I was always hanging out down there to change things up, but honestly I never remember which button has my desired function so having it all under one is kind of nice. The more significant panels selector in AD18 is the only menu in the lower-right corner where AD17 had several items to select. I’m sure it’s a godsend for folks with an expansive possibly overkill for my two-person-shop. It’s probably best to have this docked somewhere when placing. The interface is better, but there are more knobs to worry about. “Slimy, yet satisfying.” –Pumbaa, The Lion King. Kind of like trying a new food in a different place. There were some things that I quickly saw as positive differences, but not without feeling weird about it. This is particularly great for folks like me who may not be working in the tool for a few weeks and forget what a feature is called or where it can be found. I started to type it in the search box with a list of suggestions that narrowed itself down as I typed. For example, I wasn’t sure where to edit the document parameters to change the project’s revision letter (FYI: it’s in the new properties panel when nothing is selected). The new ‘Search’ box in the upper-right corner works well, and live-populates with possibilities. It is also easier to configure the Layer Sets. Nicer than seeing the wall of possible layers in AD17. Layers View Configuration in the PCBA is more intuitive than before thanks to groupings by signal pairs. Being able to quickly change the selection filter and grid settings is right there, and the parameters for the document are just a tab away. The Properties dialog is also very useful without anything selected. I always had it open on a 3rd monitor since I was in there so much. The inspector is gone thanks to the prevalence of Properties. Similar to the inspector in AD17, this was the conduit through which I set my parameters. ‘Properties’ dialog panel is the new go-to in the tool. These changes were nice to see, and a piece of cake to recognize and implement. But these points may be helpful for folks looking to prepare the switch! New and Delightful Altium 18 Overall, the change wasn’t as jarring as the color scheme and icon arrangement might suggest. And not just the new color scheme (FYI: AD18 doesn’t support the legacy skin colors, but may in future versions). I’ve recently upgraded to Altium Designer ® (AD18) and released a new design with it, finding a few nuances. It’s also possible that a perfectly working new feature looks like a bug from the perspective of your workflow. Updating a software package is risky business – and not just because of new bugs that could be added.

Altium designer 18 ctrl_m