Polygon Pour Manager

Parent page: PCB Dialogs

The Polygon Pour Manager Dialog.

Summary

This dialog provides a high-level view of all polygons on the PCB design. The Polygon Pour Manager can also be used to:

• Rename polygons.
• Set their pour order.
• Perform rebuilding of all, or certain polygons (selected/violating/poured/unpoured).
• Lock polygons.
• Add/scope the polygon connection style and clearance design rules.
• Add polygon classes for selected polygons.
• Create a new polygon from either a selected polygon, or the board outline.

Access

The dialog is accessed from the PCB Editor in the following ways:

• By using the Home | Pour |  » Polygon Manager command, from the main menus.
• By right-clicking over an existing polygon pour in the workspace, and using the Polygon Action » Polygon Manager command from the context menu.
• By using the keyboard shortcut sequence H, P, P, Enter.

Options/Controls

View/Edit

Lists all existing polygons in the PCB document, the columns show the current state of each polygon. Click a column heading to sort by that column. Polygon names can be edited, once named they can be used to scope polygon rules. You can select one or more polygons (Ctrl+click) and execute repours, unpouring, locking and/or to ignore Violations. Use the right-click menu to perform actions on selected or all polygons.

• Repour - select from the following rebuild and pour options:
  • Rebuild Polygons - Click to rebuild all, selected, violating poured or unpoured polygons. Rebuilds are carried out immediately, without the dialog needing to be closed.
  • Set Poured State - Set all or selected polygons to have their Poured option checked. A poured polygon is filled. To commit the action, click the Apply or OK button.
  • Set Unpoured State - Set all or selected polygons to have their Poured option cleared. An unpoured polygon is not filled, it is only represented by its outline. Use this mode to remove the polygon during design changes, or to speed the design process when the design includes large, complex polygons that are slowing the PCs performance. Earlier versions of Altium Designer included a feature called Shelving, which was used for this purpose. To commit the action, click the Apply or OK button.
• Locked Polygons - Click to selectively lock or unlock polygons. To commit the action, click the Apply or OK button.

• Violations - Click to selectively ignore or retain Online DRC violations for all or selcted polygons in the list. To commit the action, click the Apply or OK button.

• Create Clearance Rule - Click to create a clearance rule with a new query for the selected polygons. This rule specifies the minimum clearance between any two primitives on a copper layer.
• Create Polygon Connect Style Rule - Click to create a polygon connection style rule with a new query for the selected polygons. This rule specifies the style of the connection from a component pin to a polygon plane.
• Create Polygon Class - Click to create a polygon class for the selected polygons. You will be required to provide a name for the new polygon class. An object class is a set of objects treated as a group used by the design rules for example.
• Create New Polygon from - Click to create new polygon from selected polygon or board outline, the  Polygon Pour dialog will open.
• Properties - Click to open Polygon Pour dialog, in which to edit the properties of the selected Polygon Pour.

Pour Order

Lists the current order in which polygons will be poured. The Auto Generate button will list the pour order from smallest to largest which is typically the best order to pour polygons in, as it ensures that a small polygon is not prevented from being poured by a larger, surrounding polygon. The Move Up and Move Down buttons allow you to tailor the order in any order you want.

• Auto Generate - Click to have the system determine the pour order of polygons from smallest to largest. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to fine tune the pour order if required.
• Move Up - Click to move the selected polygon up in the repour order list. The upper the polygon is in the list the earlier it gets re-poured relative to other polygons lower in the list.
• Move down - Click to move the selected polygon down in the repour order list. The lower the polygon is in the list the later it gets re-poured relative to other polygons higher in the list.
• Animate Pour Order - Click to preview the order of polygon pours in the graphical representation of the PCB in this dialog. Use the Auto Generate, Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the order of the pours.