SYDNEY – Altium Ltd has released Service Pack 4 (SP4) for Altium Designer, a single, unified application that is said to incorporate all the technologies and capabilities necessary for electronic product development. Available as a free download to existing licensed customers, it includes over 100 new features and enhancements.

Document file locking improves collaborative design. Documents opened for editing by one designer can be locked to prevent accidental overwriting by other designers.

A new ‘Archive Project’ command automatically consolidates all project documents within a compressed zip file.

At the PCB level, SP4 introduces real-time, 3-D component clearance checking when placing parts. Designers can define the extent of components in terms of multiple areas, heights and standoffs, creating a complex 3-D ‘envelope’ of the component body. Enhancements to component clearance checking rules allow clearances in all directions to be monitored in real-time during placement.

Schematic editing now includes the automation of common rework operations on schematic designs. New commands include ‘Push Part to Sheet’, that makes it easy to replace a component with a sheet symbol, automatically creating an additional subsheet containing the displaced component and maintain overall connectivity. ‘Rename Child Sheet’ command allows the user to change the filename of a subsheet and optionally update all sheet symbols in the project or workspace.

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