ALcad#

Use the dedicated ALcad schematic, PCB, 3D and SI/PI workspaces inside Digital Design Studio.

Overview#

ALcad is the CAD workspace included in Digital Design Studio. Install one application and switch to the dedicated ALcad UI from the workspace menu. The ALcad name, workspaces and guides continue.

Open ALcad from Digital Design Studio#

  1. Open a project in Digital Design Studio or Altifigence Cloud.

  2. Open the workspace menu at the top left. It shows RTL & Logic Design or the name of the current workspace.

  3. Choose the required workspace, such as Schematic or PCB Layout, from the ALcad group.

  4. Use the same menu to return to RTL, ISA or Evolve.

Work surfaces#

The workspace menu groups Schematic, PCB Layout, 3D CAD, 3D Assembly, SI / PI Analysis, and Wafer Process & Fab under ALcad. Each screen has its own tools. Available editing, export and analysis actions depend on the host and release.

RTL connectivity and CAD designs still use different data models inside the application. Switching workspaces does not automatically convert a design file. Each design keeps its source and selection identity.

Development side panels#

Hierarchy and Properties use compact rows and the shared sans-serif interface font. Hierarchy shows the opened project’s name and actual object records; selection stays connected to the canvas and Properties. The current native scene is a flat list, so the panel does not invent parent-child relationships or expand controls. An empty design remains empty, and a source path is shown only when the native project supplies it.

Properties shows the selected object’s reference, name, layer, position and available details. Stable object IDs remain available in technical details; long values wrap within the panel. The native PCB board-size editor retains its origin-anchored rectangle restriction, explicit save and undo/redo. These layout changes do not enable additional native editing operations.

Install and updates#

Use the shared Downloads page for Digital Design Studio, including ALcad. Verify the file and follow the installation guide for your platform. There is no separate ALcad installer page to follow.

In Cloud, open a project and use the same workspace menu. An older desktop package may not contain the new workspaces; check the Downloads page and Release notes for that release.

Development workbench settings#

The Windows development workbench integrates the application header and window controls. The product logo remains on the left; settings and theme controls sit before minimize, maximize/restore and close. The schematic, PCB, 3D and SI/PI mode selector and tool rails remain part of the workbench.

The development Settings dialog follows Digital Design Studio’s searchable left navigation and right settings panel. Open the gear or press Ctrl+,. Appearance selects the interface language and light or dark theme; Canvas controls the grid, labels and connections. Grid spacing is a display guide, not automatic editing snap.

The development workbench offers English, Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese and Russian. Changing the language updates the open workbench without reopening the project or discarding a settings-file draft. Project names, paths, object IDs, revisions and JSON keys are unchanged. Display numbers follow the selected locale; unrecognized technical diagnostics remain verbatim.

Settings file imports JSON into a draft for review. Apply changes local preferences; choosing a file does not edit a project or apply preferences automatically. Export saves the currently applied settings. The application identity remains Altifigence.ALcad for compatibility, with a 32 KiB limit. Use the format exported by your running version. Settings files do not include project data or credentials.

Legacy version-1 files contain only theme, gridVisible, gridSpacing, showLabels and showConnections. Current development builds also support fonts, UI density, keybindings, mouse controls and element colors, with an expanded export format. Check the formats accepted by the running version before importing. The language choice is stored separately as alcad.locale.v1 and is not transferred through settings JSON.

Settings belong to the current browser or desktop profile. If local storage is unavailable, the application reports session-only settings. Keep an exported settings file if you need a portable copy; this does not transfer a licence or native permissions to another machine.

Project safety#

Keep project files in a user-controlled location and retain a backup before importing or converting a design. Review the active mode, project path, changes, and saved revision before exporting manufacturing files or accepting analysis. Unavailable functions must not be represented by built-in example results.