The Variants page of the Component Properties dialog is displayed when the design has variants defined. It shows which variants the current component is fitted in and if there are part variants. The rule is that the bare board will be constant across all variants, so all pads, tracks and copper will always appear.

You can have more than one component instance with the same Name but with different Parts, Footprints, symbols or attribute Values.

If you have multiple components selected, a simplified grid is shown which enables you to change the fitted status of all the components at the same time. If the components are currently a mixture of fitted and Not-fitted, the fitted status in that variant is shown in a third ‘box checked’ state. You are not able to change the Part Name or shared status in this simplified view.

As well as the Properties dialog, you can also use the Component Variant Spreadsheet on the Edit menu to change the Variant status of components.

Shortcuts

Default Keys: I or Alt+Enter
Default Menu: Edit
Command: Properties

Locating this option

Available from: Edit menu > Properties option
Available from: Context menu > Properties option
Available from: Shortcut key > I

Component Variants

Firstly, you must define the Design Variants. Once you have done this, then the Component - Variants tab is available when Properties is performed on a component.

The name of the variant currently active in the design is shown in bold text in the appropriate row and an asterisk (*) is added to the variant name.

The red line across the row indicates the current row being edited.

To help relate the component instances shown in the variant rows to the one selected in the design the text is colour coded:

  • The rows for the component instances represented by the symbol or footprint currently selected in the design are shown highlighted in blue text.
  • Instances that share the same symbol or footprint currently selected in the design but have different attributes are shown in green font text.
  • Instances that use a different symbol or footprint to the one currently selected in the design are shown in dark grey.

Fitted Variants

With Design Variants defined, you can change the Fitted and Not-fitted status of the selected component (components are fitted in all variants by default). The check box in the Fitted column is checked to indicate that the component is fitted or unchecked to indicate it is Not-fitted. By default, a component is considered fitted in all variants unless explicitly set as Not-fitted by un-checking the Fitted check box in this dialog.

You cannot have a component Not-fitted in the currently selected variant. To achieve this, you must change to a different variant to then uncheck the Fitted status box (to not fit it). Likewise, you cannot select the not fitted status for all variants for the selected component.

With one or more components selected, you can use the Toggle Fitted command from the context menu to toggle their fitted state in the current variant only.

Not Fitted Components

Setting a component as Not-fitted in a variant has the following effects:

  • The component visibility in the design changes, although this may be overridden by the Display Not-Fitted Components setting in the Variant Manager.
  • Plots will exclude details of Not-fitted components, although this may be overridden by the Not-Fitted Components - Plot setting in the Variant Manager.
  • Reports such as Parts List, Net Lists and other Exports will omit the Not-fitted components as appropriate.

In PCB, only the electrical aspects of a Not-fitted component, i.e. its pads, will be visible and by default, all non-electrical aspects of the component will be hidden. The visibility of items for Not-fitted components is determined within the Layer Class for that item. This status can be modified by changing the Visible In All Variants setting on the Layer Class dialog which on the Technology dialog.

Not-Fitted Items in Schematics

In Schematics, a Not-fitted component (or its gates) will be hidden along with any connections to their pins.

Part Variants

As well as the Fitted status for a component variant, you can also have component instances in some variants. Various scenarios are possible

  • You may want a completely different Part with a different symbol or footprint, this can be positioned and connected independently.
  • Alternatively, you may want the same Part but a different symbol or footprint.
  • You may want the component to have different Attributes, but still be represented by the same physical symbol or footprint.

Part Name

To change a Part used on variants, double-click on one of the Part Name cells for the Part you wish to change. The standard Change Part dialog is displayed.

Footprint

As with Parts, to change a Footprint for one of the variants, double-click on the Footprint cell for the Footprint you wish to change. The standard Change Part dialog is displayed. Not only does this allow you to change the Part but also just the footprint for the selected Part.

Attributes

To change an Attribute for one of the variants, double-click on the Attribute cell for the Attribute value you wish to change.

Shared Identifiers in Variants

An advanced form of variants is to use a different component instance in some variants, this is called a Shared Identifier. If at any point, you wish to create or edit a Shared Identifier then right click and select Advanced View from the context menu.

Shared Identifiers can be used for a number of reasons: you may wish to have a different component position (in PCB) for the different variants. This might be because the footprint is larger and requires more space or because it has a wider (or smaller) pad pitch or even drill hole size. Another possibility is that you wish to identify an instance in a variant. You can only do this by having a different instance. This in turn means the component has its own instance identifier which can be extracted in the Report Maker for example or viewed in the Component Properties,

Database Connection Option

An additional Database column is available as part of the Pulsonix Database Connection cost option. With this enabled, the component’s variants dialog will display the extra column next to the Parts column. This displays the component’s database key field information for each variant and is useful for checking if database part variants are being used even if the Pulsonix Library Part is the same across variants.

When changing a Part using the Database field which has been chosen using the Database Bar, double-click the cell in the variant you wish to change. The Database Bar, will be displayed. From this, make the part selection required.

Note that if the Part Name is changed for a variant, unless it is chosen using the Database Bar, any existing database information will be lost and it will revert to being a ‘local’ component for that variant. For a ‘local’ component, the Database column will be blank.

Component Variant Spreadsheet | Design Variants | Highlight Colours (SCM) | Highlight Colours (PCB) | Variant Attributes | Variant Text | Advanced View