吃瓜tv

Choose a viewer for the files and the decision you need to make

An Altium viewer can help someone inspect an electronic design without editing it in Altium Designer. The useful first question is what you have: native schematic and board documents, manufacturing artwork, a PDF drawing or a shared design session. These are different information sets. A viewer that displays copper artwork cannot necessarily answer a schematic connectivity question, and a readable PDF cannot establish that the fabrication outputs match a board database.

The official online viewer is a separate service from the design editor. 吃瓜tv does not operate it, and the worksheet on this page is not an embedded Altium application. Use the to check currently supported formats and try its public example before considering your own files. The public example is also a useful way to learn the controls without sending private design data.

This page owns file review, clear feedback and the distinction between viewing and approval. The Altium Gerber export guide owns manufacturing export from Designer. The PCB file-format guide explains the broader handoff choices. Separating these subjects avoids promising that a viewer can replace a licensed design environment or a controlled release process.

Match the information source to the review question

For a schematic question, a native schematic or a legible released drawing is usually more informative than a copper rendering. For a fabrication artwork question, inspect the actual released manufacturing files. For component orientation, use placement data and an assembly drawing along with the relevant board view. No single attractive representation contains every piece of engineering intent.

When a viewer cannot open a file, first check the file family and version rather than renaming its extension. A native CAD database is not converted into Gerber by changing its filename. An archive can also contain the right file types in the wrong revision combination, or include multiple similarly named outputs. Keep the original package intact while you diagnose the problem.

Create feedback that another engineer can reproduce

A useful finding identifies the source revision, the displayed view or layer, a reference designator or location, the expected condition and the observed condition. For example, a comment about J1 pin 1 should state whether the reviewer is looking from the component side or the mating face. Without that context, two people can disagree while describing the same geometry from different viewpoints.

Separate observations from conclusions. A silkscreen marking appears close to a pad is an observation. The marking violates the agreed clearance is a conclusion that needs the actual measurement, criterion and output state. Keep the supporting image or location reference with the comment, but do not assume a screenshot is a calibrated measurement record.

Group findings by the person or discipline that can resolve them. Circuit connectivity belongs with the electrical designer, fabrication ambiguity with the board release owner, and placement or population questions with the assembly owner. A single undifferentiated list tends to circulate without clear responsibility. Give each issue an identifier and record the response against that identifier.

Select a review route and write a located finding

The worksheet asks for the file set, review objective, handling permission and one concrete finding. It then suggests a viewing route and the evidence to retain. If cloud upload is not authorized, it directs you toward an approved local application. If you have KiCad native files, it emphasizes checking support for the actual version instead of assuming that a general compatibility claim covers every current file format.

This is a planning aid, not a file uploader. It does not read your CAD files, contact Altium, create a share link or grant access to anyone. A downloaded finding can be attached manually to your existing review record or enquiry. The email action opens a draft; it does not send the message. You can contact 吃瓜tv directly without using the worksheet when your release package is already clear.

Understand what an online viewing session proves

Successfully loading a design demonstrates that the service displayed something from the supplied files. It does not establish that all layers, drill information, component properties or electrical relationships survived interpretation. Review the expected contents and compare known features with the source. Where the decision depends on a measurement or a hidden object, verify the applicable tool and its limitations.

A 3D representation can make orientation and mechanical questions easier to discuss, but a component model can be incomplete, generic or associated with the wrong package. Inspect the model's relationship to the physical footprint and manufacturer drawing. Do not approve connector clearance solely because a smooth model appears to fit in a rendered enclosure.

The same caution applies to a BOM view. A displayed component value is not necessarily a purchasable manufacturer part number, and a list of components may not express the intended population variant. Check approved MPNs, alternatives, DNP instructions and quantity conventions in the actual assembly package. The required PCBA files guide explains what an assembler needs beyond a viewable design.

Decide file handling before creating a viewing session

Use your organization's approved process for confidential designs. Determine whether the exact files may be sent to a third-party cloud service and whether any resulting link may be shared with the intended reviewers. Treat a link as a distribution mechanism, not as proof of a particular confidentiality level. Read the current service terms and handling description for the route you actually use.

Remove unrelated files from a review package only in a separate review copy, leaving the controlled source archive intact. Native projects and archives can contain notes, supplier details, customer identifiers or obsolete variants that are not needed for the question. A narrowly scoped review package is easier to understand as well as easier to authorize. Do not assume that every recipient needs editable source files.

For an initial learning exercise, the vendor's public example is preferable to an uncontrolled upload of a commercial project. No customer design is required to learn basic navigation, layer selection or component identification. Once you understand the viewing route, apply your own authorization and revision controls before using it for a real engineering decision.

Native review, CAM review and design editing are different jobs

Native design review can retain relationships that manufacturing artwork no longer contains. CAM review evaluates the files that will actually be used for fabrication. Editing changes the design database and requires the appropriate authoring environment and change controls. Choose deliberately among these jobs instead of expecting one viewer to perform all of them.

Suppose a connector appears reversed in a manufacturing review. First establish whether the issue is the viewing side, the coordinate convention, the component model, the footprint orientation or an actual circuit error. Sending an ambiguous screenshot back to the designer may trigger an unnecessary or incorrect edit. A located finding with the source file and viewpoint allows the engineer to distinguish those possibilities.

For native KiCad projects, the schematic-to-PCB guide explains the update operation that a viewer cannot perform. For assembly data, the BOM and position-file guide demonstrates reference reconciliation. These pages serve different visitor tasks while feeding the same controlled manufacturing handoff.

Turn a design review into a clear manufacturing enquiry

Send the approved fabrication package and identify the specific questions that remain open. A viewer link can supplement a discussion, but it should not silently replace the controlled files needed to quote and manufacture the board. Include the revision, construction requirements, quantity, finish, thickness and any special electrical or mechanical constraints.

For assembly, add the BOM, placement data, assembly drawing and population instructions. State whether sourcing is turnkey, partial-turnkey or consigned. Identify any component alternatives that require approval. The PCB Assembly page is the appropriate service route for a populated-board requirement; the PCB Manufacturing page is the route for fabrication questions.

Record whether a finding is open, answered, accepted or incorporated into a new revision. A comment marked resolved in a collaboration interface does not necessarily mean the released design files were changed. Check the actual resulting revision and regenerate affected outputs when required. The final package should make that transition explicit.

Questions about Altium viewing and review