Component, Model and Library Concepts

Modied by on 2-Jul-2014

This article explains Altium Designer components, models and libraries, and their relationships.
Approaches for identifying and managing component-to-library relationships are explored, as well as
the search sequence for locating models and the options that make these searches more eective.
Components form the basic building blocks of electronic products. During the design capture and
implementation process a component can be represented in dierent ways: as logical symbols on the
schematic, as footprints on the PCB, as SPICE denitions for simulation, as signal integrity
descriptions for analysis, and as three-dimensional descriptions for 3D component and PCB
visualization. While not every one of these representations is necessary for a component, there is a
minimum denition required before a component can at least be placed into a schematic design.
What makes up a starting component is established, and how adding additional properties,
parameters, and models make implementing the component in various parts of the design process
possible is discussed.

Components - the Basic Building Blocks

A component is the general name given to a constituent part that can be placed into an electronic
design whether it is the schematic capture or the PCB layout. Components can have multiple
representations for each of the phases of design capture, and thus may be referred to by dierent
contextual names depending on the current implementation. Flexibility is a requirement for
component denition so that all of its information and linkage can be easily adapted and transferred
from one phase of design to the next.
Because electronic design begins with the schematic capture, a component has minimum
requirements for placement in any schematic design - at the very least with its own name in a
schematic library. It may also contain pins and graphic symbols in single or multi-part fashion, and
even have alternative display options.

Figure 1. A component can have one or more component parts.

Once placed on the schematic design and assigned a graphical representation, the component is then
more commonly called a symbol. Because it is graphical, the symbol includes drawing objects that
dene its physical shape and pins that dene the electrical connection points, or logic. You may also
hear the symbol referred to as a logical symbol during schematic design capture.
Their initial simple denition makes it easier and more exible for components to be adapted to
represent very complex electronic entities. Certain components, such as a resistor network or relay,
can be drawn as a series of separate parts which can be placed independently on the schematic.
These are referred to as multi-part components and their individual pieces are simply called parts.
The dierent phases of design are called domains - these are the specic types, groups or areas of
representation. In the Altium Designer environment the valid domains include PCB layout, SPICE
simulation, signal integrity analysis, and 3D.
As previously mentioned, there are some distinct contextual terms used during the PCB layout and
design. A footprint describes the model that represents the component on the PCB layout. A footprint
is thus a grouped set of PCB pads and component overlay shapes that dene the space required to
mount and connect the component on the board layout. Once mounted on a PCB, the component is
then considered to be a physical component.
It's worth noting that in most cases, the logical symbol also represents the physical component. When
this is the case, the references for each will be the same. However, one exception is that in the case
of components placed from a database library, the record in the external database represents the
physical component (and the symbol is eectively a model then).
Let's discuss in more detail the concepts of how components are dened and described, the dierent
types of representation they can have, and how more specialized types are supported in Altium
Designer.

Component Properties
We've established that the symbol with minimal denitions and linkage is the essential starting point
for any component in Altium Designer. This allows for greater exibility for the component to be
represented in dierent ways later during other parts of the design and capture process. Altium
Designer supports dierent approaches to building components that adapt to whatever your design
requirements are.
Various attributes, linkages and descriptions can be easily dened for any component to create
unique properties for it through the Component Properties dialog - allowing you to create exactly the
type of representation and implementation needed for every phase of your design.

Figure 2. Double-clicking on any placed component will access the Component Properties dialog where you can dene specic
attributes, links for libraries, graphical representations, dene search locations, and much more for your components.

Component Properties dialogs will dier depending on the design editor you are using (schematic,
PCB, etc.).

Component Types
Components can be built several dierent ways in Altium Designer. It's worth discussing some of the
standard and non-standard types as well as multi-part components.

