Preferences

Modified by Tania Mashkoory on Dec 9, 2020

Contents

Summary
Access
Options/Controls

The Preferences dialog displaying the System - General page as an example

Summary

The Preferences dialog allows you to define various preference settings for the Altium Designer environment, as well as global options specific to various editors and their features. Settings defined in this dialog apply across projects and relevant documents.

Access

You can access this dialog by clicking the button in the upper-right hand area of the workspace.

Options/Controls

When signed into a managed content server, a green icon (

) appears next to the name of a page in the folder region to denote that page is under the server's control.

Left-hand Pane

This area of the dialog lists all of the individual pages of preferences available for editing. Pages are categorized into folders of functionality. Click on a child entry within one of these folder categories to load its associated page of preferences into the main editing region on the right-hand side of the dialog. The following categories are available:

System - preferences relating to the system in general.
Data Management - preferences relating to data management features and functionality.
Schematic - preferences relating to features and functionality within the schematic editing domain.
PCB Editor - preferences relating to features and functionality with the PCB Editor.
Text Editors - preferences relating to features and functionality associated with the Text Editor.
Scripting System - preferences relating to features and functionality of the Scripting System.
CAM Editor - preferences relating to features and functionality of the CAM Editor.
Simulation - preferences relating to features and functionality of Simulation.
Draftsman - preferences relating to features and functionality of Draftsman.
Multi-board Schematic - preferences relating to features and functionality of Multi-board Schematic.
Multi-board Assembly - preferences relating to features and functionality of Multi-board Assembly.

The following commands are available from the right-click context menu for the pane:

Default (Page) - use to set the options and controls on the selected child preferences page back to their defaults.
Default (Branch) - use to set the options and controls on all child preferences pages of the selected category back to their defaults. Ensure the desired parent category folder is selected otherwise this command will be unavailable.
Default (All) - use to set the options and controls on all preferences pages back to their defaults.

Main Editing Region

This region of the dialog changes in accordance with the preferences page entry currently selected in the left-hand pane. The banner at the top of the region will display the name of the page being edited, in the format <CategoryName> - <ChildPageName>. The following preferences pages can be loaded (click a link for detail of the options/controls available on a page):

System - General
System - View
System - Account Management
System - Transparency
System - Navigation
System - Design Insight
System - Projects Panel
System - Default Locations
System - File Types
System - New Document Defaults
System - Printer Settings
System - Mouse Wheel Configuration
System - Installation
System - Product Improvement
System - Network Activity
Data Management - Version Control
Data Management - Design Repositories
Data Management - Servers
Data Management - Publishing Destinations
Data Management - Backup
Data Management - File Locking
Data Management - Local History
Data Management - Templates
Data Management - File-based Libraries
Data Management - Device Sheets
Data Management - SVN Libraries
Data Management - Parts Providers
Data Management - Component Types
Data Management - Component Rule Checks
Schematic - General
Schematic - Graphical Editing
Schematic - Compiler
Schematic - AutoFocus
Schematic - Library AutoZoom
Schematic - Grids
Schematic - Break Wire
Schematic - Defaults
PCB Editor - General
PCB Editor - Display
PCB Editor - Board Insight Display
PCB Editor - Board Insight Modes
PCB Editor - Board Insight Color Overrides
PCB Editor - DRC Violations Display
PCB Editor - Interactive Routing
PCB Editor - True Type Fonts
PCB Editor - Defaults
PCB Editor - Reports
PCB Editor - Layer Colors
PCB Editor - Models
Text Editors - General
Text Editors - Display
Text Editors - Colors
Scripting System - Global Projects
Scripting System - Form Designer
CAM Editor - General
CAM Editor - View / Language
CAM Editor - DRC
CAM Editor - Import / Export
CAM Editor - Miscellaneous
CAM Editor - Drawing Modes
CAM Editor - Film Box
CAM Editor - Draw Dimension
Simulation - General
Simulation - Mixed Sim
Simulation - SIMetrix Interface
Draftsman - Defaults
Draftsman - Templates
Multi-board Schematic - Defaults
Multi-board Assembly - General
Multi-board Assembly - Configuration

Use the controls and options available on the loaded page to configure your preferences for that area of the software as required. This could be a combination of your company's policies and your preferred working environment.

When a change is made to an option on a preference page, that page's entry will be distinguished in the left-hand pane by becoming bold and an asterisk (*) displayed to the right of its name.

You can make changes across multiple pages of preferences then commit those changes at the same time either by clicking OK or Apply. The benefit of using the Apply button is that changes are made without leaving the dialog.

Additional Controls

The following additional controls are provided at the bottom of the dialog:

Set To Defaults - click to set the preferences on the selected/active child preferences page back to their defaults. The defaults available are identical to the right-click menu options.
Save:
- Save to file - click to save your preferences to a DXP Preferences file (*.DXPPrf). A dialog will open in which you can select the location and name of the file.
- Send to server- click to save your preferences to a connected server.
Load:
- Load from file - click to load preferences from a DXP Preferences file (*.DXPPrf). The Load Preferences dialog will appear from where you can browse to and open the desired file.
- Load from server- click to load your preferences that have been saved to a connected server.
Import From - click to load preferences from previous versions of Altium Designer. Click to see a list of available versions.