The BOM Portal will automatically analyze a Managed BOM document to detect any issues in BOM Item lines, based on their logical structure and the part’s manufacturer and supplier data. These include invalid part numbers, deprecated or low-stock items, non-compliant parts, and much more.
BOM line item errors and warnings are summarized by the listing's right-most column icons. Hover over an icon to see a popup summary of the issues – the Issues tab view, which provides dedicated links to item lines with detected Errors and Warnings.
A column also is available for including Issue entries in the BOM listing and therefore in report downloads. This column is disabled by default – enable through the Column display preferences .
See the Issue Reporting and Management section below for information on working with BOM issues.
Any issues with an Item line entry are indicated by their associated status icon on the right.
Switch to the Issues view to access a dedicated list of color-coded line items with problems that need to be resolved.
You can filter the Issue list to a specific Error/Warning type by selecting the issue type from the upper listing. Multiple types can be enabled.
Correct the outstanding issue. In this example case, by editing the designator that caused the duplication. Press Enter to confirm the change.
The error entry is automatically removed from the Issues list since it has been resolved.
Use the Reset Filters option to return to the remaining list of current BOM entry issues.
A BOM line item's manufacturer part number could be incomplete or the part itself may no longer be listed as available, resulting in an Unknown Part Number error. This is resolved by specifying a different, viable part number.
The Unknown Part Number error entry in the BOM item line, as highlighted in red, may be incomplete or not applicable.
Double-click on the Part Number entry to access the replacement options. Note that the pop-up hint information has identified an incomplete part number.
Choose a replacement part number by selecting its entry from the Suggestions list.
The now resolved error is removed from the Issues view.
Other BOM issues such as non-compliant manufacturer parts require the selection of a suitably qualified replacement part.
The detected issue in this instance is a part that does not comply with REACH requirements. This needs to be resolved by choosing a different component part that meets the required standards.
Double-click on the component's Part Number entry to open a list of part number variations (Suggestions ) to choose from as a replacement. The existing part is linked to a library component in this example, so its Part Choices are available for selection. See the Part Choice selection information below.
If Part Choices are not available, open the Advanced Parametric Search option to locate a suitable manufacturer part replacement that will also satisfy the compliance requirements.
Use the Parametric Search to find a different manufacturer part based on the existing part number, or based on a set of parameters that you specify (see below ). In this example, the system also has identified a range of alternative components (19) that can be used (Try Alternate Search Mode ). Note that you can access the alternative parts list directly by selecting the Alternates search mode.
In the Alternates list you can again choose a replacement component from the library component’s Part Choices . This list will be present only when the existing part is a managed (library) component.
The list also will include a range of compliant manufacturer parts to choose from under Suggested Alternates . Note that these include, and are ordered by, a Confidence rating provided by Altium's component data resources – this information also is available in the Information pane (
The resolved issue is removed from the Issues view.
Issue Reporting and Management
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The BOM Portal allows you to specify the types of BOM health checks that are detected and how they are reported, and also if a particular issue is overridden in an individual BOM:
BOM health checks – Use the BOM Checks option in the BOM Settings window to specify if issues are reported as a Fatal Error, Error, Warning, or are ignored (No Report). The global settings that apply to all new BOM documents are available in the BOM Portal Application setup available on the Workspace Admin – Apps page.
Individual BOM lines – Right-click on a BOM item line and select the Disable Checks for This Row option to deactivate BOM health checks for that particular item line. The health icon reverts to No Report and any issues are ignored. Applies to the current BOM only.
Individual Issues – Select a BOM line Issue in the Info pane and then the Waive issue for this BOM item to disregard (waive) that issue. Waived issues adopt a Issues tab as ‘WAIVED ISSUES’.
To Waive (disregard) a specific Issue for a BOM line item, click on its entry…
…and then select the pop-up Waive Issue for this BOM item option.
The waived issue is no longer regarded as an error/warning for that BOM part, as indicated by its associated
Any number of individual issues can be waived. To revert a waived issue, click it again and select Unwaive issue for this BOM item .
Although dismissed, waived issues are noted in the Issues tab (and Dashboard tab) view under a Waived heading.
Parametric Search
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When selecting a different manufacturer part for a BOM line item, use the system's advanced Parametric Search feature to locate a part with specific parameters, or when none of the system's automated part suggestions or alternatives are suitable. This is available in the Advanced Search feature when the Parametric Search mode is selected.
