AltiumLive - FAQs

The following is a list of Frequently Asked Questions, the answers for which are all aimed at getting you up-and-running with AltiumLive.

OK, I'll ask it. What is the underlying purpose of AltiumLive?

The key objective of AltiumLive, through its Forums, BugCrunch and the recognition program, is community building. We want to have a community that is rich in knowledge and expertise, and full of members who are willing to participate, engage and share their experiences and expertise with other members.

How are these Forums different to the old Altium Forum?

The old adage "Out with the old and in with the new" has never lent itself so well. Fresh, invigorated and more importantly truly visible to all. The wider engineering community can drop by the new AltiumLive Forums and view what's going on, the topics being discussed, and replies from Altium Team Members themselves - no hiding of forums behind 'close doors'. And if you feel like 'chipping in' with your own experiences or opinions to aide the greater good of a conversation, simply register with us. And licensed users of the software have, as before, full access to post, reply and fully engage!

How to create an account?

If you have a current Altium Subscription, or are not subscribed but hold a valid license of Altium Designer^®, you will be able to select membership to the relevant AltiumLive membership plan (Subscriber Plan or License Holder Plan). Otherwise, join the Community Member Plan.  

What does it mean to have an AltiumLive membership?

Having an AltiumLive membership enables you to visit, connect, engage and exchange values and ideas with the broader Altium community. These will be your peers - engineers, users, developers, and interested guests.

Are there different levels of access to AltiumLive?

Yes, there are three plans available, each offering differing levels of access to the AltiumLive community. If you have a current Altium Subscription, you automatically become a member of the Subscriber Plan effectively giving you an "access all areas" pass to AltiumLive and all it has to offer.

If you are a valid Altium license holder, you can select to become a member of the License Holder Plan. Enjoy a rich experience in the AltiumLive community, but without the ability to download software, vote on bugs and write to Altium Vaults.

If you are neither subscribed or have a valid license of Altium, you can still participate in the community through the Community Member Plan. Be an observer in the Forums, access the community blog and engage in live chat, but have no access to BugCrunch, HelpDesk Support or the ability to download software.

You can always upgrade to a higher-level plan if you want to join the party in full!

(More details here.)

Will AltiumLive be available in different languages?

In short - absolutely! We want to get people meeting and talking about all things electronic - and how they can, or are, harnessing the power of Altium's design solutions to create that next innovative (and lucrative) product - and not limit that to an English-speaking community only. Instead, the creation of various, linguistically-different communities, that together effectively are all speaking a single language - ELECTRONICS.

What is the recognition program all about?

This is a points-based program, where you earn points based on your engagement and interaction within the AltiumLive community. They are the effective currency of the community. You can accumulate them, and even use them in trade to get premium-level help for a particular question that has been perplexing you! (Coming soon.)

Why don't I seem to have many points in relation to others in the community?

People in the community earn points by contributing to the community - for example by answering engineering questions in the Forums. The more you engage and contribute, the more points you will earn. And keep an eye out for bounties - where people are offering an amount of their own points for help. 

What are Badges?

Badges reflect your status in the community. The more you engage and contribute, not only will you build your points, but you will raise your profile in the community and notch up varied, and ever-more prestigious badges. This in turn allows others in the community to instantly see who might be that guru they've been looking for, that may well possess the knowledge they require. (Coming soon.)

What is BugCrunch?

BugCrunch is a system where you, as a member of the AltiumLive community and user of Altium under subscription or license, get to report issues you find in the software. What's more, you get to change the priority in which we look at addressing issues through the power of community voting - redeeming some of your points to have a greater say on a bug's priority. Vote it up or vote it down, the community decides. (Read more here.)

Will enough votes guarantee a bug gets fixed?

If a nomination for a fix is accepted by Altium then you can certainly vote on its priority. If the nominated but gets enough votes, then Altium expects to crunch that bug. This is all about influencing the development of Altium software, although it’s not a system for nominating “my favorite missing feature”!

Does AltiumLive support email interaction in a similar way to that of the existing forums?

The new forums will have the ability to set up email notifications. However, those email notifications will not allow you to respond via email. Future development will see the implementation of a 'wall', to display all items that are of particular interest to you, the user.