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Working with the Board Insight System

Summary
Article AP0137 (v1.6) May 23, 2008

Board Insight is a configurable system of features that give you complete control over viewing and working with your PCB design.

A complex multi-layer board makes for a visually dense and often difficult to interpret workspace. Altium Designers Board Insight system makes it easier to view and understand the objects in your design. It consists of an integrated set of features developed to meet your view management needs. 2D Board Insight includes: Insight Lens Insight Panel Insight Pop-up Heads Up Display cursor information Floating graphical views Enhanced Single Layer mode Enhanced labeling on objects

Integrated with Board Insight are enhanced Single Layer mode and 3D visualization features. In Single Layer mode you can see clearly what is on a given layer, but also have perspective as to what is on other layers. With 3D visualization you can see a 3D model or cross-sectional views of your PCB, relevant to cursor position, in a separate panel.

Configuring the 2D Board Insight System

2D Board Insight options are configured in the PCB Editor - Board Insight pages of the Preferences dialog. Here you can configure Board Insight options from hover delays, lens shape and size, through to shortcuts. A quick way to access many of the Board Insight features, such as the Lens or Heads Up Display, is via shortcut keys. To help you learn the shortcuts, and as an alternate to remembering them, press F2 while you are working. This will open the Board Insight submenu (also accessible via the View menu), which you can use as a reference to read a shortcut from, or as a menu to select an entry.

Figure 1. Press F2 to display the Board Insight pop-up menu.

Insight Lens
The Insight Lens makes light work of performing a detailed examination of your board. While the workspace remains at a low level of zoom you can closely inspect the smallest detail on the board, magnifying it in the Insight Lens. With its own zoom and single layer shortcuts, working with the Insight Lens will soon become second nature. Working with the Insight Lens can be easier to use via the shortcut keys and mouse configuration settings. This way you can more quickly navigate to your desired view.

Figure 2. Use the Insight Lens to closely examine your board. AP0137 (v1.6) May 23, 2008

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Working with the Board Insight System Shortcut SHIFT + M SHIFT + N SHIFT + CTRL + M SHIFT + CTRL + N SHIFT + CTRL + S Function Toggles the Insight Lens on or off. Use the lens when you need it. Toggles the Insight Lens to move with the cursor, or drop it on the board at the current cursor location. Use this option to relocate the Insight Lens. Toggles the workspace zoom to display the contents of the Insight Lens. This allows you to see in more detail what is displayed in the Insight Lens. The Insight Lens moves with the cursor, centered around the cursor. Switches the Insight Lens into any of the available Single Layer modes (set in PCB Editor Board Insight Display page of the Preferences dialog, shown in Figure 4). The current layer objects are displayed in the lens, while all objects on other layers are masked or hidden, depending on the Single Layer mode being used. Displays the Board Insight pop-up menu. Changes zoom level inside the Insight Lens. Same as SHIFT + CTRL + M, toggles the workspace zoom to display the contents of the Insight Lens.

F2 ALT + Wheel-roll ALT + Wheel-click

Configure the size, shape and other Insight Lens properties in the PCB Editor Board Insight Lens page of the Preferences dialog (Figure 3). Note that when using 3D modes, DirectX must be enabled, which only allows for rectangular lens shapes.

Figure 3. The Board Insight Lens preferences

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Working with the Board Insight System

Figure 4. The Board Insight Display preferences.

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Working with the Board Insight System

Heads Up Display Data

The Heads Up Display (HUD) gives you real-time feedback about objects currently under the cursor in the PCB workspace. The HUD is configurable, and can include cursor location, delta information (distance from the last mouse click), current layer and current-snap grid. As well as the information content, the display font and colors can also be configured. The HUD can be parked anywhere on the screen or you can have it follow the cursor using the SHIFT + G shortcut. Shortcut SHIFT + H SHIFT + G SHIFT + D Function Toggles the Heads Up Display on or off. Use this to decide when you want to use the display. Toggles the location of the Heads Up Display to be at a fixed position on the board or allows it to be moved with the cursor. Use this option to move the Heads Up Display. Toggles the display of the Delta Origin coordinates. The delta coordinates displays the distance, horizontally (dx) and vertically (dy), from the Delta origin coordinates. Use the Delta coordinates to gauge distance relative to a position on your board. Resets the Delta Origin to the current mouse coordinates. The distance horizontally and vertically the mouse is moved from the Delta Origin can be displayed in the Heads Up Display. This setting can be configured in the PCB Editor Board Insight Modes page of the Preferences dialog. Displays the Board Insight pop-up menu.
Figure 5. The Board Insight Heads Up Display.

