Altium Designer 6, and then to Altium Designer Summer 08, for an inclusive price – but only if you migrate before May 15, 2008.

Q5. Will Altium support me through this evaluation and transition process?

A. Yes. Altium provides extensive resources available now to help you quickly and efficiently evaluate the powerful capabilities of Altium Designer at Altium Evaluate. A simple three-step evaluation process allows you to see for yourself right now the benefits that Altium Designer can bring to you. This includes DEMOCenter on-demand demonstration videos, the ability to book a live Web Conferencing session and request an evaluation.

Once you're ready, additional resources are available to help you migrate from P-CAD to Altium Designer at Altium's Community; training, technical information, web-based demonstrations, and access to knowledge bases, learning guides and our libraries are available on this page, providing you with valuable resources for getting the most out of your Altium software.

Q6. When I move to Altium Designer will I still be able to use P-CAD 2006 for legacy designs even after I make the transition?

A. Yes. You can still use P-CAD to open and work on legacy designs previously created in P-CAD even after you have made the move.

Q7. What about my old P-CAD files?

A. Moving designs to Altium Designer is a straightforward and direct process. The configurable, easy to use Import Wizard quickly and directly translates complete P-CAD designs, including schematics, PCB layouts and library files. You have full control during the translation process and are able to specify exactly how you want your design files to translate.

Q8. Where do I go for support?

A. Support is available via the SUPPORTcenter A detailed listing of all of the support options available to you is included with this Migration Guide. A detailed listing of all support resources is also available on Altium Community.

Q9. I have P-CAD 2004 and am currently on a prepaid upgrade subscription plan. What are my options? How does this announcement impact me?

A. You are entitled to a direct upgrade to P-CAD 2006 as soon as it is released, and this will be sent to you automatically. While you remain current on a prepaid upgrade subscription plan you will also be automatically entitled to transition to the latest version of Altium Designer at no extra cost and at any time of your choosing before the P-CAD product line is retired. That way you can ensure the value you have built by paying maintenance continues through to Altium Designer.

Q10. If P-CAD 2006 is the last major release, why should I continue with maintenance after I've received my upgrade?

A. Staying on maintenance is the most cost-effective way to transition to Altium Designer and protect the investment you have made in your design tools. By staying on maintenance you automatically receive an upgrade to P-CAD 2006, giving you immediate access to the productivity enhancements that are part of this release. You will also be able to transition to Altium Designer at no additional cost when you are ready. The full value of your maintenance will carry across to your Altium Designer license at that time. By continuing your P-CAD maintenance you are guaranteed a smooth transition to Altium Designer and have the security of knowing that you can move to the very latest Altium Designer when you choose to do so.

Q11. Is it better for me to transition from P-CAD 2004 to Altium Designer now or upgrade to P-CAD 2006 and transition at a later date?

A. The choice is entirely yours. In general however, the later you leave the decision to upgrade with any product, the higher the cost. Please contact your Altium Sales and Support Center for full details on your upgrade options, pricing and any current special offers that you may be eligible for.

Q12. I am on P-CAD 2004 and not covered by a prepaid upgrade subscription plan. What are my options?

A. You have several options. If your prepaid upgrade subscription has recently lapsed, you can choose to become current again by backdating your payment. By keeping your maintenance current, you will then be entitled to an upgrade to P-CAD 2006 and subsequent transition to Altium Designer when you are ready. Alternatively you can upgrade to P-CAD 2006 and take advantage of our generous transition pricing when you're ready to make the move to Altium Designer 6. You can also upgrade directly from P-CAD 2004 to Altium Designer. To discuss your options and the costs involved in each, please contact your Altium Sales and Support Center.

Q13. I am on a pre-2004 version of P-CAD and not covered by a prepaid upgrade subscription plan, what are my options?

A. Altium is focused on creating a smooth transition path from P-CAD 2006 to Altium Designer, so your best option is to upgrade your older license to P-CAD 2006. From there you can transition to Altium Designer when you are ready. Please contact your Altium Sales and Support Center for more information.

Q14. Why should I bother to upgrade to P-CAD 2006 when P-CAD is being phased out?

A. P-CAD 2006 will be completely supported and developed until it is officially retired in around 18 months time. Upgrading now will ensure that you get the immediate benefits of P-CAD's latest technology and subsequent service packs. Also, P-CAD 2006 provides the easiest and most cost-effective path to Altium Designer and the benefits of unified design. This will provide you with the security that you will be able to take full advantage of the latest electronics technology and devices and remain current and competitive in electronic product development today and into the future.

Q15. Does this announcement mean I need to make any decisions today?

A. If you are a P-CAD 2004 customer with a prepaid upgrade subscription then you are perfectly positioned to move into the future with confidence. You do not need to make any decisions straight away. You will remain current with P-CAD 2006 in the short term and can transition to Altium Designer when you choose.

