PCB layout process is especially smooth for me. It's hard to summarise such a complex process, but I will try to list a few processes which I find especially satysfying when using Altium ( I am using version 25)

- Amazing support for .step 3D bodies. Visualising the fit of components is extremely easy on tight boards. Never having to worry about having an "exceedingly complex" step file - the speed of rendering is great. Positioning even the most awkward 3D bodies is easy using the "snap points" feature.

- "Work guides" feature makes positioning pads within a footprint easier. For some reason, footprint drawings in the datasheets seem to be drawn by people who never had to create one. Why give dimensions to the edge of the pad, not the centre? Pads are always placed by the centre. Anyhow, work guides go a long way towards solving this issue, as it's easy to visually alight the edge of a newly placed pad to the work guide. Presto.

- Draftsman tool makes generating quality assembly drawings a breeze. It takes a few clicks, and it looks great. Get massive kudos from manufacturing colleages who are used to old-skool documentation generated from Gerber layers

- Routing is generally very smooth, including differential pairs. Push-and-shove is brilliant. xSignals are really valuable too for complex, impedance- and length-controlled designs.

- The repeatable output generation using Output jobs is a massive time saver. The degree of customisation of the output leaves not much to be desired

- Custom queiries in Design Rules allow almost infinite degree of precision when specifying pretty much every aspect of the design

- Powerful library model allows each company to find a level of complexity/simplicity of library organisation which suits their size and style of working, from simple file-based to database-based

There will be lost of other positives, these are just the ones which stand out. The quality of documentation is generally brilliant, which makes it fast and easy to upskill and become productive, fast. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It mostly "just works", however there are some small niggles (as with any products). The ones I specifially came across are:

- Sometimes the design rules don't seem to work quite right with custom queries. For example, trying to create a rule to ignore supposedly interfering components don't always work. Specifically, if one creates a "Component clearance" rule, "where the first object matches" X and "where the second matches" Y, and set the minimum vertical and horisontal clearances to 0, it's meant to be a canonical way of ignoring a collision. However, it's a guess whether the "collision" will actually be igonored - more often than not I find the rule just does not work unfortunately, even with the priority set right.

- Another example of seemingly awkward/unworkable rule seems trying to ignore an unconnected class of polygons. I have a design where I have a few unconnected (no net) polygons underneath the switching inductors to prevent magnetic field from coupling onto the rest of the place. Altium correctly marks them as an "un-routed net", however I've not found a way to create a rule under "un-routed net" category to ignore them. Further on that point, the same query, "InPolygonClass('L3_unconnected')" works in PCB filter but does not work in the rule dialog. More consistency would be great.

One can always waive the resulting violations, but that does not convey the design intent as well.

- My colleagues and I found that sometimes the track length calculation ignores small segments of the track on a certain layer. This is potentially a big problem when trying to precisely tune/match track length.

-Very occasionally, Altium hangs with a memory violation error or some such error. I guess it's mostly inevitable for a product of such complexity, but it's still a bug! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The company has upgraded from PADS to Altium and this feels like buying a Ferrari.

Differential pair routing and multi-layer board design using layer stack managet has helped us get through EMC testing.

ActiveBOM is a fantastic feature in assisting with REACH/RoHS requirements.

Tool is very esay to use and is intuitive, great integration with manufacturer part seach and schematic design.

There are lots of guide videos with good commentary.

I now use Altium pretty much every day and happy to continue doing so.

I like that there are frequent software updates. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

So far we have not seen any issues with Altium. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like Altium 365 because it’s easy to create and edit library components, and the project and library management tools are great for handling complex designs. The PCB layout editor is smart and customizable, and the 3D view helps with visualizing the board and checking it against enclosures. I also appreciate the ability to create custom project templates, which saves time when starting new designs. It’s relatively easy to implement, and I can use it almost every week for various PCB designs. The integration with other tools works well, though sometimes there are small issues when importing or exporting files. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It can be slow to start up and access files, especially on a network. Some of the default settings, like the connection matrix, create unnecessary warnings that make it harder to spot real issues. The Bill of Materials feature takes a while to generate and needs to be updated if changes are made to the schematic. The software can slow down when working with larger designs, and although it integrates well with third-party components, sometimes there are issues with different footprints or symbol standards. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The collaborative nature of Altium 365 has be well thought out. Mostly I'm working alone, therefore many features are yet undiscovered. It's been invaluable sharing with the design engineers as I implement their ideas into multilayer PCBs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The complexity makes training essential, and the manuals are difficult to find the correct information. Often, it's been trial and error which may not be the most efficient way of doing things. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have been using Altium Designer almost daily for the last 17+ years and have designed over 100 boards from simple 2 layer boards to complex 6 layer boards. Altium and more powerful an the UI is more intuitive than other software I have tried over the years. I have previously used Pulsonix, Easy-PC, KICAD and Eagle.

The features in Altium have saved an enormous amount of time spent designing PCBs. One of the many amazing features is the hug and push mode for interactive routing. This feature allows board modifications to be made easily without having to redo all the previous routing.

Another great feature is how easy it is to manage the 3d models for components and the ability to import and export to and from SolidWorks.

The web based documentation portal is great, especially for features that don't get used all the time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Steeper learning curve due to the configurability and feature set of the software.

Creating the board layout can take a long time due to the limited capabilities. The outline must be created from lines and arcs. The work around for this is to just import a DXF that contains the board outline.

The new subscription based pricing model is a substantial increase in price.

The layer stack configuration for flex circuits is kind of clunky. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have using Altium Designer for more than 5 years in many different projects and I was always satisfied with my experience and recommended Altium Designer to others.

The Library Loader add-on is really helpful in importing new components and managing libraries. The software supports all the features you need and is used by most of the designers in the field. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The footprint design wizard is limited and could be expanded. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

easy to genarat gerber and here we can anylisis the CAM it is very use full and tool is very feiller to leare and simulation is good all options are esay to access Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

length match is difficult making of highe seep desigan is very complicaed but making scrit is difficult and intrtfaceds res tio diu incresss and decredsds to making all the types Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The Manufacturer Part Search tool saves me tons of time when creating a new design. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have had difficulty using the simulation tool. I would like it to be more intuitive to use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It's an all-in-one design package that gets the job done. The built-in manufacturer part search is sometimes useful. I like the ease of switching between 2D and 3D PCB view. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Needs a simple, global override function for font choice. I've set mine to Arial everything I can possibly find but half the time things still show up as Times New Roman and have to be changed manually.

Off-page location referecnes (whatever they're called) frequently generate upside-down and have to be fixed manually. Waste of time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

• The integration between schematics and pcb design.

• The ease of switching between the machine design of the board and the schematic/PCB design.

• Cloud projects where I can collaborate between multiple people on the same project.

• Built in footprints of common components and IC's.

• Ease of generating industry standard schematics and reports of design.

• Enforing a wide range of design rules that are accurately checked. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

• The software has a long startup time that did not seem to depend on system capabilities, as it was long on my home PC and laptop.

• Sometimes it was easy to get lost in the tools as a beginner. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.