Linking to Datasheets within Components | |||
Item ID |
PR2004-2-06 |
Author |
Andrew Mitchell |
Applies to |
Schematic: General |
||
Created |
21/02/05 |
Last modified |
21/02/05 |
With the release of Service Pack 2 for Protel 2004 it is now possible to link documents to Schematic components by creating special parameters.
There are two forms of linking we can use, one is the Help URL which allows you to link to a document which will open when you press F1 with your mouse cursor over the component.
The second is a Component link parameter which will link to a document and can be accessed by right mouse clicking over a component and selecting from the References list.
Linking with the HelpURL Parameter
We can add a new parameter to your component with the Name HelpURL and the Value with the full URL path to your document. Supported target documents are PDF, HTML or text.
The URL path in the Value field can be local e.g. C:\Datasheets\MyDatasheet.pdf or it could be a web address http://www.eda.co.uk/MyDatasheet.pdf.
Linking with the ComponentLink parameter
We can add additional links to documents using the Component link parameters. The component link parameters are created in pairs so we have one parameter with the link to the document and a second paired parameter with the description of the parameter, which is displayed in the References list for the component.
Add a new Parameter to your component and change the Name to ComponentLinknURL where n is the integer value used to pair our link parameter and our description parameters. In the Value place the URL to your document C:\Datasheets\MyDatasheet.pdf.
For the second paired description parameter add a new parameter again and in the Name type ComponentLinknDescription and in the Value file type the name you wish to see displayed in the Reference menu for the component.
Note, if you store your documents within the \Altium2004\Help directory you do not need to place the entire URL in your Value field, just the filename.
For a PDF document it is also possible to specify the page number of the document you wish to view within the link using the syntax #page=n where n is the page number. e.g. C:\Datasheets\MyDatasheet.pdf#page=33.
