This guide will walk you through the process of connecting your Altium 365 workspace to Cofactr, enabling seamless synchronization of your parts, BOMs.

Overview

The Altium 365 integration allows you to automatically sync your design data between Altium 365 and Cofactr, streamlining your procurement workflow and ensuring your component data stays up-to-date across both platforms.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• An active Cofactr account with appropriate permissions

• Access to your Altium 365 workspace

• Admin rights to configure integrations in Cofactr

Step-by-Step Setup Process

Step 1: Access Integration Settings

1. Log into your Cofactr account

2. Navigate to the Integrations section from your account menu

3. Locate the Altium 365 integration under the PLM/PDM category

4. Click on the Altium 365 integration to begin setup

Step 2: Start Integration Configuration

1. Click the Configure or Setup button for the Altium 365 integration

2. You'll be taken to the Initial Configuration screen where you can see three setup phases: 

   • Initial Configuration (Step 1)

   • Authentication (Step 2)

   • Settings (Step 3)

Step 3: Configure Integration Triggers

In the Initial Configuration phase, you'll see various sync options with webhook URLs. Each trigger serves a specific purpose:

• Initialize Integration: Sets up the initial connection

• Sync Released BOMs: Syncs BOMs when they're released in Altium 365

• Nightly Sync All Work-In-Progress BOMs: Performs bulk sync of WIP BOMs

• Sync Part Library: Synchronizes your component library

• Store Env Variables: Manages environment variables

• 15 Minute Sync Work-In-Progress BOMs: Provides frequent WIP BOM updates

• Upsert WIP Variant: Manages work-in-progress variants

• Upsert Release Variant: Handles released variant updates

Note: The system automatically generates webhook URLs for each trigger. You don't need to manually configure these URLs.

Step 4: Authenticate with Altium 365

1. Proceed to the Authentication step

2. You'll see a Nexar Connection interface

3. Click the Connect button to authenticate with your Altium 365 account

4. You'll be redirected to the Nexar login page

5. Enter your Altium 365 credentials: 

   • Email: Your Altium 365 account email

   • Password: Your account password

6. Alternatively, you can use SSO if your organization has single sign-on configured

7. Complete the authentication process

Step 5: Configure Sync Settings

Once authenticated, configure your synchronization preferences:

Workspace Configuration

• Workspace URL: Enter your Altium 365 workspace URL (e.g., https://acme.365.altium.com)

• If left blank, the integration will default to the first available workspace

Project Selection

• Projects: Add specific project names to sync

• If no projects are specified, the integration will sync all projects in the workspace

Sync Options

Configure which data types to synchronize:

• Sync Work-In-Progress BOMs: Enabled by default

  • Syncs all WIP projects within Altium 365 to Cofactr

• Sync BOM Releases: Enabled by default

  • Automatically syncs BOMs when projects are released in Altium 365

• Sync [No Variations] Variants: Enabled by default

  • Syncs the [No Variations] variant in addition to each project variant

• Sync Part Library: Enabled by default

  • Synchronizes all parts in your Altium 365 library to your Cofactr library

Advanced Settings

• Use Component Name as Internal Part Number: ⚪ Disabled by default 

  • When enabled, uses the Component Name field from Altium as the Internal Part Number in Cofactr

Important Note: Before enabling "Sync Part Library," set the "Setting Part Numbers During BOM Upload" setting in Cofactr to "None." This setting can be accessed at: https://platform.cofactr.com/org/preferences

Step 6: Complete Setup

1. Review all your configuration settings

2. Click Finish to complete the integration setup

3. The system will begin the initial synchronization process

What Happens After Setup

Once the integration is active, Cofactr will:

• Automatically sync data according to your configured schedule

• Import BOMs from Altium 365 based on your sync settings

• Keep your component libraries synchronized

• Update procurement data when changes occur in Altium 365

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during setup:

1. Authentication Problems: Ensure your Altium 365 credentials are correct and you have appropriate workspace access

2. Sync Issues: Verify your workspace URL is correctly formatted

3. Missing Data: Check that your project names are spelled correctly and exist in your workspace

Support

For additional assistance with your Altium 365 integration, contact Cofactr support through your account portal or refer to the comprehensive documentation in your Cofactr dashboard.

This integration streamlines your design-to-procurement workflow by maintaining real-time synchronization between your Altium 365 workspace and Cofactr platform, ensuring your component data and BOMs are always current and accessible.

Written by Sy Lormier