Extending Your Altium Designer Develop Installation
Altium Designer Develop's installation management system allows you to handcraft your installation of the software at any time after the initial installation. This includes the ability to install or remove additional functionality which is made possible through the provision of optional Extensions. This functionality could include a new importer or exporter, a tool for schematic symbol generation, or maybe support for mechanical CAD collaboration. In short, any targeted packages of functionality that extend and enhance the feature set of the software.
This document takes a dedicated look at the concept of extensions and, more importantly, their management.
Extensions Explained
The Extension is a key concept of the system to understand. An extension is effectively an add-on to the software, providing extended features and functionality. A core set of features and functions are installed and handled transparently as part of the initial install, referred to as System Resources. In addition, a range of Optional Extensions are available that are packets of functionality that are optionally installed or removed by the user as required. It is the extension concept that enables the installation to be handcrafted in accordance with design needs.
Customization of an Altium Designer Develop installation essentially boils down to management of the available extensions. Install or remove available extensions as and when you need. A range of extensions are available from Altium for use with Altium Designer Develop. In addition, and with the Altium Developer extension, you can extend the functionality of Altium Designer Develop yourself through the use of the Altium Designer SDK (Software Development Kit) - creating your own extensions for the software.
Also inherent to the Altium Developer extension is the dedicated Developer Interface, which is the user interface for managing custom extensions. Part of this interface is a publishing feature that enables you to share those extensions securely with a wider audience through release to a global repository of extensions (a Global Extensions Gallery, if you will). This is a cloud-based Altium Repository that opens up the possibility for third-party developers to offer and trade extensions for Altium Designer Develop through secure distribution, licensing, and installation of the extensions they craft.
Functionality is added to or removed from Altium Designer Develop through installation and removal of optional extensions.
Types of Extensions
As a concept, an optional extension is a single entity – a package of functionality that installs seamlessly into Altium Designer Develop's wider platform environment. However, from the designer's perspective, optional extensions can be further categorized to provide a greater depth of meaning as to just what is being installed. As a result, an optional extension can be classified into one of the following types:
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System Extension – a dedicated package of core platform functionality that has been 'brought out' of the platform and delivered in the guise of an extension.
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Software Extension – a dedicated add-on for the software that extends its features and functionality in some measurable way. Software extensions can be delivered by Altium itself or be developed by third parties and traded for a defined purchase price.
Browsing Installed and Available Extensions
Additional software functionality, provided through optional extensions, can be browsed, installed, and managed through the Extensions view in Altium Designer Develop. It is from here that you can see which extensions are currently installed or if additional functionality is available through further extensions. Additionally, you are not constrained in any way – you can freely install or remove extension-based functionality at any time as your needs change.
The view is accessed by clicking the Current User control at the top right of the design space and selecting 
from the menu.
Accessing the Extensions view – command central from which to efficiently manage the functionality available to the software.
The view itself consists of the following distinct 'pages' (use tabs at the top of the view to switch between them):
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Installed – functionality currently installed as part of your Altium Designer Develop installation.
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Available – system extensions and software extensions that are available for installation to your instance of Altium Designer Develop.
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The Extensions view also provides controls to modify the core features and functionality installed with the platform (learn more).
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When accessing a page in the view, extension information is retrieved from the location in which that extension is stored. Altium's own extensions are stored in, and information, therefore, retrieved from, a dedicated cloud-based Altium Repository. To force a manual refresh of the extension data, use the Refresh control –
– at the top right of a page.
Currently installed extensions are listed in the System Extensions and Software Extensions regions of the Installed page.
Browse through a listing of currently installed extensions.
Access the Available page of the view to browse a listing of all extension-based functionality currently available for your installation of Altium Designer Develop, including system extensions and software extensions. This is functionality that can be optionally added to or removed from your Altium Designer Develop installation.
Browse through a listing of available extensions
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By default, only those extensions that have not yet been added to your installation are presented on the Available page. To view all available extensions regardless of their installation status, disable the Available but not installed option at the top right of a region. An extension that has not yet been installed will reveal the download icon (
) when you hover over it, while one that is currently installed is indicated by the installed icon (
).
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For each installed extension, its associated installation files are stored in a dedicated folder that is named after that extension. Extension folders can be found along the following path:
\ProgramData\Altium\Altium Designer Develop <GUID>\Extensions. In addition, the rootExtensionsfolder contains a registry file –ExtensionsRegistry.xml– which is used to keep track of all extensions currently installed for that instance of Altium Designer Develop. -
On the Available page, extensions will be listed that are available in the source of extensions and updates specified in the preferences of the current Altium Designer Develop installation. Click the
icon at the top of the view to open the System – Installation page of the Preferences dialog where you can configure this source. Note that when using the global installation service, you must be signed in to your Altium Account – a link will be provided on the page with which to do so if you are not currently signed in. After changing the settings, click OK to save changes and close the Preferences dialog. Click the 
icon at the top right of the Available page to refresh the list of available extensions from the specified source.
Click on the name of an extension (of any type) on the Installed or Available page to access a detailed page for that extension.
Examine and manage your installation at the individual extension level.
Information includes:
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Who created the extension
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Its version
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Its release date
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Where it is sourced from (the Global Repository or the organization's local server, for example)
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A more detailed description
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Any pertinent release notes
Installing an Extension
An individual extension can be installed in one of two ways:
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From the summary-level Available page of the Extensions view, hover over the extension and click the
icon at the top right of its entry. Hover the mouse over the download icon to view details of the version available.
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From the extension's detailed page, click the
button.
Alternatively, if you want to install all software extensions, click the Install All control above the Software Extensions region on the summary-level Available page.
Install an extension from the Extensions view.
At the summary-level Available page, a progress bar will appear that shows the progress of the download (getting the file set for that extension from the source repository) and subsequent installation. You can click to install as many extensions as you like; they will be added to a queue, with up to four extensions being downloaded and installed at any given time. Should you need to cancel installation of an extension, click its associated cancel icon (
).
A restart of Altium Designer Develop is required after an extension finishes installing in order for the functionality it provides to take effect. A dialog will open alerting you to this; click Yes to restart at that time, or No if you want to install additional extensions. If you click No, the extension will appear on the Installed page with the 
icon to indicate a restart is required for its installation to be completed.
Uninstalling an Extension
A currently installed extension can be uninstalled in one of two ways:
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From the summary-level Installed page of the Extensions view, hover over it and click on the
icon at the top right of its entry.
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From its detailed page, click the
button.
Alternatively, if you want to uninstall all currently installed software extensions, click the Delete All control above the Software Extensions region on the summary-level Installed page.
Be sure to restart Altium Designer Develop after you have finished uninstalling the required extensions in order for their functionality to be removed from the installation. A dialog will pop up alerting you to this; click Yes to restart at that time or No if you want to make additional changes to your installation. If you click No, the extension will appear on the Available page with the icon to indicate a restart is required for its removal to be completed.