Note that double-clicking on an entry’s Manufacturer Part Number also provides access to replacement part Suggestions , and when available, Part Choice options . Suggestions are sourced from the Altium Parts Provider and based on parametric data extracted from the BOM line entry – parameters that are matched by Suggestions and Part Choices are highlighted in green.
Double-click on a component Part Number to access the Advanced Search feature. In this case the component is being updated due to an unknown Manufacturer Lifecycle .
Ensure that the Parametric Search mode and the correct Component Type options are selected, and any preloaded search field entries are removed. Select the desired component parameters from the parameter type lists (Number of Pins, Packaging footprint, etc) – each list will accept multiple selections. The lower pane will populate with a list of ratified component parts that satisfy the search criteria.
You can simplify and reduce the size of the search panel by hiding the filter section. Also note that the Info pane (click the
Each list entry includes the best minimum-order pricing solution available from one of the enabled suppliers , and the part’s total stock levels for all enabled suppliers. Select a suitable replacement part entry and click the Manufacturer Part entry with an associated Part Choice entry.
The BOM line item will be updated with the new part number, which will in turn update the Order List entry and its current Supply Chain procurement data. The line's yellow dot icon indicates that the Manufacturer Part Number (or Description) has been changed since the last Release – click on the icon to view that data change ().
Manufacturer Part Number Resolution
Blank MPN values – If an uploaded BOM contains blank Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) entries and also the base Description, Quantity and Designator parameter values, then the BOM Portal will attempt to deduce suitable manufacturer parts based on key parameters in the Description text. These parts are offered as selectable Suggestions – their availability is indicated by the Description also are applied when performing an Advanced Search .
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Descriptive MPN values – If an uploaded BOM contains simple descriptive parameter information in place of actual Manufacturer Part Number values – as might be the case with work-in-progress or prototype design BOMs – then the BOM Portal will attempt to find suitable manufacturer parts based on these keywords. This is the case also when using the Advanced Search feature, which will deduce and apply parametric search terms from the Part Number text.
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Combined MFR and MPN values – If an uploaded BOM contains combined Manufacturer and Manufacturer Part Number parameter values in place of just Manufacturer Part numbers – as can be the case with BOMs saved/exported from other design software – then the BOM Portal will attempt to extract both the part number and manufacturer parameter values from that data. A Manufacturer column can be added if it does not already exist, and then the BOM remapped to register that BOM data column – use the Remap option from the before updating the combined Part Numbers with search Suggestions or Alternate parts, so that the Manufactuer data also will be populated.
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Where a BOM line Manufacturer Part entry is linked to an existing Workspace component (see Components Integration section below), its Part Choices are made available for selection. These are offered as a list of Part Choices when the part number is selected, and also in the Alternates mode of the Advanced Search – where the latter includes confidence ratings along with compliance and supplier information.
A BOM line entry is linked to a Workspace component where its Manufacturer Part Number matches that of a component's Part Choice - as indicated by the Info pane
To immediately specify a different Part Choice entry for the BOM item, select its part number and choose an alternative part from the Part Choice list in the drop-down menu.
Each entry (including Suggestions ) includes a summary of the part’s information, with a stock level for the optimum supplier solution. For more information on the Part Choices available, open the Advanced Search option and choose its Alternates mode.
The Alternates mode also offers the Workspace component's Part Choice List , but with additional information (including a confidence rating) to help you select a valid and available manufacturer part from the list.
Select a suitable Part Choice alternative from the list for the current BOM entry. The selected part entry includes the best minimum-order pricing solution available from one of the enabled suppliers , and the part’s total stock levels for all enabled suppliers.
The Manufacturer and Manufacturer Part Number fields in the BOM line will change to the newly selected Part Choice entry, which is also indicated in the part's Info pane entry (
Note that the Alternates tab view in the Info pane also includes the confidence-rated list of Part Choices with the current selection indicated (Information pane section for details.
The Part Choices associated with a Workspace component can be edited from its entry in the Components page. See View/Edit Part Choices for more information.
You can view a detailed listing of the parts referenced by all Workspace Managed BOMs in the Parts in Use page . Note that this feature is not available with the BOM Editor .
