Hi,
I have Altium 6.8 and did have Protel DXP I have never found a easy way to create / place those plated holes that connect top and bottom layer together when using a copper pour connected to GND, you see it a lot around voltage regulators and areas where a good ground / heat sink is required, they are like vias but coever with solder resist and very small holes.
What I’m doing at moment is simply hand placing vias everywhere but it’s a boring process!!!
Thx
p.s. does anyone know the name of these this might help me find it in the help files.
scarr999:
Hi,
I have Altium 6.8 and did have Protel DXP I have never found a easy way to create / place those plated holes that connect top and bottom layer together when using a copper pour connected to GND, you see it a lot around voltage regulators and areas where a good ground / heat sink is required, they are like vias but coever with solder resist and very small holes.
What I’m doing at moment is simply hand placing vias everywhere but it’s a boring process!!!
Thx
p.s. does anyone know the name of these this might help me find it in the help files.
It sounds like you’re talking about tented vias. Place a via, right click on it and click on properties. There is an option for tenting in the properties box.
First thanks for the quick replies.
NleahciM
I did find and use tenting but I thought there would have been a type of flood fill with these tented vias, so they are nice and organsied and quick to place. But if they are done manually then thats what I’ll have to do 
P.S. What size hole is a standard for these type of vias as normal vias look rather large?
Greetings (No First Name Supplied),
NleahciM:
It sounds like you’re talking about tented vias. Place a via, right click on it and click on properties. There is an option for tenting in the properties box.
A tented via is a normal via that is covered on both sides
by soldermask.
Normally a via would be exposed, and visible as a solder
pad. Tenting the via insulates it so that components over
the via do not short out to the via. Tenting is costly, it
requires additional process steps and is prone to gas
pockets which can lift the solder resist.
I don’t know of any automated process to lay down a
string of vias. I have always done them manually.
You might cut and paste a group to speed things up.
Comments Welcome!
scarr999:
First thanks for the quick replies.
NleahciM
I did find and use tenting but I thought there would have been a type of flood fill with these tented vias, so they are nice and organsied and quick to place. But if they are done manually then thats what I’ll have to do
P.S. What size hole is a standard for these type of vias as normal vias look rather large?
There is no standard size. Typically you make them as small and numerous as possible as you are trying to maximize the amount of copper going between the top and bottom of the board.
I’m fairly sure AD has no built in function to flood an area with vias.
bigglez:
Greetings (No First Name Supplied),
NleahciM:
It sounds like you’re talking about tented vias. Place a via, right click on it and click on properties. There is an option for tenting in the properties box.
A tented via is a normal via that is covered on both sides
by soldermask.
Normally a via would be exposed, and visible as a solder
pad. Tenting the via insulates it so that components over
the via do not short out to the via. Tenting is costly, it
requires additional process steps and is prone to gas
pockets which can lift the solder resist.
I don’t know of any automated process to lay down a
string of vias. I have always done them manually.
You might cut and paste a group to speed things up.
Comments Welcome!
My normal board house (Advanced Circuits) does not charge anything extra for tenting. Well - their own special form of tenting, at least. They just fill the whole via with solder resist. So the annulars get covered - but the whole is also filled.
I’m not sure if there are any downsides to having the entire via filled like this.