Altium Importer Errata

There are several known limitations/issues of Altium importer.

  • Net lists may be modified because:
    • Hidden pins connected to nets will be unhidden.
    • Hidden pins will not be connected to nets.
    • No-connect pins will not be imported.
  • Net lists must be consistent across the schematic and layout. No net may have different pins on it in either the layout or schematic, and the same nets must exist in the layout and schematic.
  • A schematic symbol with a pin not mapped to a landpattern pad will not be imported.
  • Duplicated reference designators on the layout or schematic results in an error.
  • Reference designators on the layout must match reference designators in the schematic.
  • Filled regions are not imported.
  • All board geometry is imported (regardless of whether connected), which can lead to very slow runtimes in JITX.
    • You may remove the geometry info for faster runtimes, though the board data would then not be exported back to Altium:
      • Comment out import xxx/geometry in the main design file.
      • Comment out add-xxx-geometry() calls in pcb-modules.
  • The "Optimal Void Rotation" will not be preserved for Polygon Pours.
  • Embedded fonts are not imported.
  • Linear Dimension objects will be converted to track. Center Dimension objects will be removed.
  • Fill objects in Altium will be converted to Region objects with Kind Property "Copper".
  • Room objects are not imported.
  • Top-level Pads on the board are converted to single-pad Components. All physical properties of the Pads are preserved.
  • The "Name" of a Power Port (power/ground symbol) in a schematic sheet specifies the net name on any sheet to attach the specified Power Port symbol. If the "Name" does not match any net name, the Power Port is ignored.

    Altium Power Port Properties Panel

Altium Roundtrip Errata

These design features are not preserved in JITX.

  • In the Altium project generated by JITx, microVias are not distinguished from regular vias.

There are several parameters of an Altium project, which are not preserved in the Altium project generated by JITx.

  • The View options for View Configuration of PcbDoc are not preserved, such as transparency level (default to 0) and the layout mode (default to "Altium Standard 2D").