Contact Us
Contact our corporate or local offices directly.
Parent page: System & Environment Panels
The Explorer panel gives access to data stored in a server.
The Explorer panel is the primary interface between Altium Designer and a connected managed content server, making it an integral part of the Design Data Management System. A managed content server stores your valuable company design data, including components, managed sheets and templates, and completed designs. From the Explorer panel, you create and manage the organizational structure used in the managed content server and also create any number of Items, each representative of a design-side object. From the panel, you also can access detailed Item information and manage the revision and lifecycle settings for the Items, as well as where-used and supply chain detail.
To display the Explorer panel, click the Panels button on the bottom-right of the workspace then select Explorer. Alternatively, you can access the panel through the View » Panels » Explorer.
The Explorer panel can only interface to one server at a time. The field at the top-left of the panel indicates the currently open server – the server whose content you will be able to browse and modify. To refresh the content display for the active server, click the icon at the end of the address bar or right-click in the Server Folders region then select Refresh Server.
Use the drop-down arrow to the right of the server name or click on the server name itself to select a different server.
If Altium Content Vault is chosen, the Content Vault replaced with Manufacturer Part Search dialog opens.
As the dialog states, items in the Content Vault are now part of the Manufacturer Part Search panel. Click Proceed with Search to open the panel and search for the required item. You can read about the Manufacturer Part Search panel by clicking Learn More.
Maintain order within a server by creating a tree of folders for the various Items stored in the server. A number of folder types are available. Use these folders to categorize the server content. Right-click in the Server Folders region of the panel to add folders and define a storage structure of folders and sub-folders that suits your organization.
The right-click menu includes commands for defining a folder hierarchy. Note that the options change depending on where you click.
You have full control over the folder type and it can be changed at any time by right-clicking on a folder then select Properties to open the Edit Folder dialog.
When you add or edit a folder, a dialog will appear in which you can define the properties of the folder. The content of the dialog is the same whether a top-level or sub-folder is being added.
The dialog presents the following folder-related properties:
Item Naming Scheme – this field provides a set of default naming schemes that can be used to quickly define the unique ID for any item subsequently created within the folder. Using a default naming scheme, the software will automatically assign the next available unique ID based on that scheme, having scanned the entire server and identifiers of existing items. You can create your own scheme for a folder by typing it within the field, ensuring that the variable portion is enclosed in curly braces (e.g., SYMBOL-001-{J000
}). See the Defining Naming Schemes for Item Revisions page for more information.
You can navigate the content in a server in several ways:
Server folders can be moved to a different location within a server's folder structure in the following ways:
A folder can only be deleted if it is empty, that is, it contains no sub-folders or items. To delete a folder, right-click then select Delete Folder.
Each entity that is stored in the server is called an Item. To support the need to be able to update an Item over time, what is actually stored in the server is a series of Item Revisions that are specific revisions of that Item whose name is based on the chosen Revision Naming Scheme. Each new Item is created in a folder and once you have defined the required folders within a server, you can create new Items in the selected folder in the Item region of the panel.
► Refer to the Server Items page to learn more about server items.
You can configure the revisions that are displayed in the panel by clicking the icon to access a drop-down of revision choices.
The panel also offers two special, interpreted views that apply to Components and Projects. The view will automatically switch to this style when a Component or Project is selected unless the panel display option has been changed to the Classic View mode.
The Classic or interpreted view (Component View / Project View) options are available from the view menu when one of the special item types has been selected.
Along with the view options, the panel's options area also includes the Add <item> command button, which applies to the currently selected type of component.
This command invokes the creation of a new server item of the selected type. When a component is selected in the panel, for example, an button is offered. This will open a newly created component of that type in the Component Editor. Similarly, a
button is shown when an Output Job Template has been selected, and so on. The
button will follow a component search, as entered in the component path field at the top of the panel, which creates a Part Request activity that applies to the component selected in the search results.
The exception is when a project is selected, where the and
buttons are presented:
For each Item revision in a server, the Explorer panel allows you to browse different aspects of that revision, where applicable. This is done using one or more views for that revision by using the tabs at the bottom of the panel.