INS

F2

Configure which information is displayed in the HUD in the PCB Editor Board Insight Modes page of the Preferences dialog.

Figure 6. The PCB Board Insight Mode preferences

In the Heads Up column of this dialog, enable each property option you want displayed. Font settings can also be adjusted.

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Working with the Board Insight System

Heads Up Display Hover Mode

If you pause for a moment as you are moving the cursor, the Heads Up Display will switch to Hover mode. In Hover mode extra information is displayed, this can include a summary, available shortcuts, rule violations, net, component and primitive details. Configure the HUD Hover mode in the PCB Editor Board Insight Modes page of the Preferences dialog. Enable each property option you want displayed in the Hover column as illustrated in Figure 6. The results of the configuration is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Heads Up Display Hover mode showing detailed information about objects under the cursor.

Pop-up Mode
The Board Insight systems Pop-up mode is an excellent tool for interrogating objects under the cursor. Pressing SHIFT + W or SHIFT + V presents the Pop-up mode display, which includes list of all components, nets and violations under the cursor, and a graphical display of the object currently chosen in the list. From the list you can edit, select or zoom on any of the objects. As well as the component, net and violation group-type objects, the Board Insight popup list will include the primitive objects that were under the cursor and belong to them, such as pads and tracks. The list is hierarchical, allowing you, for example, to drill down for complete detail on the objects causing a violation. Use the SHIFT + V shortcut to load the popup with information about violations currently under the cursor. SHIFT + X loads the popup with information about any nets and components under the cursor.

Figure 8. Click the mouse wheel to display the Board Insights Popup mode.

Panel Mode
The Board Insight panel provides the same information as the popup view, in a panel, with no keystrokes required to update the contents (Figure 9). The panel allows you to view in more detail what is in under the cursor. When you hover the cursor over component, net or violation objects, they will be loaded into the panel. Once the information is in the panel it will remain until the cursor is paused in a new location. The top region of the panel displays a graphical preview of the object. The second region lists all primitives under the cursor. Here you can edit them, change their selection state and navigate to them. The available information can include listing components, nets and violations. From the list you can select, edit or zoom in on any of the objects. The optional lower region of the panel (toggled via the Show Lens option) gives you a close up 2D view of the area currently under the cursor. There is also 3D Board Insight visualization available in another panel, see 3D Board Insight for details The Board Insight panel works like any other panel it can be resized, docked or floated over the workspace. The following table summarizes key shortcuts available when using the second (list) region of the panel: Shortcut / Icon Function Zoom into highlight item. The zoom level is controlled with by the Zoom Precision setting in the System Navigation page of the Preferences dialog. Click to toggle the selection state of one or more items. Edit the item. ALT + Wheel-roll SHIFT + CTRL + S F2 Changes zoom level inside the panel Insight Lens. Switches the Insight Lens into Single Layer mode. The current layer objects are displayed in the lens, while all objects on other layers are masked or hidden, depending on the Single Layer mode. Displays the Board Insight sub-menu.

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Working with the Board Insight System

Figure 9. The Board Insight panel gives detailed view of what is currently under the cursor.

Visual Pick List

A multi-layer PCB design makes for a dense and visually crowded workspace, with many objects on top of one another. The Visual Pick List pop-up makes object selection simple. When the mouse is clicked (or double-clicked) when there are multiple objects under the cursor, the Visual Pick List will appear. As you move the mouse through the list, the current object will be selected on the board, as well as be displayed in the popup, allowing easy identification. Objects in the Pick List are also sorted by layer.

Figure 10. The Visual Pick List makes it easy to choose the correct object in a crowded workspace.

