P-CAD 2006 - Information for Upgraders

A. Altium's goal is to develop and market the best possible electronics design tool to help electronics engineers and designers turn their design ideas into products in the easiest and most productive way. We strive to create products that make the engineer as powerful, productive and effective as possible. We want to make things easier for you, the engineer, in any way we can.

We have made the strategic decision to focus our efforts on developing and presenting a unified electronic product development solution. Maintaining two individual product lines is contrary to this focus, impeding our ability to maximize our resources which ultimately affect our ability to provide on-going and continuous solutions that are necessary for our success as a company.

What version of P-CAD will be supported and for how long?

A. P-CAD 2006 (with SP2) is the last version of P-CAD. As of June 30, 2008 you will no longer be able to:

Purchase P-CAD new licenses
Purchase P-CAD upgrade licenses
Purchase or renew maintenance contracts for P-CAD
Receive support for P-CAD other than what is freely available from the P-CAD website as at June 30, 2008 after which time it will no longer be updated.

What are my options?

A. We believe that migrating to Altiumâ€™s unified solution, Altium Designer, is the best and most compelling path forward for all P-CAD users.

Altium Designer provides all the capabilities currently covered by P-CAD with the added benefit of being a unified electronics design solution, sharing a single data model and providing a single view of the entire design process.

Many of the features familiar in P-CAD are incorporated in Altium Designer, which retains a rich set of functions for designing printed circuit boards and generating output for manufacturing.

For more information on migrating from P-CAD to Altium Designer contact your local Altium Sales and Support Center.

Will Altium support me through this transition process?

A. Yes. To facilitate a smooth transition Altium has created a number of resources to help customers with their migration effort. First, there is the P-CAD 'Your Complete Migration Guide'.

You can also quickly and efficiently evaluate the powerful features of Altium Designer, extensive resources are available at www.altium.com/evaluate. A simple three-step evaluation process includes the Altium INFOcenter, the Altium DEMOcenter on-demand demonstration videos, the ability to book a live Web Conference session and request an evaluation license.

Additional resources are available to help you get started with Altium Designer at http://www.altium.com/Community/. Active user forums, online training, technical resources, web-based demonstrations, and access to knowledge bases, learning guides and our libraries are valuable resources for ensuring you get the most out of Altium Designer.

When I move to Altium Designer will I still be able to use P-CAD 2006 for legacy designs even after I make the transition?

A. Yes. You can still use P-CAD to open and work on legacy designs previously created in P-CAD even after you have made the move.

What about my old P-CAD files?

A. Moving designs to Altium Designer is a straightforward and direct process. The configurable, easy-to-use Import Wizard quickly and directly translates complete P-CAD designs, including schematics, PCB layouts and library files. You have full control during the translation process and are able to specify exactly how you want your design files to translate.

Where do I go for support?

A. A detailed listing of all of the support options available is included in the P-CAD 'Your Complete Migration Guide'. A detailed listing of all Altium Designer support resources is available at www.altium.com/community.

The following FAQs relate to P-CAD 2006, the last major product release prior to the retirement of P-CAD.

Have the PCB and schematic file formats changed with P-CAD 2006?

The P-CAD ASCII file format has been updated to accommodate the many additional features offered by P-CAD 2006. However, P-CAD 2006 can directly open all previous P-CAD 2004, P-CAD 2002, P-CAD 2001, 2000 and ACCEL schematic and PCB file formats.

Can P-CAD-2004 and earlier version file formats be imported into P-CAD 2006?

P-CAD 2006 can import the same file formats as earlier P-CAD versions, these are:

P-CAD 2000 to 2004 Binary and ASCII files
ACCEL EDA V12/V13/V14/V15 Binary and ASCII files
Master Designer 8.x files (subject to translation limitations)
Master Designer PDIF files
TangoPRO files
Tango DOS 2.x PCB ASCII files
Tango 1.x Schematic ASCII files
DXF files (AutoCAD V9 - V14/2000) (subject to translation limitations)
IDF (Intermediate Design Files) V2 and V3 files
PADS ASCII files (PCB only)
- PowerPCB® V1, V1.1, V1.5, V2, V3.0, V3.5. V4.0
- PADS® Perform
- PADS® 2000 V3, V4
- PADS® PCB V5

Does P-CAD 2006 export additional manufacturing formats besides Gerber, like ODB++?

P-CAD 2006 PCB supports Valor's ODB++ file format for exporting CAD information. When generating an ODB++ database, P-CAD automatically creates a directory tree structure containing selected layers and layer objects, net information, and NC Drill.

