Power Port

This document is no longer available beyond version 17.1. Information can now be found here: Power Port Properties for version 24

Applies to Altium Designer version: 17.1

The Power Port dialog.

The Power Port dialog.

Summary

This dialog allows the designer to specify the properties of a Power Port object. A power port is an electrical design primitive. It is a special schematic object used to define a power or ground net. Power ports allow the designer to conveniently indicate a power net at any location in the design, which can then be connected to pins or wires.

For information on how a placed power port object can be modified graphically, directly in the workspace, see Graphical Editing.

Access

The Power Port dialog can be accessed prior to entering placement mode, from the Schematic – Default Primitives page of the Preferences dialog. This allows the default properties for the power port object to be changed, which will be applied when placing subsequent power ports.

During placement, the dialog can be accessed by pressing the Tab key.

While attributes can be modified during placement, bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the Schematic – Default Primitives page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.

After placement, the dialog can be accessed in one of the following ways:

  • Double-clicking on the placed power port object.
  • Placing the cursor over the power port object, right-clicking and choosing Properties from the context menu.
  • Using the Edit » Change command and clicking once over the placed power port object.

Options/Controls

  • Color - click the color sample to change the color of the power port's graphic and associated net text, using the standard Choose Color dialog.
  • Style - this field specifies the graphical style of the power object. Available styles are: Circle, Arrow, Bar, Wave, Power Ground, Signal Ground, Earth, GOST Arrow, GOST Power Ground, GOST Earth, and GOST Bar.
The graphical symbol selected for a power port does not determine which net it is assigned to. The net name must be explicitly set.
  • Location X/Y - the current X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) coordinates for the connection point of the power port (its electical hotspot). Edit these values to change the position of the power port in the horizontal and/or vertical planes respectively.
  • Orientation - specify the orientation of the power port, counter-clockwise in relation to the horizontal. Options available are: 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees.

Properties

  • Net - use this field to specify the name of the power net to which the power port is to connect.
  • Show Net Name - use this option to control whether the name of the power net associated to the power port is displayed (enabled) or hidden (disabled).
  • Locked - enable this option to protect the power port from being edited graphically.
If attempting to graphically modify an object that has its Locked property enabled, a dialog will appear asking for confirmation to proceed with the edit. If the Protect Locked Objects option is enabled on the Schematic – Graphical Editing page of the Preferences dialog, and the Locked option for that design object is enabled as well, then that object cannot be selected or graphically edited. Double click on the locked object directly and disable the Locked property, or disable the Protect Locked Objects option, to graphically edit the object.
  • Font - this control serves two purposes. Firstly, it reflects the currently chosen font – applied to the text for the associated net name - in terms of Font Name, Font Size and Font Style. Secondly, when clicked it provides access to the standard Font dialog, from where to change the font as required.
Effects are also displayed when enabled (Strikeout, Underline). If Regular is used for the font's style, this will not be displayed visually in the control's string.

 

Note

The features available depend on your level of Altium Designer Software Subscription.