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Single Layer Mode

Integrated with Board Insight are the Single Layer mode features. Single Layer mode displays the contents of the current layer, hiding or dimming the contents of all other layers. As well as hiding all objects on all other layers to display only the contents of the current layer, Single Layer mode has two other display modes, allowing you to retain other layer data in your view, except displaying it without color. Converting all other layer colors to grayscale or monochrome lets you retain the spatial relationship information about the location of other objects in the design, without distracting you from the layer of interest. The background intensity and contrast for grayscale and monochrome modes is controlled using the Masked Objects Factor and Background Objects Factor slide controls from the Mask Level button at the bottom right of the PCB workspace. Press SHIFT + S to cycle through the available Single Layer modes, which can include:

Not in Single Layer Mode Displays all primitives on all layers.

Grayscale Other Layers Displays the current layer, all primitives on other layers are displayed in grayscale shading. The shading is derived from the original layer color.

Monochrome Other Layers Displays the current layer, all primitives on other layers are displayed in the same shade of gray.

Hide Other Layers Displays the current layer, all primitives on other layers are not displayed.

Single Layer mode behavior is configured in the PCB Board Insight Display page of the Preferences dialog (Figure 4). By default, all three single layer display modes are enabled, meaning that you will cycle through them as you press SHIFT + S. Use the checkboxes in this dialog to turn off any options you do not want included when you press SHIFT + S. Mechanical layers include an option to keep them displayed when Single Layer mode is enabled. The option is enabled in the View Configurations dialog [shortcut L].

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Layer Transparency
The Board Insight system supports layer transparency. This feature allow you to see through object to other objects underneath. To turn on layer transparency, enable the Use Transparent Layers option in the View Options page of the View Configurations dialog. Further controls for layer transparency contrast and brightness are located in the PCB Editor Display page of the Preferences dialog (Figure 4).

Normal Transparency

Ordered Blending

Full Brightness Blending

Active Layer Control

The PCB Editor is a multilayer environment, with one layer being currently active. As well as clicking on the Layer tab at the bottom of the workspace to make another layer active, you can move through the active layers by holding CTRL + SHIFT while rolling the mouse-wheel. Note that current layer selection applies only to the 2D editing environment. Layer change shortcuts include: Shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + Mouse-wheel + (plus) - (minus) * (multiply) Function Next layer / previous layer Next layer Previous layer Next signal layer

Net Name Displayed on Tracks

Another handy feature to help you work more efficiently is the ability to display net names on the routing. Wherever you are working on the board, you can instantly be sure if the routing you are looking at is the net you are interested in. Regardless of whether or not you are showing net names on tracks in the main design window (View Options page, View Configurations dialog), the Board Insight lens always shows net names.

Figure 11. Net names on the tracks is another time saving feature.

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Net Highlighting
Making sense of a complex PCB design is much easier with the net highlighting features. CTRL + Click on any net, and everything in the workspace that is not part of that net is faded, making the routing stand out on all signal layers (Figure 12). To highlight multiple nets hold the SHIFT key as you CTRL + Click on each net. CTRL + Click in free space to restore the display, or click the Clear button at the bottom right of the workspace.

Live Highlighting
Net highlighting can be used dynamically too, meaning that as you move the cursor over a net, it can be highlighted. This method uses an outline highlight, which is configurable, and does not affect the display of the remainder of the PCB (Figure 13). The PCB Editor - Board Insight Display page of the Preferences dialog has controls in the Live Highlighting region to enable and configure this feature. When enabled, this feature can be limited to highlighting only when the SHIFT key is pressed (Figure 14).
Figure 12. An example of a net being highlighted using CTRL + Click.

Figure 14. Live highlighting configuration options. Figure 13. An example of a net being highlighted using Live Highlighting.

Pad and Via Detail Display Options

You can control the display of pad and via details in the workspace using the Pad and Via Display Options region of the PCB Editor - Board Insight Display page of the Preferences dialog (Figure 15). Here you can configure font, color and background for pad and via information. Strings are automatically presented as right-reading, and aligned in the direction that maximizes the area available to display them. Note: Not all pad and via detail features will work, depending on display mode (DirectX or GDI) and that using Smart Display Color, which automatically controls pad and via detail display, is recommended.
Figure 15. Pad and Via Detail Options

Locked Objects Display Options

You can control how locked objects are displayed in the workspace, making them easier to identify visually. Use the controls in the Show Locked Texture on Objects region of the PCB Editor - Board Insight Display page of the Preferences dialog (Figure 17).