In addition, P-CAD 2006 can also export IPC-D-356A Netlists used for electrical testing of bare boards.

Has there been any changes to the Gerber format in P-CAD 2006?

P-CAD 2006 produces Gerber output of TrueType text by converting text character glyphs into G36/G37 polygon records. In past P-CAD releases, Gerber output of visible text and attribute objects was restricted to those objects whose styles utilized a stroke font.

For proper output of TrueType text, you must select the RS-274-X Gerber format option. A similar conversion process produces TrueType text and attributes as polygons in P-CAD 2006's ODB++ output generator. Please note, these G36/G37 polygon sequences will be ignored by Gerber Import.

Are there any updates to libraries with P-CAD 2006?

There have been no updates to board-level design libraries in P-CAD 2006. However, the libraries, developed according to the ISO 9001:2000 standard, were significantly updated during the life of P-CAD 2004 and provide around 80,000 components, which significantly reduce the need to create components from scratch.

The libraries are documented in the Library Index Spreadsheet (4.8 MB Zip file). Download the entire installer module from our Downloads page (these libraries are the latest libraries available for P-CAD 2006 and are the same as those supplied on the CD). Alternatively search or download individual libraries from our Libraries page.

Can I use my existing custom libraries with P-CAD 2006?

Yes. You can use components from existing schematic and PCB libraries directly with P-CAD 2006. In addition, P-CAD 2006 allows you to create integrated libraries from your existing libraries.

What version of EPD (eProduct Designer) is supported with P-CAD 2006?

P-CAD 2006 PCB will operate with ePD 2.0, and now ePD 2004, through P-CAD Ties/ViewDraw interface.

Does P-CAD 2006 support the mouse wheel?

P-CAD 2006 allows you to design faster by using your mouse wheel to scroll up/down, left/right and zoom in and out of the design view with the mouse wheel. Scrolling with only the mouse wheel will scroll the design view up and down. Scrolling the mouse wheel with Shift key modifier will scroll the design view left and right. Scrolling the mouse wheel with Ctrl key modifier will zoom the design view in and out.

Is P-CAD 2006 compatible with the SPECCTRA autorouter?

P-CAD 2006 has been thoroughly tested with all versions of SPECCTRA® and thus maintains the same compatibility found in P-CAD 2004.

Will DBX utilities that are created in earlier versions of P-CAD still work with P-CAD 2006?

The standard DBX utilities will be updated in P-CAD 2006. The DBX utilities created in earlier versions of P-CAD will operate successfully within the P-CAD 2006 environment after being recompiled.

What additional design capabilities does P-CAD 2006 have over P-CAD 2004?

P-CAD 2006 significantly expands on the layout and processing capabilities present in P-CAD 2004. P-CAD 2006's design capabilities now include:

Differential Pairs interactive routing
Multi-Route tool
Orthogonal dragging of routes
Improved selection of sub objects capability
Board Outline object with Board Cutouts
Increased control over drawing and printing layer order
Enhanced copper pour capabilities
Updated Bonus Technologies to Altium Designer 6
Many more general improvements and enhancements

What licensing configurations will be available for P-CAD 2006?

P-CAD 2006 product licenses will continue to be available as standalone or floating network versions, giving you and your design team complete flexibility with your working arrangements and the option to choose a licensing scheme that best fits your business model.

Other flexible licensing options are available for P-CAD to suit the needs of your PCB design team. This includes a P-CAD 2006 Schematic Suite, P-CAD 2006 (6/400) and a P-CAD 2006 Analyzer Suite. Please contact your nearest Altium Sales and Support Center or Reseller for more information on these configurations.

What are the system requirements to run P-CAD 2006?

For optimum performance of P-CAD 2006 please refer to the recommended system requirements provided below:

Recommended system requirements (including the Bonus Technologies)

Windows XP (Professional or Home) or Windows 2000 Professional
3 GHz Pentium 4 processor or equivalent
1 GByte RAM
2 GByte hard disk space (Installation + User Files)
Dual monitors with 1280x1024 screen resolution
32-bit color, 64 MB graphics memory.

Minimum system requirements (not including the Bonus Technologies)

Windows 95/98
PC with Pentium II 300MHz
128MB RAM
400MB hard disk space (without ISO component libraries)
1024x768 screen resolution
16-bit Color Palette
CD-ROM Drive.

The retirement of P-CAD - Your Questions Answered

* P-CAD is a retired product. Click here for more information.

Why has Altium made the decision to retire P-CAD?