Including Design Data in an Excel-format Bill of Materials (BOM)

Now reading version 20.2. For the latest, read: Including Design Data in an Excel-format BOM for version 21
Applies to Altium Designer versions: 19.1, 20.0, 20.1 and 20.2

A common approach to BOM generation is to export the BOM data from Altium Designer, into a company-preferred Excel format spreadsheet. The BOM is generated from the Report Manager, which can be accessed from:

  • ActiveBOM's Report menu
  • The schematic and PCB editor's Report menu
  • A BOM Report Output configured in an OutputJob
  • Learn more about BOM Configuration in the Report Manager.
  • For complete control over the BOM configuration process, including an interactive view of supply chain information as well as custom BOM rows and columns, add an ActiveBOM document (BomDoc) to your project. The BomDoc gives instant visibility into the component supply chain and also supports user-defined rows and columns, ideal for including those extra items, such as glue, labels, and so on. Creating and managing the BOM through a BomDoc is the recommended approach to BOM Management in Altium Designer.

The Report Manager's Export Options includes two XLS File Format options:

  • MS-Excel (*.xls, *.xlsx) - requires Microsoft Excel
  • Generic XLS (*.xls, *.xlsx) - uses a built-in XLS file generator, Microsoft Excel is not required

Select the required Excel file format option, then select the required Excel template

When an Excel option is selected a pre-defined Excel template can then be selected in the Template dropdown. When the Export button is clicked in the Report Manager the BOM data is generated and loaded into a new Excel Worksheet using the format defined in the chosen Excel template.

The list of templates available in the drop-down comes from:

  • For an unmanaged design, the default location is configured in the Data Management - Templates page of the Preferences dialog. Several example templates are included, in the \Templates folder of the installation user files.
  • For a managed design, the available templates are stored in the \Templates\BOM Templates folder of your managed content server.

How Design Data is Mapped in the Excel Template

Altium Designer data is mapped into the spreadsheet by including special Field and Column statements in the Excel template. The Field statement is used to map a single parameter, for example, a document parameter called Title. The Column statement is used to map per-component parameters, for example, the Designator component parameter.

Fields

The Field statement is used to map a document or project parameter, for example, the Title, into the BOM. The Field declaration is replaced by the passed value, as shown in the images below.

Fields are used in the format:

Field=<FieldName>

An example is Field=Currency

Fields should be defined above or below the Column region of the template.

Columns

Column declarations are used to map per-component parameters, for example, each component's Designator, Description, user-defined parameters, and so on. This can also include: line numbers, PCB location data, and custom column data entered into the BomDoc if there is a BomDoc in the project. The Column declaration in the template is replaced by the ColumnName string, with each row below being populated by that column value for each BOM Item, as shown in the two images below.

Columns are used in the format:

Column=<ColumnName>

An example is Column=Designator

Notes:

  • Each column defined in the template must be displayed in the Report Manager, for that column of data to be transferred.
  • The data will present in the Excel spreadsheet in the same row order that it has in the Report Manager. Use the Report Manager's column sorting and sub-sorting feature to sort the rows as required.

Example of a simple Excel template, showing how the design parameters are mapped into the template

Example of a BOM created from the simple Excel template shown in the previous image

  • Several example templates are included with Altium Designer, in the \Templates folder of the installation user files.
  • The default template location for an unmanaged design is configured in the Data Management - Templates page of the Preferences dialog.
  • For a managed design, the available templates are stored in the \Templates\BOM Templates folder of your managed content server.

Excel templates support hiding rows or columns. This feature has been used in certain versions of the example templates included in the software, to hide the Column = <ColumnName> declarations. To display hidden rows or columns in Excel, select all cells in the template, then right-click anywhere on the sheet and choose the Unhide command.

Mapping Project-Level, BOM Header Information

Project-level information is typically mapped using the Field= statement, into the header of the BOM document.

Mapping Document and Project Parameters

As well as the Field statements listed above, schematic Document Parameters (both default and user-defined parameters entered in the schematic document's Properties panel) and Project Parameters (Options for PCB Project dialog) can also be used as Fields, or as Columns.

Mapping BOM Item Information

The core region of a BOM is the grid of BOM Items, typically using a row for each component. Each column in this grid represents a component property, such as the designator, value, and so on. Columns are defined by entering the component property/parameter (BOM column heading), in the format:

Column=ColumnName

An example would be Column=Description, or Column=Designator

Column information can be taken from several sources, including:

 

 

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