Figure 16. The locked object texture.

Figure 17. Locked object display Options

Note: The Locked Object texture (Figure 16) is available in DirectX mode only. Object locking is available using the object's properties.

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3D Board Insight
The 3D Visualization panel displays up to three simultaneous 3D views including cross-sections and a floating Board Insight (Figure 18). Using this panel you can examine all aspects of your design inside and out in 3D whilst still working on it in either 2D or 3D modes in the PCB Editor window. Open the panel by selecting View Workspace Panels PCB 3D Visualization or selecting 3D Visualization from the PCB button (bottom right corner of main editing window). The 3D panel displays are shown based on the position of the cursor in the PCB Editor window as shown in Figure 19 and Figure 20. You can freeze or unfreeze the position of the 3D Visualization panel displays whilst moving around in the PCB Editor window by pressing SHIFT + F3. Use the controls to show/hide the various regions of the panel. The Configuration region of the panel allows you to select from any saved 3D view configuration (set in View Configurations dialog [shortcut L]), which will control colours and surface opacity. The Thickness Scaling slide control alters the vertical scale of the board to make it easier to differentiate layers when viewing the PCB internally. You can select between 1 and 100 times the vertical scaling. The other controls relate to the cross-sectional views. The Section A-A region displays the Section A-A (X-axis) view. The Section B-B section displays the Section B-B (Y-axis) view. The 3D Board Insight region displays the fully floating 3D Board Insight perspective. You can zoom the view by Figure 18. 3D Visualization Panel. left-dragging the mouse. You can zoom in to penetrate the PCB surfaces and even travel through the PCB internals. Right-drag the mouse to rotate the view in any direction. Rotation is about the cursor position in the PCB Editor window.

Figure 19. Relative position in 2D PCB Editor window

Figure 20. Relative position in 3D PCB Editor window

Notes
You need to have DirectX 9.0c or later installed and enabled in order to use the 3D Visualization panel. Your graphics card must also support Shader Model 3. To enable DirectX in Altium Designer, open the Preferences dialog from Tools Preferences, open the PCB Editor folder in the left panel and click Display. Enable the Use DirectX if possible option under Display Options in the right panel. With DirectX enabled, Board Insight Lens shapes are always rectangular. You may notice that when traveling inside the PCB in the 3D Board Insight display that you can still be inside the board whilst your cursor is off the board in the PCB Editor window. This can occur because of the differing perspective, 3D positioning and zoom levels between the 3D Board Insight and the PCB Editor window views. The cursor position is not shown internally to the PCB in the 3D Board Insight display, however, is always the position from where the internal PCB perspective is based around.

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Revision History
Date 17-Dec-2005 5-Jul-2006 31-Oct-2007 19-Dec-2007 21-Jan-2008 28-Feb-2008 23-May-2008 Version No. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Revision Altium Designer 6.0 release Few formatting issues resolved. 3D Board Insight information and masking control added for Altium Designer 6.8 Updated for 6.9, included transparent layers mode Minor edits and screen image updates for 6.9. Converted to A4 Updated for S08. Included live highlighting and locked objects details, updated images.

Software, hardware, documentation and related materials: Copyright 2008 Altium Limited. The material provided with this notice is subject to various forms of national and international intellectual property protection, including but not limited to copyright protection. You have been granted a non-exclusive license to use such material for the purposes stated in the end-user license agreement governing its use. In no event shall you reverse engineer, decompile, duplicate, distribute, create derivative works from or in any way exploit the material licensed to you except as expressly permitted by the governing agreement. Failure to abide by such restrictions may result in severe civil and criminal penalties, including but not limited to fines and imprisonment. Provided, however, that you are permitted to make one archival copy of said materials for back up purposes only, which archival copy may be accessed and used only in the event that the original copy of the materials is inoperable. Altium, Altium Designer, Board Insight, DXP, Innovation Station, LiveDesign, NanoBoard, NanoTalk, OpenBus, P-CAD, SimCode, Situs, TASKING, and Topological Autorouting and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium Limited or its subsidiaries. All other registered or unregistered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners and no trademark rights to the same are claimed. v8.0 31/3/08.

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