If you do not have a current prepaid upgrade subscription or are on an older version of P-CAD then you should consider upgrading to P-CAD 2006 in the near future. Not only do you get the immediate benefits of a more productive board design system, you open a door to the future by providing yourself with the perfect platform to transition to Altium Designer and unified design. You should contact your Altium Sales and Support Center as soon as possible to discuss the options open to you.

Q16. I just do PCB design, I love P-CAD and I don't want to change! How will this decision impact me?

A. P-CAD has a long heritage as a powerful and productive tool for PCB professionals. While P-CAD is a full-featured PCB design suite, it inherently represents a point tool-based approach to design that deals with only one part of the creation of an electronic product. Electronics technology has progressed to a point where high-capacity programmable devices and increasingly sophisticated software systems are forcing a convergence of design disciplines. Hardware, software and programmable design can no longer be done in isolation. You may not directly be dealing with FPGAs today, but the speed of change in the industry and Moore's Law will assure that you will need to deal with the implications of such devices in the near future — even at the board level.

Maintaining innovation in this changing design landscape requires design tools that support the latest devices and design paradigms. Altium has developed its Altium Designer system to specifically target the needs of electronic product development moving forward. While we could continue to develop P-CAD into the future, it will become increasingly hard to keep P-CAD customers competitive within a point-tool environment. We therefore feel that the best and most cost-effective way to ensure that our P-CAD customers can participate in an increasingly 'soft' future for electronic product development is to make it as easy as possible for them to migrate to Altium Designer's unified development environment. We believe that this will benefit both you and Altium in the longer term.

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Q17. Why is it important for P-CAD users to make the move to a unified design environment?

A. By far the most compelling reason for P-CAD customers to make this transition is that a standalone PCB design tool approach is limited and will be unsustainable in the long term. The advent of high capacity, low cost reprogrammable devices (FPGAs) and their impact on the future of PCB systems design is self evident. There will be little gains made, if at all, in terms of achieving greater efficiencies in product development or increasing sophistication with a point tool approach. To this end, design teams must urgently consider changes now to unite their PCB, FPGA and embedded flows in order to enable quicker design turnarounds with a sufficiently competitive edge in the market. Without this, harnessing the benefits of 'soft' design will be significantly compromised.

However, beyond the high-level benefits Altium Designer's unified design environment offers, it is vitally important that P-CAD users confront their future for a number of reasons that are 'closer to home'. Hardcore board-level designers (as many P-CAD users are) may feel that the current changes in the industry being brought about by programmable devices have yet to make a significant impact. However, in reality we will all have to face these changes at some time in the future. By migrating to Altium Designer you will be well equipped to embrace these emerging trends and protecting your future.

Compelling reasons why P-CAD users should consider making the transition to a new electronics design paradigm offered by a unified design tool such as Altium Designer include:

Pressures on development cycles caused by the need to add more functionality and 'intelligence' to products
Pressures on development teams to create new versions of products at an ever-increasing pace
Pressures on organizations to bring innovative products to market before the competition
The movement of increasing levels of board functionality into the programmable realm
Increasing interdependence between board design and programmable logic design
Increasing interdependence between software development and programmable logic design
The rising capabilities and falling costs of programmable devices

Ultimately achieving unification of design flows between the design of PCBs, programmable devices and embedded software development, is critical for maintaining innovation and competitive differentiation of today's electronic products, as well as for shortening overall time-to-market. Unfortunately P-CAD cannot offer its users access to this future.

Q18. How will Altium support me through this evaluation and transition process?

A. Altium offers extensive resources for assisting the changeover from P-CAD to Altium Designer, such as web-based demonstrations, on-demand videos, tutorials, how-to's and knowledge base items. These will be expanded into the future to make the transition for customers as easy as possible, with minimum impact on your productivity. Altium's professional, highly-trained Global Customer Care team will also be there to help.

Moving to Altium Designer is the best path forward for P-CAD users. The Envision article on Seamless transition from P-CAD shows how Altium is committed to providing you with a smooth, seamless transition to the future of electronics design.

Please contact your Altium Sales and Support Center who are ready to assist you through this transition.

Q19. When I move to Altium Designer will I still be able to use P-CAD 2006 for legacy designs even after I make the transition?

A. You can make the move to Altium Designer progressively or as quickly as your needs dictate. When your license changes to Altium Designer you can still use P-CAD to work on legacy designs you have previously created in P-CAD even after you transition.

Q20. What about my old P-CAD files?

A. Altium Designer features a comprehensive set of tools to help design teams make a seamless transition from P-CAD to Altium Designer. The configurable, easy to use import wizard quickly translates complete P-CAD designs, including schematics, PCB layouts and library files. Moving designs to Altium Designer is a straightforward process.

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Important past information on the future of P-CAD

About the announcement

About my options

Evaluating the move from P-CAD to Altium Designer

About the announcement

About my options

Evaluating the move from P-CAD to Altium Designer