Working with a Comment Object on a Schematic Sheet in Altium Designer

Created: September 25, 2019 | Updated: October 15, 2019

Contents

Summary
Availability and Placement
Graphical Editing

The Comment uniquely identifies each component in the design.

Summary

The Comment field is a child parameter object of a schematic component (part). It is used to uniquely identify each placed part to distinguish it from all other parts placed in all the schematic sheets in the project.

Availability and Placement

The Comment is configured when the parent component part object is placed. It is not a design object that you can directly place.

Graphical Editing

The Comment can be edited graphically using what is known as in-place editing. To edit a Comment in-place, click once to select, pause for a second, then click a second time to enter edit mode.

Click once to select the string.

Once editing is complete, press Enter or click away from the string to exit in-place editing mode.

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. Click the locked object to select it then disable the Locked property in the List panel or disable the Protect Locked Objects option to graphically edit the object.

Non-Graphical Editing

There are two aspects to consider in relation to editing the Comment: editing the value of the Comment and editing the display properties of the Comment.

Editing the Comment in the Schematic Editor

The Comment can be defined in the Schematic Editor as the component is being placed or after the component has been placed on a schematic sheet in the Comment field of the Properties panel.

To edit the comment during component placement, press the Tab key while the component is floating on the cursor. The Properties panel will open; enter the required Comment. Click the workspace pause button overlay () to resume component placement.
Continue to place components or press Esc to terminate placement.
To edit the Comment after placement, double-click on the placed component to open the Properties panel where the Comment can be edited.

Editing the Comment Display Properties

The appearance of comments, which includes the font type, size, and color, can be configured on the Schematic - Defaults page of the Preferences dialog.

Via the Parameter Dialog or Properties Panel

Panel page: Parameter Properties

This method of editing uses the associated Parameter dialog or the Properties panel mode to modify the properties of a comment.

The Parameter dialog, on the left, and the Parameter mode of the Properties panel on the right

If the Double Click Runs Interactive Properties option is disabled (default) on the Schematic - Graphical Editing page of the Preferences dialog, when the primitive is double-clicked or you right-click on a selected primitive then choose Properties, the dialog will open. When the Double Click Runs Interactive Properties option is enabled, the Properties panel will open.

After placement, the Parameter dialog can be accessed by:

Double-clicking on the placed comment object.
Placing the cursor over the comment object, right-clicking then choosing Properties from the context menu.

During placement, the Parameter mode of the Properties panel can be accessed by pressing the Tab key. Once the comment is placed, all options appear.

After placement, the Parameter mode of the Properties panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:

If the Properties panel is already active, by selecting the comment object.
After selecting the comment object, select the Properties panel from the Panels button in the bottom right section of the workspace, or by select View » Panels » Properties from the main menu.

The properties can be accessed prior to entering placement mode from the Schematic - Defaults page of the Preferences dialog. This allows the default properties for the object to be changed, which will be applied when placing subsequent objects.

Via a List Panel

Panel pages: SCH List, SCHLIB List, SCH Filter, SCHLIB Filter

A List panel allows you to display design objects from one or more documents in tabular format, enabling quick inspection and modification of object attributes. Used in conjunction with appropriate filtering - by using the applicable Filter panel, or the Find Similar Objects dialog - it enables the display of just those objects falling under the scope of the active filter – allowing you to target and edit multiple design objects with greater accuracy and efficiency.

Fixing the Location of the Comment

The default behavior of the Comment is to auto-position it as a component is rotated during placement. If this behavior is not required, disable the Autoposition option in the Preferences dialog (refer to the previous image) either during symbol creation or after the component has been placed on a schematic sheet. Note that doing this sets this parameter to be classified as a manual parameter (meaning manually positioned parameter). Manual parameters are identified by a dot on the lower left corner of their selection box.

Control the display of manual parameter marker dots using the Mark Manual Parameters option on the Schematic - Graphical Editing page of the Preferences dialog.