QuickNav - Platform Key Capabilities

Design Portal

Design Portal is your actual Altium Workspace on the Altium Platform, badged according to your subscribed platform solution as either an Altium Develop Workspace or Altium Agile Workspace. An integral part of the Altium Platform, the Altium Workspace is a dedicated server for hosting and managing all your design content. It enables the seamless connectivity of, and the mechanics for moving data between, the design, manufacturing and supply domains. It works with Altium Designer (Altium Designer Develop and Altium Designer Agile) to provide an elegant answer to the question of handling design data with secured integrity. The Workspace not only provides solid, secure storage of data, but also enables re-release of data as distinctly separate revisions – essentially tracking design changes over time, without overwriting any previously released data. It also caters for the lifecycle of the data to be managed, allowing people that need to use the data to immediately see what stage the data has reached in its 'life' and therefore what it can be safely used for.
 

The Workspace can accommodate all managed data, including components, domain models, schematic sheets of circuitry and design templates. You can even create and manage your entire design projects directly within the Workspace, with a CAD-centric management view that allows collaborative review and commenting of that design, along with inspection of its BOM and history. Through a dedicated Manufacturing Portal you can view and navigate the released file data, inspect the BOM, and view and comment on the snapshot of the design itself; the source for that released data. A chosen release can also be shared – as a Manufacturing Package – directly with your manufacturer.
 

By furnishing a set of reusable design 'building blocks' within the Workspace you can embark on fresh projects safe in the knowledge that each model, component and higher-order design element has been ratified and approved for use, with no having to reinvent the wheel as it were. The Workspace becomes both the source and destination of design elements, with each new design utilizing elements released to, and managed through, the Workspace. And by designing only with elements from the Workspace, the integrity of those designs is inherently assured.
 

Learn more about: Activation & Management | Inviting Other Users to Your Workspace | Configuration | Workspace Projects | Workspace Components | Exploring the Browser-based Interface

BOM Portal

BOM Portal is an advanced tool for creating and managing Bill of Materials item listings for review and procurement purposes. Drawing on Altium's comprehensive manufacturer part and supplier data resources, BOM Portal augments imported BOM data with live, detailed parts availability information and qualitatively rated alternative part suggestions. Features are included for resolving issues in the BOM listing, determining your preferred supply chain options, including additional information, specifying the BOM Lifecycle state, and much more. As an independent BOM analysis tool, BOM Portal allows platform users to perform design reviews and procurement data updates without requiring access to design-side software. The result is a fully ratified and up-to-date BOM document ready to be passed to the manufacturing stage.
 

In addition, BOM Portal’s Consolidated BOM mode allows you to create a procurement-orientated BOM document from multiple engineering BOMs, which unifies the parts requirements for delivering a complete product – typically based on multiple PCBs, modules or functional sub-sections. It replaces the need to aggregate multiple BOM lists through spreadsheets or other manual means while calculating parts quantities for favorable supplier price breaks, rationalizing equivalent component choices, and generating Purchase Orders or RFQs (Request For Quote).
 

Learn more about: Access & Setup | Working with BOM Portal | Consolidated BOM | BOM CoDesign in Altium Designer

Requirements Portal

Requirements Portal is an advanced engineering management solution used to ensure specification and performance compliance during system design development. When enabled for your Workspace, Requirements Portal integrates with your design projects through the exchange of design data and formalized Requirements instances.
 

Learn more about: Access & Setup | Working with Requirements | Requirements Portal (Full Documentation) | Requirements in a Design

SiliconExpert

The SiliconExpert extension provides direct access to an additional set of advanced manufacturer parts data that is available to your BOM Portal documents, project BOM documents and the Library Health dashboard. The enhanced parametric data sourced from SiliconExpert populates Workspace BOMs as specific parameter columns (YTEOL, Inventory risk, etc). SiliconExpert's advanced parametric parts data and ranked alternative part suggestions are also available when accessing supply chain information features in Altium Designer.
 

Learn more about: Access & Setup | Integration with BOM Portal | Integration with Project BOM | Integration with the Library Health Dashboard | Pulling Part Data from SiliconExpert into Altium Designer

Z2Data

The Z2Data extension brings enhanced manufacturer part information and supply chain data directly into your Workspace. The rich proprietary data sources from Z2Data help you make more informed decisions about the selection and procurement of parts used in your designs. Z2Data is available in BOM Portal documents, project BOM documents and when viewing/editing Workspace Component Part Choices. Z2Data's advanced parametric parts data and ranked alternative part suggestions are also available when accessing supply chain information features in Altium Designer.
 

Learn more about: Access & Setup | Integration with BOM Portal | Integration with Project BOM | Integration with Component Part Choices | Pulling Part Data from Z2Data into Altium Designer

Altium Designer® Connector

The Altium Designer Connector capability provides the ability to upload an Altium Designer project (in a specified project folder^*) to an Altium Workspace. The processed Altium Designer project will be stored under the Workspace's native Git version control and interpreted into Schematic, PCB, 3D PCB, and BOM listing project views. The project and its documents are able to take advantage of the advanced features available through the Altium Platform, including control of object/layer visibility, bidirectional cross-probing, collaboration through managed design sharing, document commenting, and much more.
 

