opkcosmic.blogg.se - march 2023

Altium designer student version on multiple computers

Granted, this is better than having to start from scratch, but re-entering this data is a time sink. This means that you can kiss your metadata (material specs, layer specs, etc.) goodbye.

Here’s the catch, if you want this sort of version control, you’re going to have to export your designs as PDFs and use a PDF Diff program to track any changes. This site makes it pretty clear that tracking PCB design changes visually is superior to comparing lines of code. Here’s the issue, the majority were originally designed for the software world, and aren’t great for hardware design programs.įor PCB layout, it is important that you find a system that will allow you to track changes between files and be able to view their differences as graphics. Some are more established than others, but most offer the same set of core features and provide the benefits listed above. If you have ever explored the world of PCB version source control you know there are many solution providers to choose from including Git, Subversion, Mercurial and more. What to Look For in a Version Control System It’s important to backup your data to an external source, but remember that there is no cloud, it’s just someone else’s computer.

I will have to consider and comment on the changes I’ve made as I check them in.

I can subscribe multiple computers and choose when to sync user changes on each one.

I can work on different aspects of a design in different branches without worrying that the changes will interfere with each other.

I can add comments and labels to explain changes or track the project milestones.

I can revert to a previous version of a file, after multiple revisions.

I can compare versions of files and list the differences between versions, aka diffs.

It’s easier to collaborate with other people on my team.

All my work will be in a safe place, that’s priority number one.

In an ideal world, the best option would be to put the design into a version control system, and here’s why: There are many options, unfortunately, none of them are that great for PCB designers. I can also ask IT to make regular backups of the entire project share, or I can automate backups with free or online tools. So, what is the best way to manage changes to a project? Sure, I can make manual copies of my design file from time to time.

I was in a hurry and didn’t back up my PCB layout. There is no record of the working design. Yeah, so IT had not been notified of the project share, and no backups were made.

No problem, I thought, we can go to a backup from a week ago and get the original version. Instead, we were saving our files on a company file share, so the changes made overwrote any copy I had of the working design. Why the breakdown? Well, we were rushing to meet deadlines and had not set up any sort of change or version control.