DxDesignerUserGuideForExpeditionFlow PDF
DxDesignerUserGuideForExpeditionFlow PDF
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Revision History
Chapter 1
Introduction to DxDesigner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Working Concurrently within EE2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The DxDesigner Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Expedition Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Netlist Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Finding Information within DxDesigner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Switching Between Releases or Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Understanding the DxDesigner User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Changing Between Floating and Docked Window Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Starting and Exiting from DxDesigner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Starting DxDesigner in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Starting DxDesigner in UNIX or LINUX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Starting DxDesigner From a Command Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Adding Libraries to a Project (Netlist workflow only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Copying or Deleting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Using the Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Designs vs. Blocks Nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Navigator Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Manipulating Objects from the Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Managing Schematic Sheets from the Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Working With Sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Traversing from Sheet to Sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Viewing Pins and Nets and Their Associated Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Basic Editing of Selected Schematic Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Reflecting a Selected Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Rotating a Selected Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Scaling a Selected Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Changing Size of Selected Text, Properties, or Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Stretching a Selected Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Cutting or Copying a Selected Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Pasting Objects From the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Adding an Array for Selected Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Zooming on a Selected Area or Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Changing the Name of a Selected String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Executing DxDesigner Command Line Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 2
Defining Project Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Customizing the Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Setting Dashboard Preferences to Fit Your Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 3
Creating and Editing Symbols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Creating a Local Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 4
Creating and Editing Flat Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Returning Schematic to a Prior State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Creating a New Schematic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Opening a Non-DxDesigner Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Preparing a Schematic for Design Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Editing Schematic Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Creating Designs Within a Spreadsheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Creating and Editing an Interconnectivity Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Adding Nets to Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Grouping and Ungrouping Rows and Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Adding Ports to the ICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Adding a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Creating and Removing Differential Pairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Creating and Ripping a Bus in an ICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Splitting an Interconnectivity Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Setting Color Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Using the Interconnectivity Table Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Creating Designs Graphically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Adding Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Adding and Replacing Power/Ground Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Synchronizing a Component With its Associated Base Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Specifying the Characteristics of Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Adding and Editing Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Handling Mechanical Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 5
Creating and Editing Hierarchical Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Hierarchical Designs and Design Reuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Selecting a Design Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Creating Bottom-Up Hierarchical Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Generating a Block from a Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Editing a Generated Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Moving Generated Blocks into the Central Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Placing a Symbol in an Open Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Adding Ports to the Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Creating Top-Down Hierarchical Designs With Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Chapter 6
Exchanging Data with Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Exchanging Data Within Expedition Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Working with Foreign Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Exchanging Data Within Netlist Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Exporting a Quick Connection View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Cross-Probing from Quick Connection View Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Configuring the Quick Connection View Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Interpreting the Netlist Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Using LineSimLink to Interface with HyperLynx. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Exporting to HyperLynx with LineSimLink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Importing from HyperLynx with LineSimLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Packaging A Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 7
Verifying the Schematic with the Design Rule Checker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Configuring the DRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Chapter 8
Archiving Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Chapter 8
Printing, Plotting and Generating PDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Printing in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Setup for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Printing the Current Sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Paper Tray Selection in UNIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Printing in UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Setup for UNIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Print the Current Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Plotting in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Configure a Basic Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Export the Design to Metafile Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Spool the Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Plotting in UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Plotting Setup in UNIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Plotting in UNIX Using Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Plotting in UNIX Using Custom Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Generating a PDF of Your Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 9
Generating Bills of Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
General Part Lister Information and Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Why Use Part Lister? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Using Part Lister from the DxDesigner Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Using Part Lister from the Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Appendix A
Troubleshooting Your Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Troubleshooting DxDesigner Environment Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Troubleshooting Your License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Running Licensing Utilities From the Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Finding Files in your PATH or WDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Appendix B
Using VHDL and Verilog in DxDesigner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Preparing Schematic Designs for Export to ModelSim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Creating Schematics that Export Correctly to VHDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Creating a ModelSim Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Exporting the DxDesigner Schematic to VHDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Importing a Netlist into ModelSim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Importing Data from ModelSim into DxDesigner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Using VHDL or Verilog Symbols in a Schematic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Creating a VHDL Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Simulate the Entire Design - VHDL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Creating a Verilog Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Simulate the Entire Design - Verilog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Inserting VHDL and SPICE Files onto a Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Insert a File over an Existing Symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Appendix C
Linking and Embedding Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Inserting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Embedding an Object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Converting an Embedded Object to a Different File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Linking Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Index
Third-Party Information
End-User License Agreement
The following topics introduce you to some of the basic DxDesigner concepts and tasks:
Requirements
You must be working within a Client/Server environment. Your System Administrator sets up
this environment, and provides designers with paths to libraries, projects, etc.