Common Graphic, Dierent Component

One Component Symbol for Each Physical Component
This type of representation is ideal for any component where the logical symbol is the same as the
physical component such as integrated circuits. The component would include the specic
representation, or model (described in greater detail below) such as the PCB footprint, simulation or
3D modelling information.
One Symbol for Graphically Equivalent Components
Sometimes components are logically equivalent but have slightly dierent component specications.
An example would be a logic gate that is available in a variety of logic families, for example a
74ACT32 and a 74HC32. In this case the symbol is drawn once, and then another name, or alias, is
dened for each equivalent component required. Component aliases are added in the Schematic

Library editor panel. Component aliases can be thought of as one component, with multiple names.
One Symbol for a Type of Component
PCB components have some special considerations with respect to component types where the
component may need to be linked to multiple PCB footprints depending on the physical layout
requirements of the design. An example of this would be discrete components such as resistors where
the component has a value attribute that is dened when the component is placed on the schematic,
rather than in the library.

Common Component, Dierent Graphics

Altium Designer supports multiple symbols for the same component. For example, you may have one
client that requires their symbols drawn using traditional drawing shapes while another requires the
symbols drawn in accordance with a specic standard. Or you may require many dierent symbols for
the same component. You can dene additional graphical representations for a symbol that are stored
with the component by adding a new mode, either from the schematic library editor Tools menu, or
by using the Mode toolbar (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Use the Mode feature to dene multiple graphical representations of the same component. The rst mode is called "Normal"
while subsequent modes are titled "Alternate 1", etc.. Any mode that is created is automatically stored with the component.

Multi-part Components

Figure 4. Setting the component type for special component requirements. Note here that you can also see which part you are viewing
for a multi-part component.

In some instances it is more appropriate to represent the one physical component using multiple
symbols, for example each resistor in a resistor network, or the coil and contacts of a relay.

Additional parts are added or removed using the commands in the library editor Tools menu. Each
part is then drawn individually, and pins are added accordingly.

Non-standard Component Types

Not all components are destined to be mounted on the assembled PCB, not all components are
required in the Bill of Materials (BOM), and not all items that are mounted on the PCB need to be
represented on the schematic. Altium Designer supports non-standard component types through the
Component Type property, set in the Component Properties dialog in the library or schematic editor.
For example, the presentation and readability of your schematic might be enhanced by including a
chassis-mounted component that is wired to the PCB. If this component was not required in the PCB
BOM, then the component type can be set to Graphical. A graphical component is not included during
schematic electrical verication, it is not included in the BOM, nor is it checked during schematic to
PCB synchronization. In this case the Component Type is set to Graphical.
Another special class of component would be a test point - this component is required on both the
schematic and the PCB, it should be checked during design synchronization, but is not required in the
BOM. In this case the Component Type is set to Standard (No BOM).
Another example of a special component kind would be a heat sink - typically it is not shown on the
schematic and is not required to be checked during schematic electrical verication, but must be
included in the BOM. In this case the component type is set to Mechanical.

Component Parameters
Parameters are a way of dening and associating additional textual information to the component.
This can include electrical specications (i.e., wattage or tolerance), purchasing or stock details,
designer notes, or references to component datasheets. This information is included by adding
parameters to the component either during component creation in the library editor; once the
component has been placed on the schematic (using a DBLink le); or automatically during placement
when placing from a database library (DBLib or SVNDBLib).
Adding a component parameter to an individual component is easily done by going directly through
the Component Properties dialog for that component:

Adding Parameters to an Individual Component

Figure 5. You can dene a name and value for a component parameter and setup the graphical properties that will determine how the
parameter information appears in the workspace through Component Properties.

Any parameters dened in the Parameters section are also made available in the Match By
Parameters region of the Annotate dialog. This is particularly useful if you later wish to group specic
parts of a multi-part component, using a unique parameter that you have dened and included for
those parts.

Adding Parameters to a Component Library

While the example above shows the manual addition of parameters to an individual library
component using the Component Properties dialog (Figure 6), you may require a more streamlined
approach to add parameters to a library of components. In such instances the Parameter Manager
dialog would be the better option.

Figure 6. With the schematic library still open, launch the Parameter Editor dialog from Tools Parameter Manager. You can then ll in
parameter values for multiple components much more eciently.