The default-level view is the Preview. Click additional tabs to view more information (the available tabs will depend upon the type of Item that is currently selected):
Draft
, Prototype
, etc) for a Component item.FAB<project name>_PDB
) of a released Managed Project or the schematic document and components used in a Managed Schematic Sheet.
Browse different aspects of an Item revision using its associated views.
The interface for the search facility, the Search view, is accessed through the Explorer panel by clicking the Search tab at the bottom-left of the panel.
Use the generic, standard-type Search bar, which provides a single search field for entry of search strings. Enter a search string and press Enter. To create a new saved search, right-click in the Saved Searches region and choose New from the context menu. The New Search dialog will appear, in which to define the search.
To modify an existing saved search, select it in the Saved Searches region, right-click and choose Edit from the context menu. The Edit: [<SavedSearchName>] dialog will appear, from where to make any changes t
o the search as required. Once changes have been made, click the Save button - the search will be applied in accordance with its new settings.To remove an existing saved search, select it in the Saved Searches region, right-click and choose Delete from the context menu. Click Yes in the subsequent confirmation dialog - the search will be removed from the listing of saved searches.
To create a new saved search, right-click in the Saved Searches region and choose New from the context menu. The New Search dialog will appear, in which to define the search.
The panel's interpreted Project View displays the selected project in a process-orientated view that provides direct access to the relevant project data and its releases.
The tabs available in the view are:
The view's command options include:
Various commands are available from right-click menus in the panel. The exact listing of commands will depend on the region of the panel in which you right-click and the object currently in focus within that region. The following sections cover the commands available.
ComponentType
parameter may set to a different type.Component Lifecycle
Definition would typically apply to Components, for example.Production
back to Prototype
when the Component Lifecycle
Definition applies.Abandoned
, Obsolete
, Deprecated
, etc, rather than promoting it to the next higher level. This would be an Obsolete
state for the Component Lifecycle
definition, for example.Planned
Lifecycle state. The Create Revision dialog will open that provides all controls necessary to fully define the Item revision.Planned
Lifecycle state. The Create New Item dialog will open that provides all controls necessary to fully define the Item.► See Managing Lifecycles for Items for information on working with Lifecycle Definitions.
Contact our corporate or local offices directly.
If would like to speak with a representative, please contact your local Altium office.
Copyright © 2019 Altium Limited
If would like to speak with a representative, please contact your local Altium office.
Copyright © 2019 Altium Limited
Got it. You actually don’t need an evaluation license for that.
Click the button below to download the latest Altium Designer installer.
If would like to speak with a representative, please contact your local Altium office.
Copyright © 2019 Altium Limited
Please fill out the form below to get a quote for a new seat of Altium Designer.
By clicking “Get Your Free Trial”, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
You may receive communications from Altium and can change your notification preferences at any time.
If you are on Altium Subscription, you don’t need an evaluation license.
If you are not an active Altium Subscription member, please fill out the form below to get your free trial.
By clicking “Get Your Free Trial”, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
You may receive communications from Altium and can change your notification preferences at any time.
If would like to speak with a representative, please contact your local Altium office.
Copyright © 2019 Altium Limited
You came to the right place! Please fill out the form below to get your free trial started.
By clicking “Get Your Free Trial”, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
You may receive communications from Altium and can change your notification preferences at any time.
Great News!
Valid students can get their very own 6-month Altium Designer Student License for FREE! Just fill out the form below to request your Student License today.
By clicking “Get Your Free Trial”, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
You may receive communications from Altium and can change your notification preferences at any time.
Got it. You can download a free Altium Designer Viewer license which is valid for a 6 months.
Please fill out the form below to request one.
By clicking “Get Your Free Trial”, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
You may receive communications from Altium and can change your notification preferences at any time.
That’s great! Making things is awesome. We have the perfect program for you.
Upverter is a free community-driven platform designed specifically to meet the needs of makers like you.
Click here to give it a try!
If would like to speak with a representative, please contact your local Altium office.
Copyright © 2019 Altium Limited
Got it. You can download a free Altium Designer Viewer license which is valid for a 6 months.
Please fill out the form below to request one.
By clicking “Get Your Free Trial”, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
You may receive communications from Altium and can change your notification preferences at any time.