If you have access to BOM Portal, a procurement-orientated Managed BOM document can be created from the design to manage its manufacturing and supplier parts data. And if a new version of a particular Altium Designer project becomes available – due to further work by an external contractor, for example – then the existing Workspace project can be updated, committed as a new VCS project revision and logged as an event in the project’s History view.
 

Learn more about: Uploading an Altium Designer Project

Assembly Assistant

The Assembly Assistant capability provides a browser-based project assembly tool that is based on advanced interaction between the project's detailed BOM data and its 2D/3D assembly view. By bringing these two related sources of assembly data together, Assembly Assistant delivers an integrated tool that allows assemblers to check and work through the board assembly process from one convenient location. For those checking a board's assembly prior to manufacture or engaged in the process of manually assembling boards (say, for prototypes or a short run), the Assembly tool provides the required set of graphical and component part information for stepping through the assembly process. This avoids the need for traditional, and potentially error-prone, assembly processes such as manually checking between assembly and BOM printout sheets.
 

Learn more about: Access | Working with the Assembly Assistant

Design Review

The Design Review capability delivers a central location for all project stakeholders to perform and manage structured reviews of a Workspace design project. The interface allows the creation, access and management of Design Review instances by any Workspace member, which in turn can be assigned to other Workspace members as Reviewers. The review creator (Initiator) can configure the review process to include text-based Checklist items, file attachments and relevant comments. In turn, the Reviewer(s) can open a captured snapshot of the design, complete the review Checklist items, place related comments, invoke Design Comparisons, and ultimately progress their process to a Accepted/Rejected state. The review Initiator then finalizes the process with their own Completed/Rejected assessment and comments.
 

Design Reviews are a convenient way to highlight design problems and ensure that it meets company compliance requirements. The reviews are available to all Workspace member stakeholders during and after the review process, and are also accessible through the project’s Tasks page.
 

Learn more about: Access | Design Reviews | Design Review Checklists | Support for Design Reviews in Altium Designer

EAGLE® Connector

The EAGLE Connector capability provides the ability to upload an EAGLE-based design (in a Zip archive^*) to an Altium Workspace. The processed EAGLE design will be stored under the Workspace's native Git version control and interpreted into Schematic, PCB, 3D PCB, and BOM listing project views. The design and its documents are able to take advantage of the advanced features available through the Altium Platform, including control of object/layer visibility, bidirectional cross-probing, collaboration through managed design sharing, document commenting, and much more.
 

If you have access to BOM Portal, a procurement-orientated Managed BOM document can be created from the design to manage its manufacturing and supplier parts data. And if a new version of a particular EAGLE design becomes available – due to further work by an external contractor, for example – then the existing Workspace project can be updated, committed as a new VCS project revision and logged as an event in the project’s History view.
 

Learn more about: Uploading an EAGLE Design

Jira Integration

The Jira Integration capability enables bidirectional data synchronization between Atlassian Jira^® issues and Altium Workspace Tasks. The integration allows the remote creation of Jira issues directly from your Altium Workspace as dedicated Jira Tasks, or existing Jira Issues can be linked to a Workspace project. Once a Jira Issue to Workspace Task relationship is established, its Comments and status settings (priority, progress, assignee) are synchronized in real time, which provides enhanced and interactive project management insight into Altium design projects in the Jira space.
 

Learn more about: Access & Setup | Working with Jira Tasks | Working with Jira Tasks in Altium Designer

KiCad® Connector

The KiCad Connector capability provides the ability to upload a KiCad-based design (in a Zip archive^*) to an Altium Workspace. The processed KiCad design will be stored under the Workspace's native Git version control and interpreted into Schematic, PCB, 3D PCB, and BOM listing project views. The design and its documents are able to take advantage of the advanced features available through the Altium Platform, including control of object/layer visibility, bidirectional cross-probing, collaboration through managed design sharing, document commenting, and much more.
 

If you have access to BOM Portal, a procurement-orientated Managed BOM document can be created from the design to manage its manufacturing and supplier parts data. And if a new version of a particular KiCad design becomes available – due to further work by an external contractor, for example – then the existing Workspace project can be updated, committed as a new VCS project revision and logged as an event in the project’s History view.
 

Learn more about: Uploading a KiCad Design

MCAD CoDesigner

MCAD CoDesigner delivers functionality for ECAD-MCAD CoDesign between Altium Designer and supported MCAD design tools (Autodesk Fusion®, Autodesk Inventor®, Dassault Systemes SOLIDWORKS®, PTC Creo Parametric®, Siemens NX®). CoDesigner can pass design changes, via an associated panel^*, back and forth through an Altium Workspace, which acts as a bridge between the ECAD and MCAD domains. The advantage of passing design changes through a Workspace is that the update process becomes stateless. This means each side can continue to work independently, without worrying about where the other team is up to in the design process.
 

Advanced features include: Advanced copper geometry, synchronization of keepouts and rooms, rigid-flex board synchronization, native component linkage, enclosure exchange, advanced history, synchronization of a multi-board assembly and synchronization of a harness design. Note that not all features are supported across all supported MCAD tools (refer to documentation for more information).
 