Referencing Datasheets as Parameters

There may be times when you need to access your own reference material from within a design
project using a component datasheet. Altium Designer provides two options for linking from a
component on the schematic sheet to reference datasheets which is established through the addition
of component parameters. The rst option allows you to use the F1 button to access a specic
referenced document. The second option allows for multiple references and uses the right-click
context menu.
If a component includes a parameter using the system-reserved name of HelpURL, then the URL will
be accessed when the F1 button is pressed while the cursor is hovering over the component or its
entry in the Libraries panel. The URL can actually be a web address, a text le, or a PDF le.
The parameter's value can point to a document and even include a specic page number in a PDF
(Figure 7).
Single Linked Document - F1 Access

Figure 7. Here a HelpURL parameter has been added to a schematic symbol from the Component Properties dialog. Given the value of
\Help\CR0118 FPGA Generic Library Guide.pdf#page=93 results in the referenced PDF le being opened at page 93 when the F1 button
is pressed when the cursor is over the placed component.

Multiple Linked Documents - Right-click Access

This second technique enables you to dene and support multiple links to one or more reference
documents in a right-click context menu by pairing parameters and using the system-reserved name
of ComponentLinknURL:
Parameter Name

Example Parameter Value

1st parameter

ComponentLink1URL

C:\MyDatasheets\XYZDatasheet.pdf

2nd parameter

ComponentLink1Description Datasheet for XYZ

1st parameter

ComponentLink2URL

2nd parameter

ComponentLink2Description Datasheet for Alternate XYZ

C:\MyDatasheets\AlternateXYZDatasheet.pdf

Any number of links can be dened using the same parameter pair, except with the number
incremented. When you right-click on a component that uses datasheet linking, a Reference menu
entry will appear in the Context menu, in it you will nd an entry for each component link, as shown in
Figure 8.
Component-to-datasheet linkage can also be used when you are browsing components in the
Libraries panel - press F1 or right-click on the component name in the panel to access the linked
documents/URLs.

For more information about adding other types of component parameters, refer to the Creating
Library Components Tutorial.

Figure 8. Right-click on the placed symbol to access the datasheet links.

Altium Designer 14.3.12 introduced support for clicking on a ComponentLink or HelpURL

parameter in the generated PDF, and opening the referenced PDF. For this to work, the link
to the le must be specied using the Adobe Device Independent Path syntax. An example
of this format is; the Windows path C:\MyFolder\MyFile.pdf, is specied as
/C/MyFolder/MyFile.pdf. The leading forward slash indicates that this is an absolute
path, if there is no leading forward slash then the path is relative. You may also need to
adjust the Protected Mode (disable) or the Protected View settings for this to work (go to
the Security (Enhanced) page in the Adobe Acrobat Preferences dialog to congure these
options).

Models - Specialized Component Representations

Remember that domains are the type, group, or area of component representation that can be
captured as part of the design process in Altium Designer. A model thus is the implementation
representation of the component that is useful for a particular domain. This could be as a footprint on
the PCB, as a SPICE denition for simulation, as a suitable signal integrity description for signal
integrity analysis, or as a three-dimensional model for 3D visualization in either or both the legacy 3D
viewer and the DirectX-based 3D visualization engine. While a component is not required to have a
model attached to it in order to be placed in a schematic alone, it cannot be implemented in any
other domains until it does.

Model Libraries are a collection of component representations, and are described in further detail in
the library section below. It's worth explaining the fundamentals of how model mapping information is
stored with the component.

Fundamentals of Model Mapping Information

At the schematic stage, the design is a collection of components that have been connected logically.
To test or implement the design it needs to be transferred to another modeling domain, such as
simulation, PCB layout, signal integrity analysis, etc.
Each domain needs some information about the component, and also some way to map that
information to the pins of the schematic symbol. Some of this domain information resides in model
les, the format of which is typically predened. Examples of these include IBIS, MDL and CKT. Some
of the information does not reside in the model les, for example the SPICE pin-mapping and net
listing data must be stored and managed by the system.
All of the necessary domain information is contained within the schematic component, which stores a
separate interface to each model that has been added to it. In eect, the complete model is the
combination of the model mapping information stored in the component, and the domain modeling
information stored in the model library.

