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Installation of any software application should be straightforward, intuitive, and, perhaps above all, fast. Furthermore, when you have the software installed, you want to be able to update it as and when you deem necessary, and in a streamlined fashion.
Altium NEXUS provides a fast, efficient Installation Management System that caters to this very need - a system that not only expedites the initial installation process but lets you handcraft the features available to that soft
ware at any time after installation.Main article: Installing Altium NEXUS
Initial installation of Altium NEXUS is performed using the Altium NEXUS Installer. This wizard-based installer is accessed by running a small (approx. 23MB) executable - AltiumNexusSetup<Version>.exe
. This executable is downloaded from the Downloads page of the Altium website and can be saved anywhere on your hard disk.
There are two key elements to installation that are definable across the various pages of the installation wizard, allowing you to control what gets installed, and where:
PCB Design
option provides the base software and core technologies required to perform PCB design. It is always installed and cannot be deselected. Use the remaining options to tailor the installation to suit your needs. This will also have an impact on the initial installation time.The installation itself is streamlined and expedient. This allows you to get the software installed and up-and-running in the quickest time possible. Once installed, you can further refine your installation in terms of available features and functionality.
Main article: Altium NEXUS Licensing System
Altium NEXUS includes a streamlined licensing system that enables you to get licensed and up-and-running with your Altium NEXUS Software in a timely and efficient manner. The system offers various licensing types to suit your licensing needs.
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).Main article: Extending Altium NEXUS
Facilitating the ability to enhance your Altium NEXUS instance, customization of the software is made possible through the concept of Extensions. This is a key concept of the system to understand. An extension is effectively an add-on to the software that provides extended features and functionality. A core set of features and functions are installed and handled transparently as part of the initial installation, referred to as System Resources. In addition, Optional Extensions are available, which 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 NEXUS installation essentially boils down to management of the available extensions. Install, update, or remove available extensions as and when you need to. Many extensions are available from Altium for use with Altium NEXUS. In addition, and with the Altium Developer extension, you can extend the functionality of Altium NEXUS through use of the Altium NEXUS SDK (Software Development Kit) by creating your own extensions for the software.
And 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 and opens up the possibility for third-party developers to offer and trade extensions for Altium NEXUS through secure distribution, licensing, and installation of the extensions they craft.
Within Altium NEXUS, management of extensions for the software is performed from within the dedicated Extensions & Updates view, which is accessed by clicking on the control at the top-right of the design space then choosing the Extensions and Updates command from the menu.
We all can appreciate using examples to get us going with specific aspects of software. At times, such examples showcase a feature or set of features that make the learning curve a little less steep. In a similar fashion, we like to have access to a pre-developed set of libraries, giving us a boost in the choice of components we can use 'out-of-the-box'.
A selection of example designs is installed as part of the initial installation. In a standard default installation of the software, these can be found in the \Users\Public\Documents\Altium\Nexus4\Examples
folder of the installation. Further reference designs, design components, and board templates are available through various sections in the Design Content area of the Altium website:
Once the base version of Altium NEXUS is installed on a computer (e.g., 4.0.x), you can either update to a subsequent version (e.g., 4.0.x +1), or that subsequent version can be installed as a fresh and distinct instance. The installation system supports the concurrent installation of different instances of the software. The beauty of installing different version instances is that it enables you to quickly access a previous version directly and independently, whereas an update effectively replaces the earlier version with the later one.
When running the installer for a subsequent version of Altium NEXUS, an additional page of the Altium NEXUS Installer wizard will be available called Installation Mode. This page gives you the choice of either updating an existing version instance of Altium NEXUS or installing as a separate new version instance. Choose the New installation option to maintain separate version instances of the software on the same computer. Remember to specify different destination folders for the new instance later in the wizard.
There are two important factors that facilitate the installation of multiple individual version instances of the software:
The following is a summary of the default installation folders for Altium NEXUS 4.x (Windows 7 and above):
\Program Files\Altium\Nexus4
\Users\Public\Documents\Altium\Nexus4
\ProgramData\Altium\Altium NEXUS <GUID>
\ProgramData\Altium\Altium NEXUS <GUID>_Security
For two example instances, the paths might, therefore, be (inserting example GUIDs):
\ProgramData\Altium\Altium NEXUS {7DF7280E-CD03-40A9-A6A4-DDD057140F70}
\ProgramData\Altium\
Altium
NEXUS
{7DF7280E-CD03-40A9-A6A4-DDD057140F70}_Security
\ProgramData\Altium\
Altium
NEXUS
{566C1AFA-49CA-4B17-B7CB-70A2042D8DAC}
\ProgramData\Altium\
Altium
NEXUS
{566C1AFA-49CA-4B17-B7CB-70A2042D8DAC}_Security
DXP.rcs
, UserTools.tlt
, AdvPCB.dft
, AdvSch.dft
, last design space) for a particular instance can be found in the following directory:\Users\<ProfileName>\AppData\Roaming\Altium\Altium NEXUS <GUID>
For two example instances, and a user profile of Des.Igner
, the paths would therefore be:
\Users\Des.Igner\AppData\Roaming\Altium\Altium NEXUS {7DF7280E-CD03-40A9-A6A4-DDD057140F70}
\Users\Des.Igner\AppData\Roaming\Altium\Altium NEXUS {566C1AFA-49CA-4B17-B7CB-70A2042D8DAC}
\Users\<ProfileName>\AppData\Local\Altium\Altium NEXUS <GUID>
For two example instances, and a user profile of Des.Igner
, the paths would therefore be:
\Users\Des.Igner\AppData\Local\Altium\Altium NEXUS {7DF7280E-CD03-40A9-A6A4-DDD057140F70}
\Users\Des.Igner\AppData\Local\Altium\Altium NEXUS {566C1AFA-49CA-4B17-B7CB-70A2042D8DAC}
For the main program installation and shared documents folders, you have the ability to give those folders meaningful names, which can come in very handy for a machine containing multiple different version instances of the software. But for other folders, they are only distinguished by their GUID. Being able to tell that you have the right folder for the right version instance suddenly becomes more difficult. However, help is at hand. By using the Preferences dialog, you can quickly identify the GUID used for the currently open instance of the software and, armed with that knowledge, you can pick the right folder through Windows Explorer.
The GUID can be identified on the following pages of the Preferences dialog (in a standard default installation of Altium NEXUS):
Identifying the GUID used for the active version instance of Altium NEXUS.
During initial installation of Altium NEXUS, you have a choice over the core design functionality you want to be installed. This choice is not 'set in stone', however, and can be modified at any time after installation. This can be performed in two places:
Altium NEXUS
and use the Change command from the context menu.Updating to a later version can be performed from two places:
Updating your current instance of Altium NEXUS to a later version is performed during installation of that later version.
AltiumNexusSetup<Version>.exe
file associated with the latest version of the software.Uninstalling Altium NEXUS is performed using the Altium NEXUS Uninstaller. This wizard-based uninstaller is accessed from the standard Programs and Features page (accessed from the Control Panel in Windows 7 and above). Right-click on the entry for Altium NEXUS
and use the Uninstall command from the context menu.
Three actions are provided, facilitating varying degrees of 'uninstall' as follows:
Choose the uninstall action required. If you want to cancel out of the uninstall, click Cancel. To proceed with the uninstall, click Next. The page will change to Uninstalling Altium NEXUS and the chosen action will be processed. Once the uninstall is complete, click Finish on the Uninstallation Complete page of the Uninstaller.
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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
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