In the image below, the sheet symbol is defined by an orcad schematic capture designator. The sheet symbols can be used to organize multiple schematics on a large design and provides users with the overall flexibility to schematic view net connections across their entire project. Sheet symbols also include sheet entries, which provide a net connection between parent and child schematic entry sheets, similar to the way that ports provide connections between schematics in a flat-sheet design. A hierarchical sheet symbol is an electrical primitive, used in design reuse to represent a sub or child sheet in a hierarchical PCB design schematic. In Altium, starting a hierarchical design requires the creation of sheet symbols. The symbol represents the sheet below, and the sheet entries in it represent/connect to the ports on the sheet. What is Hierarchical Design?Ī hierarchical design within Altium can be defined as a design where the sheet-to-sheet relationships (the structure) in the design is represented, with sheet symbols representing the lower sheets in the design hierarchy.

This approach can often lead to a disconnected schematic design process, especially in multi-sheet designs where net connectivity has to be maintained across multiple schematics. As a result, users often proceed with simple (flat) schematic designs without giving a second thought to project organization.

New Altium users may not fully understand the benefits of organizing schematic sheets into a hierarchical top-down or bottom-up perspective designs.

Hierarchical schematic design in altium