Figure 9. Information on how to model the component in each domain is stored in the model les. Here we see how the symbol hooks to
the individual implementation models.

Components may have models for multiple domains, and can also have multiple models per domain,
one of which will be set as the current model.

Figure 10. Linkage to each model and any mapping it requires is dened in the respective Model dialogs

Note that IBIS signal integrity models and VRML or IGES 3D models must be imported into Altium
Designer format models before they can be used. IBIS models are imported directly in the Signal
Integrity Model dialog, which opens when you add an SI model to a component. VRML and IGES
models must be imported into a PCB3DLib before they can be added to a schematic component.

Options for referencing models

PCB3DLib is a legacy library type, it is not used for Altium Designer 10/12 , Altium Designer
2013

Whenever you add a model to a component you have the option of dening how tightly you want to
control where the model is searched for. Although they vary slightly from one model type to another,
the model editor dialogs generally include these options: Any, Library Name, Library Path, and From
integrated library.

Any - searches all available libraries for a matching model.

Library name - only searches valid libraries of this name for

a matching model.

Library path - only searches a valid library of this name in

this location for a matching model.

Integrated library - draws the model directly from the

integrated library used to place this component. The
integrated library must be available in a valid location.

Libraries - Collections of Components, Models, or Both

Components and/or their models are almost always stored as collections, or libraries, for more
ecient use during the design process. A library may only contain the constituent elements that can
make up the component and not necessarily the complete denition. For example, a descriptive name
such as model library indicates that the library contains only models whereas a schematic library
contains only schematic symbols.
Sometimes the constituent elements of a library are stored in a format other than an Altium Designer
le or under version control. This is more common when more than one engineer may be working on
a design, or in dierent locations. A database library is one where all symbol references, model linking
and parameter information is stored in an ODBC or ADO-compliant database, or an Excel spreadsheet.
A version-controlled database library is simply an extension of the database library where the symbol
and models are stored under version control (like Subversion).
Each of these libraries and the appropriate le extension is described in more detail below.

Library Types
Model Libraries (*.MDL,* CKT,* PcbLib)
The representative models for each domain type are stored in model libraries, and can also be
referred to as a model container. The grouping and organization of models may vary between
domains. In some domains, such as SPICE (.MDL,* .CKT), the storage is typically one model per le. In
other domains however, models are normally grouped into library les according to a user-dened
categorization, such as PCB footprints grouped into package-type libraries (*.PcbLib).
Schematic Libraries (*.SchLib)
These libraries contain the schematic symbols and their respective links (can be thought of as a
pointer only but not the actual model itself) to any model denitions that reside in separate model
libraries.
Creating a Schematic Source Library of an Active Project

Very useful if you want to create an exact working library or archive of your nished design, this
ability creates a schematic source library of all the components that have been placed in the source
schematic documents of the active project. After launching Design Make Schematic Library all
schematic source documents for the active project will be opened, if not already open, and a library
document, ProjectName.SCHLIB, will be automatically created and added to the project.

Integrated Libraries (*.IntLib)

An integrated library in Altium Designer is one where the source symbol, footprint, and all other
information (e.g. SPICE and other model les) are compiled into a single le. The advantage of
compiling into an integrated library is that all component information is available in a single portable
le.
During compilation checks are made to see how relationships are dened, to validate the relationship
between the models and the symbols and to bundle them into a single integrated library. Components
and models in an integrated library are not available for editing, unless the library is decompiled
(opening the*.IntLib to extract the sources), oering portability and security.
All of Altium Designer's 70,000+ components are supplied in integrated libraries, from which the
source libraries can be extracted at any time if required.
Since all models are packaged into the integrated library, only one le needs to be available to the
project, or moved when the project is relocated.
Creating and Reusing a Working Library or Archive of a Finished Design

