Creating a Custom Template Altium Designer templates are stored in C:\PCB PROGRAMS\Altium Designer\System\Templates.

You can add your template to this folder, create your own templates folder, or include the template in the design. Follow these steps to define a custom schematic template: 1. After opening the database and the folder that the template will be stored in, select File New Schematic to create an empty schematic sheet, then double-click to open this sheet. 2. Choose Design Options from the menus, then click on the Sheet Options Tab. 3. Select the sheet size in the Standard Styles pull down list. 4. Un-check the Title Block option (to remove the standard title block) and click OK. Notice that the standard title block no longer appears on the page. Zoom-in to the bottom right corner of the page to start a custom title block (zoom in shortcut: position the cursor where you wish to zoom and press PAGE UP) . You are ready to draw a new title block. 5. Choose the graphical line tool from the Drawing Tools toolbar, or select the Place Drawing Tools Line menu item. A cross-hair will appear on the cursor. 6. Before starting the line, press the TAB key to set the attributes of the line. The Line dialog will open. 7. In the Line dialog click in the Color box to open the Color Selector, then scroll up to color number 4 (black). Click OK to close the Color Selector dialog . 8. You will be back in the Line dialog. Set the Line Width to Smallest. 9. Click OK in the Line dialog to accept these changes. 10. Now, position the cursor in the sheet workspace and click to begin the first title block line segment. 11. Move the cursor to the point where you wish to define the first corner. Click to define this corner, then move the cursor to the location of the second corner. Continue to do this until you need to start drawing a new line. 12. Click RIGHT MOUSE once (or the ESC key) when you want to end this multisegment line. You can then move the cursor to a new location to start a new line. Click RIGHT MOUSE a second time (or the ESC key again) to exit the Place Line command. 13. You are ready to place text in the title block. 14. Choose Place Text String from the menus. 15. Before placing the text, press the TAB key to change the text attributes. 16. Press the Font Change button. 17. In the Size field, type 16 and Click OK. 18. In the Text field type =TITLE and then click OK to close the dialog. Note the equal character immediately in front of the word TITLE, this must be included. 19. Position the cursor in the appropriate region of your new title block, then click LEFT MOUSE. To temporarily disable the snap grid hold the CTRL key as you position the text. The .TITLE special string is mapped to the Title field in the Document Options dialog. Continue to define your custom title block by adding the appropriate special strings as follows: 20. Press TAB to pop up the Annotation dialog again. Enter the =DOCUMENTNUMBER special string and set the font to an appropriate size. Position the cursor where you wish to place this special string and click LEFT MOUSE. Continue to place the special strings in the appropriate regions of your title block. 21. Press ESC to exit the place text annotation command. 22. Graphics can be included in the template. Select the Place Drawing Tools Graphic menu item to add a graphic. When the Image file dialog appears select the graphic image file and click OK. When the cursor appears you will need to click once to define the top left of the image location, then a second time to define

the bottom right of the image location. You are now ready to save this sheet as a template: 23. Choose File Save As from the menus. 24. Type a name for the template in the File Name field, and set the Save As Type option to Schematic template binary (*.Schdot). 25. The extension .SchDOT defines this file as a sheet template. This template can now be used for new or existing designs. Close the template file when you have finished. Note that SchDot files cannot be edited from the Schematic Editor. You must first change the template file name extension to SchDOC. After editing it can then again be saved with the protected extension SchDOT