Learn more about: Access & Setup | Altium MCAD CoDesigner (main documentation) | Installing & Configuring CoDesigner | New in CoDesigner | ECAD-MCAD Version Compatibility Matrix | MCAD CoDesigner Plugins 

OrCAD® Connector

The OrCAD Connector capability provides the ability to upload an OrCAD-based design (in a Zip archive^*) to an Altium Workspace. The processed OrCAD design will be stored under the Workspace's native Git version control and interpreted into Schematic, PCB, 3D PCB, and BOM listing project views. The design and its documents are able to take advantage of the advanced features available through the Altium Platform, including control of object/layer visibility, bidirectional cross-probing, collaboration through managed design sharing, document commenting, and much more.
 

If you have access to BOM Portal, a procurement-orientated Managed BOM document can be created from the design to manage its manufacturing and supplier parts data. And if a new version of a particular OrCAD design becomes available – due to further work by an external contractor, for example – then the existing Workspace project can be updated, committed as a new VCS project revision and logged as an event in the project’s History view.
 

Along with the ability to upload OrCAD designs to your Workspace, the Altium Platform also caters for direct integration between OrCAD and your Workspace using a proprietary plugin. Installed on the machine hosting OrCAD, the Altium 365 Plugin for OrCAD is a small utility that provides bidirectional design data exchange between the two domains. The integration provides a convenient way to harness the data management benefits of the Altium Platform with an existing OrCAD installation. OrCAD designs that have been ported to your Workspace are stored under history-tracked version control and available for collaboration, viewing, sharing, commenting, and much more. Access for stakeholders is permission-controlled and available through their web browser.
 

Learn more about: Uploading an OrCAD Design | OrCAD Integration with Altium 365

PLM Integration

The PLM Integration capability delivers support for bi-directional data exchange (synchronizing parts, part choices, metadata and released files) between Altium and a supported PLM system (Windchill®, Arena®, Oracle® Agile™, Aras Innovator®, Duro®, and Siemens Teamcenter® (with additional setup)). The PLM integration setup is performed through the Altium Workspace browser interface, which provides an automated interface for easily configuring the interconnection, mapping parameter data and specifying the direction of data synchronization. In addition, if you have access to configurable workflow functionality, a number of sample templates relating to PLM integration are made available, including those for part creation in the PLM and publishing of design output to the PLM.
 

Learn more about: PLM Integration | Hybrid Agent Integration | PLM-related Process Workflows | Publishing to a PLM from Altium Designer

Process Workflows

The Process Workflows capability delivers support for process-based Workflows, which tightly guide your organization's designers through typical, everyday design processes. These include requesting new component parts, performing project-related activities (such as design reviews or publishing to a PLM system) and creation of new projects in the connected Workspace. Predefined process workflows are included with a Workspace, with some activated for use out-of-the-box, and others supplied as sample 'templates'. Use these, modify them, or create your own custom process to suit the specific needs of your company.
 

A powerful Process Workflow Editor is also included, providing the flexibility for you to build processes with workflows that can be as simple, or as complex as needed, and in-line with your company's requirements.
 

Learn more about: Processes & Workflows | Creating & Managing Processes | Defining a Process Workflow | Working with Process-based Workflow Tasks | Interactive Process Workflows in Altium Designer

Altium 365 GovCloud

Altium 365 GovCloud is a dedicated region of the Altium Platform, situated within the US and operated exclusively by US Persons in the AWS GovCloud region. AWS GovCloud US-East and US-West regions are operated by employees who are US citizens located on US soil. Opting to have an Altium Workspace on the GovCloud region can help organizations comply with various US government regulations such as ITAR and EAR.
 

Learn more about: Altium 365 GovCloud | Altium 365 GovCloud 101: Everything You Need to Know | FAQs | Rehosting Customer Workspace Data to Altium 365 GovCloud

Secure Collaboration

This is a collection of features that provide advanced access controls and compliance tools to protect and control information flow to and from the Altium Platform. These features include:
 

• The ability to authenticate your users by leveraging existing Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) infrastructure, and control network access through IP whitelisting (Inbound Traffic Control), allowing only trusted IP addresses to connect to the platform.

• The ability to access an Events Log, which is a sequential list of notable Data and User events that have occurred in an Altium Workspace. It provides a single point of access for administrators to monitor and audit key Workspace activity for data governance purposes. The Events Log data can be exported/transferred to a suitable SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) system for compliance and auditing purposes.

• Access to an Advanced Controls page of the Company Dashboard, allowing administrators to specify Workspace and Personal Space user access policies for the organization’s Altium Platform. The available options can be configured to allow multiple Workspace creation (or prevention) and to control the file sharing/uploading capabilities of the Personal Spaces available to company members, providing increased data security through the prevention of inadvertent file-sharing or external exposure.

Learn more about: Configuring Sign-in Authentication | Inbound Traffic Control | Events Log | Audit Export (SIEM Integration) | Company Dashboard - Advanced Controls | Altium 365 Security Approach and Practices (Whitepaper)