You can create an integrated library of all the components and their linked models that have been
placed in the schematic documents of the active project - very handy for creating project libraries or
libraries sent to you from a third party. It is also accessible from the Design Make Integrated
Library when a schematic design is active.
Database Libraries (*.DBLib,* SVNDBLib)
These libraries store all symbol information, model links, models and parameters in a format external
to Altium Designer such as ODBC, ADO, or an Excel spreadsheet.
Each record in the database thus represents a component, storing all of the parameters along with
model links, datasheet references, or other component information. The record can include links to
inventory or other corporate component data.
Database libraries come in two avors - non-version-controlled (database library) and versioncontrolled (SVN database library). The only dierence between the two is the location of the symbol
and model libraries, containing the referenced symbols and models. The dierence can be
summarized as follows:
Database Library (*.DBLib) - symbol and model libraries are stored in a directory on your hard
disk or other local/network medium.
SVN Database Library (*.SVNDBLib) - symbol and model libraries are stored under version
control in a Subversion repository.
Database Libraries provide the ability to place components directly from an external company
database. In a database library, all the detail that makes the component complete is stored in
the database itself - in this sense the symbol is only a graphical representation or another
model.

Figure 11. Database libraries store all the information in the database, and retrieve it during component placement

When a component is placed from a database library, its parameter and model information is created
on-the-y, using the corresponding elds in the matched database record and in accordance with
dened mapping in the intermediary link le. One or more of these parameters will then be used to
maintain an ongoing link back to the database, enabling future design synchronization after
placement.

Searching For and Identifying Your Components

Having portability of designs and libraries has become a common work requirement - it's more the
norm that libraries are in separate locations from the design itself or there may be alternate sets of
libraries used for a single design. Sometimes the designer may just wish to take his work home where
he's using a local copy of the company library. Because such a exible way to reference source
libraries is needed, it's critical to be able to control the source of the components and identify that
they are the right ones.
Altium Designer oers both the exibility and control to be able to easily switch between locations of
reference libraries, and identify and validate that you are using the correct components from the

design.
The reason for this is that when you place a component from a library you need to remember which
library (or table in the case of a DBLib) that component came from. Knowing where a component
came from then becomes very valuable as a record for design management. If you have ever tried
updating components and didn't have the original libraries and had to work within a restrictive design
environment, then you'll appreciate how frustrating this problem can quickly become! A solution that
thus provides both denable levels of control that can suit any work environment's conguration and
help maintain the integrity of the design components is needed.

Figure 12. Here we see that Component A is the same component referenced in both Library A and Library B. You can change the
Library Path, Library Name for a component, or Table Name for a DBLib to switch between the source components.

Valid Search Locations

As part of the validation process for identifying components, Altium Designer searches in specic
locations for models and libraries anytime that you perform an operation that requires them. The
search will also take into account any options that you have specied for controlling how you
reference models through a model editor (as discussed earlier). For example, when you perform a
circuit simulation, the SPICE model linked to each component is retrieved and used by the XSPICE
simulation engine. Another example would be transferring a design from schematic capture to PCB
layout. During this process, the footprint for each component is retrieved and placed onto the PCB.
Any models/libraries found in these locations are referred to as the available libraries - meaning the
set of models/libraries are available for use in a project or the design environment.
You can review the models/libraries available to the current project in the Available Libraries dialog.
Click the Libraries button in the Libraries panel, or select Design Add/Remove Library to open the
dialog (Figure 13).
Available Libraries Dialog

Figure 13. For all models not tied to an integrated library, the search order proceeds from left to right through the tabs of the Available
Libraries dialog (Project, Installed, and Search Path). In fact, since the available libraries can be ordered within this dialog from top to
bottom, the entire search sequence is intuitive and easy to set up.

