Alternatives Page
Find, compare, and substitute parts for any BOM line.
Accessing the Alternatives Page
Access the Alternatives page by clicking any reference designator in the BOM table. This is the deep-dive view for a single BOM line.
Context Header
Shows the key attributes of the current line: reference designator, value, footprint, raw MPN, description, and comments. Use this to verify you are working on the correct line before making changes.
Distributor Offers
The upper table shows all Part Results retrieved from providers for the current MPN — different listings from different distributors, sorted by rank (best match first). The currently selected part is marked with ✓.
Columns
Rank, MPN, Manufacturer, Description, Distributor, Stock, Unit Price, Datasheet link.
Click Select on any row to make that distributor offer the selected part for this BOM line.
Alternative Parts
The lower section shows different MPNs that can substitute the current part. Results are displayed as cards in a grid.
Each card shows
MPN, match score (%), Manufacturer, Description, Package, Stock, Distributor, Source, Datasheet link.
Checkbox selection
Select up to 3 alternatives for AI comparison.
Swap to this part
Replaces the current MPN with this alternative. A confirmation dialog appears before the swap is committed. The backend re-queries the provider for fresh pricing and stock after a swap.
Substitution History
Expand Show history to see a log of all part swaps made on this BOM line, including the date and the From/To MPN for each swap. Both manual swaps and monitoring-triggered changes are recorded.