Altium Designer (AD) is a printed circuit board (PCB) and electronic design automation software package for printed circuit boards. It is developed by American software company Altium Limited. Altium Designer was formerly named under the brand Protel. Altium Designer is no longer offered as a standalone product and is instead available as part of the Altium Develop and Altium Agile platform solutions.
Altium Designer was originally launched in 2005 by Altium, then named Protel Systems Pty Ltd. It has roots in 1985, when the company launched the DOS-based PCB design tool named Protel PCB (which later emerged into Autotrax and Easytrax). Originally it was sold only in Australia.[2][3] Protel PCB was marketed internationally by HST Technology since 1986.[3] The product became available in the United States, Canada, and Mexico beginning in 1986, marketed by San Diego–based ACCEL Technologies, Inc., under the name Tango PCB.[3] In 1987, Protel launched the circuit diagram editor Protel Schematic for DOS.
In 1991, Protel released Advanced Schematic and Advanced PCB 1.0 for Windows (1991–1993), followed by Advanced Schematic/PCB 2.x (1993–1995) and 3.x (1995–1998). In 1998, Protel 98 consolidated all components, including Advanced Schematic and Advanced PCB, into one environment. Protel 99 in 1999 introduced the first integrated 3D visualization of the PCB assembly. It was followed by Protel 99 SE in 2000. Protel DXP was issued in 2003, Protel 2004 in 2004, Altium Designer 6.0 in 2005. Altium Designer version 6.8 from 2007 was the first to offer 3D visualization and clearance checking of PCBs directly within the PCB editor.[citation needed]
Features
Altium Designer's suite encompasses main functional areas:
It integrates with several component distributors (via the Octopart platform) for access to manufacturer's data, inventory information, lifecycle status, and additional technical information, which is not available in component datasheets.[7][8] It also has interactive 3D editing of the board, and esporting of a design into MCAD file formats (such as STEP).[9] Users can create multiple types of designs, including multi-layer rigid PCBs with high layer counts, rigid-flex PCBs, flexible printed circuits, and more specialized designs like metal-backed or ceramic PCBs.
Beginning in 2025, Altium restructured its product ecosystem into three integrated platform tiers: Altium Discover, Altium Develop, and Altium Agile. This change marked a transition from standalone products to a unified, cloud-enabled framework. As part of this restructuring, Altium Designer and Altium 365 (a cloud-based infrastructure platform connecting all key stakeholders and disciplines for PCB design)—previously marketed as separate offerings—were incorporated into Altium Develop and Altium Agile family, representing the professional design and collaboration tier of the Altium platform.[10]
Altium Discover
Altium Discover is the foundational tier of the Altium platform, designed to help users explore electronic components, access design knowledge, and engage with the Altium ecosystem. It provides intelligence and context around design intent, connecting engineers with component data, suppliers, and learning resources to support early exploration and informed design decisions.[11]
Discover includes:
Component and solution search capabilities
Access to design knowledge and educational content
Early-stage design exploration tools
Integration with supply chain and manufacturer data
Discover is intended for users exploring the electronic design landscape—students, hobbyists, or professionals in the early stages of PCB project planning—who seek a solution-oriented environment before moving into active product development.[12]
Altium Develop
Altium Develop represents the professional design and collaboration tier of the Altium platform. It brings together Altium Designer, the industry-leading PCB design software, and Altium 365, the cloud collaboration environment, into a unified framework for advanced electronic product development. Develop provides continuous, real-time insight across the design lifecycle, enabling multidisciplinary teams to co-create, manage components, and prepare designs for manufacturing.[13]
Develop includes:
Access to Altium Designer for professional PCB design
Access to Altium 365 for collaboration and version control
Component and library data management
Lifecycle management
MCAD–ECAD co-design functionality
Manufacturing preparation and documentation tools
Extended collaboration and feedback workflows
Develop is aimed at professional engineering teams building production-ready hardware who require robust design environments, structured collaboration, and system-level integrations that connect electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing domains.[14]
Altium Agile
Altium Agile delivers enterprise-grade process management and workflow orchestration for organizations building complex hardware systems. It extends the Altium platform to enable controlled, multi-team collaboration and end-to-end visibility across engineering operations.[15]
Agile includes:
Workflow automation and orchestration
Release and compliance management
Multi-team collaboration across engineering functions
Integrations with PLM, ERP, and ticketing systems (e.g., Jira)
Centralised governance, policy enforcement, and oversight
Altium Agile is delivered through two editions: Agile Teams and Agile Enterprise. Each edition is aligned to a distinct organisational profile and set of requirements.
Agile Teams is designed for smaller companies, workgroups, or organisations that face increasing complexity in electronics development
Agile Enterprise is tailored for larger, digitally mature, and often heavily regulated companies that require deeper integrations, stringent compliance, and enterprise-level governance.[16]
Altium Designer supports import & export of various PCB and CAD data exchangefile formats.[17][18] The tool's native file formats are the binary file formats *.SchDoc and *.PcbDoc.
123TangoPCB. Tango-PCB 3.12. ACCEL Technologies, Inc. 1987-12-01 [1986]. It was originally written in 1985 by Nick Martin, of Australia, and sold under the name of PROTEL-PCB. In 1986, ACCEL Technologies, Inc., of San Diego, California, acquired marketing and support responsibilities for the product in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. […] The reference manual was re-written for the American market. ACCEL markets the product under the name Tango-PCB.
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