Valid locations of available models/libraries that can be searched therefore include:

Project - these models/libraries are linked and available only to the project and its documents.
The advantage of this approach is that whenever the project is opened the model/libraries will
be available. The disadvantage is if the models/libraries are not stored in the project folder
structure, they can be forgotten if the project les are moved (like from one PC to another).
Tip:

While the Altium Designer environment oers exibility and control over your model/library locations,
it does require you to use the correct le extension for each model type. For example, a footprint
cannot be found unless it is in a le with a *.lib or *.pcblib extension. Similarly, a SPICE .SUBCKT will
not be found unless it is in a *.ckt le, nor will a SPICE .MODEL if it is not in a *.mdl le. Whenever a
model search does not yield a match, an error will appear in the Messages panel.
Installed - these models/libraries are associated with the Altium Designer environment and so
components are available to all open projects. Any model/library added to the Installed Libraries
list can now be installed relative to a nominated path, described in greater detail below.
Search Path - these models/libraries are made available to the project by dening a search path
in the Search Path tab of Options for Project dialog (also conveniently accessed through the
Paths button of the Search Path tab in the Available Libraries dialog). Each search path denes
a folder, and can include sub-folders if the Recursive option is enabled. All model and library
les found down the search path will be valid. Note that retrieving models using search paths
can be slow if there are a large number of les in the search path folder(s).
While the Altium Designer environment oers exibility and control over your model/library locations,
it does require you to use the correct le extension for each model type. For example, a footprint
cannot be found unless it is in a le with a *.lib or *.pcblib extension. Similarly, a SPICE .SUBCKT will
not be found unless it is in a *.ckt le, nor will a SPICE .MODEL if it is not in a *.mdl le. Whenever a
model search does not yield a match, an error will appear in the Messages panel.
Relative Path Installation for Libraries

Any libraries added to the Installed Libraries list can now be installed relative to a nominated path.

Available in the Installed tab of the Available Libraries dialog, this makes it easy to switch between
dierent sets of libraries and control the source of components in your design. Changing the entry for
the path will automatically reload those existing libraries in the list that are found at the new location.
Library Activation and Deactivation

Figure 14. Libraries in the list that are not found at the new location appear highlighted in red.

Each library currently added to the Installed Libraries list (accessed on the Installed tab of the
Available Libraries dialog) can also be 'Activated' or 'Deactivated'. This allows you to visually identify
quickly which sets of libraries you are using with your design. Simply toggle the associated Activated
option accordingly (as shown in Figure 14).
A Deactivated library is treated as though it had been uninstalled, but remains in the list so that it
may quickly be activated, based on your design requirements. A library that is not found along the
specied relative path cannot be activated.
Component Properties Dialog
In addition to being able to search for and identify components through the Available Libraries dialog,
additional levels of control are also found through the Component Properties dialog (Figure 15).
Changing the Library Name at Component level

The next level down for identifying your components is being able to change the library name for a
component itself. Done within the Component Properties dialog there are three levels of component
identications:
Design Item ID - the rst library component found, within the current set of activated libraries

and whose component name matches that of the design component on the sheet, will be used.
Use Library Name - the rst library component found, within an activated library whose name
matches that of the specied library name, and whose component name matches that of the
design component on the sheet, will be used.
Use Database Table Name - the rst library component found, within an activated library
whose name matches that of the specied library name, within a table within that library whose
name matches the specied table name, and whose component name matches that of the
design component on the sheet, will be used.

Figure 15. Controlling the dierent levels of component identication through the Component Properties dialog.

Component name (Design Item ID), Use Library Name and Use Database Table Name can all be
specied in the Library Link region of the properties dialog for any placed component. The use
of Library Name and Table Name can then be selectively enabled/disabled using available
options.
Changing Table Names from a DBLib

For design components that were originally placed from integrated libraries, you can change the base
reference library to that of a newly converted DBLib or SVNDBLib simply by selecting all components
in the design and:
Disabling the Use Library Name option (you would need to ensure that the new
DBLib/SVNDBLib has been added to the Installed Libraries list and made active, and that the
previous integrated libraries are removed or deactivated.
Leaving the Use Library Name option enabled, but entering the name of the DBLib/SVNDBLib
instead. The Table Name could be specied if all selected components belong to that same
table, or could be left blank/disabled, meaning the rst match found in any table in the

database would be used in each case.

To verify that the correct library is indeed being used as reference for a design component, click
the Validate button - found in the Library Link region of the Component Properties dialog. A
dialog will appear displaying the path and library in which the rst match for the design
component has been found.

Source URL: http://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Component,+Model+and+Library+Concepts