Component Display Properties

Now reading version 3.0. For the latest, read: Component Display Properties for version 5
Applies to NEXUS Client versions: 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 and 4

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The Component Display Properties dialog
The Component Display Properties dialog

Summary

The Component Display Properties dialog presents a tabular component list that allows you to configure how they are displayed in the Board Assembly View of a Draftsman document.

Access

With a Board Assembly View selected in the active Draftsman document, this dialog can be accessed from the Properties panel by clicking the Components button (under the Properties region of the panel).

Options/Controls

Geometry Tab

The Geometry tab of the Component Display Properties dialogThe Geometry tab of the Component Display Properties dialog

  • Show menu – use the drop-down to select in which grouping format the component properties will be displayed: Components, Classes, Footprints, or BOM Items

Columns

  • Items – the BOM entry (item) number. Applies when Show is set to BOM Items.
  • Designator – the component entry's Designator parameter value. Applies when Show is set to Components.
  • Name – the name of the entry, based on the data type selected by the Show option.
    • Components option – component Footprint name.
    • Classes option – name of collective component Class, as shown in the Components mode of the PCB panel.
    • Footprints option – Footprint name.
    • BOM Items option – component Description parameter.
  • Visible – toggle the visibility of a component's graphics, based on the Show setting. When Show is set to Classes for example, the Visible option will toggle the graphics display of all components that fall under the indicated Class.
  • Geometry Source – use the drop-down to select the data source used for rendering the component's graphics:
    • Default – the component graphics will be taken in order of priority from the options below.
    • BodyProjection – the component's 3D model, if available.
    • BodyProjectionSimple - the component's simple 3D body.
    • SilkScreen – the silk screen printing layer.
    • BoundingBox – dimensions derived from the component's contact pads.
    • AssemblyDrawing – the component graphic on the Assembly Component Layer Pair specified in the PCB design, under the Layers & Colors tab of the View Configuration panel – the layer pair containing component data is set to the Assembly Layer Type in the associated Edit Layers dialog.
  • Color – the color of the component graphics. Select and use the drop down menu options to specify an alternative standard color, or one selected from a RGB or HSB color palette.
  • Reference marker display – use the drop-down to select the display of the reference marker. Choices include: None or InsideContour (a dot indicating pin 1).
  • Hatching Pattern – select a pattern entry and use its associated button to open the Fill Style dialog. In the dialog, select the visual pattern and color used to render the component's profile, such as when it is displayed in a board Section View.

Parameters Tab

The Parameters tab of the Component Display Properties dialogThe Parameters tab of the Component Display Properties dialog

  • Show menu – use the drop-down to select in which grouping format the component properties will be displayed: Components, Classes, Footprints, or BOM Items
  • Add Parameter – click the  to add a new parameter column group (Parameter [n]). Use the Parameter Name drop down to select from the available parameters for the component entry.

Columns

  • Items – the BOM entry (item) number. Applies when Show is set to BOM Items.
  • Designator – the component entry's Designator parameter value. Applies when Show is set to Components.
  • Name – the name of the entry, based on the data type selected by the Show option.
    • Components option – component Footprint name.
    • Classes option – name of the Class.
    • Footprints option – Footprint name.
    • BOM Items option – component Description parameter.
  • Designator column group:
    • Show – toggle the visibility of the selected Designator entry.
    • Location – use the drop-down to select the position settings for a component designator. 
      • CenterFit (default) – the designator is placed in the center of the component graphic and automatically scaled to fit.
      • Center, TopLeft, Left, BottomLeft, Bottom, BottomRight, Right, TopRight, Top – the designator is placed close to the component outline in the position selected.​
      • AssemblyDrawing – the designator string, its position, and size are defined by the properties of the component designator (generally derived from a .Designator special string) on the Assembly Component Layer Pair specified in the PCB design. This is set in the Layers & Colors tab of the View Configuration panel, where the layer pair containing component data is set to the Assembly Layer Type in the associated Edit Layers dialog.
      • Silkscreen – designator positional information is derived from the design's Silksceen overlay.
      • Manual - this option is automatically selected when a designator has been manually dragged to a new position (Ctrl+LeftClick+drag).
    • Font – the selected font for a component designator (not available for the CenterFit option, which scales the font size). Note that when the Designator is derived from a board mechanical layer (the AssemblyDrawing Location option), the font style is determined by the Font option but the font size will reflect that defined by the designator on the board mechanical layer.
  • Parameter (n) column group:
    • Name – use the drop-down to select a Parameter associated with the Component entry.
    • Location – use the drop-down to select the position settings for a component parameter (as described above).
    • Font – the selected font for a component parameter (as described above).

Table Content Filtering

The dialog provides smart filtering capabilities to ease the task of locating and changing options for multiple entries. Hover in a column header to access the  icon, click the icon, then select the desired entry in the drop-down list to constrain (filter) the dialog contents to components that match the selected attribute. Multiple filter options can be applied and then disabled or cleared using the filter entry checkboxes in the dialog's lower border.

Selecting (Custom) in the filter drop-down will open the Custom AutoFilter dialog from where you can create a more advanced or compound filter constraint. Click  in the dialog for filtering hints.
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