Concurrency Examples.
• Multiple users can open the same design in DxDesigner. DxDesigner locks files on a
sheet-by sheet basis. The first user to open a sheet has editing (read/write) privileges. If
additional users open a sheet that is already being edited, DxDesigner opens the sheet in
read-only mode, and specifies the user who is editing it. All changes made in the editing
session appear immediately in the read-only sessions.
• Multiple users can open a design in different tools, such as DxDesigner, Expedition PCB
or CES. When a user makes changes in one of the tools, the other tools indicate that
forward or back annotation is required. These indications are provided by indicator
lights in the status bar of the application.
For information about choosing a particular workflow, see the topic “Creating a New
Project” on page 22.
Related Topics
• Exchanging Data with Other Tools
• Real-time concurrent access to design data, with concurrent design entry, including
constraints, resulting in a true concurrent design environment.
• Flexible client/server architecture
• Real-time connectivity creation - no netlist generation or compilation required
• Cross-probing between and within concurrent applications
For more information on this architecture, including setup, see the DxDesigner Administrator’s
Guide.
This concurrent architecture lets you fit DxDesigner into your overall EE workflow in the most
appropriate way for your design environment. For example, you can assign one person to
schematic capture in DxDesigner, while another is working on PCB Layout in Expedition. See
Synchronizing DxDesigner and Expedition PCB for more information.
Using the Expedition workflow gives you access to the following features (not accessible in the
Netlist workflow):
Depending on where changes were made, you synchronize by Forward Annotating from
DxDesigner to Expedition PCB, or Back Annotating from Expedition PCB to DxDesigner.
Related Topics
• PCB Interfaces User’s Guide
• Managing Parts Databases with DxLibraryStudio
The DxDesigner InfoHub is an HTML information center that organizes your sets of
documentation and provides information links into SupportNet. The InfoHub also
includes a local HTML search based on keywords and an enhanced natural-language
search of SupportNet. To access the InfoHub from DxDesigner, select Help >
Documentation in InfoHub.
• Toggle any of the items listed from the menu View > Toolbars >
Add
Addins
Command Line
Main
Transform
View
RF (if applicable to your installation)
For a brief description on each of these toolbars, refer to the Toolbars description in the topic
titled “View Menu” in the DxDesigner Reference Guide.
You can also choose to close all add-ins, and display only the schematic editor window.
Tip: Many designers choose to close add-ins when they are not using them in order to
maximize screen real estate for the schematic capture.
• Docked windows
By default, the windows stay in a specified location within the DxDesigner interface.
You have the ability to remove them from view or change their display setting to a
floating window.
• Floating windows
You can display your windows as floating entities outside of the main DxDesigner
interface.
To convert a docked window into a floating window:
1. In a blank spot in the docked window, uncheck the Allow Docking feature by right-click
> Allow Docking.
2. Click-and-hold the title bar of the window.
3. Drag the window to another location on your screen.
To convert a floating window to a docked window:
1. In a blank spot in the floating window, enable the Allow Docking feature by right-click
> Allow Docking.
2. Click-and-hold the title bar of the window.
3. Drag the window anywhere on top of the DxDesigner interface.
Tip: DxDesigner window placement is stored in the dxdesigner.wsp file. If you “lose”
any undocked windows outside the bounds of your screen, delete this file. DxDesigner
creates a new file that restores default window placement.
Figure 1-3. DxDesigner Interface with Different Add-ins than Figure 1-1
DxDataBook: interface for
searching and selecting
components from various Command Line Toolbar: interface for
part libraries. executing commands.
• Select Start > Programs > Mentor Graphics SDD > DxDesigner-Expedition Flow>
Design Entry> DxDesigner.
To exit from DxDesigner do one of the following:
Note
The first time you start DxDesigner, it may take a few minutes to appear. Subsequent
invocations will be much faster.
Create a project from within the DxDesigner or the Dashboard in one of the following ways:
• Specify project parameter settings using a default or custom template for the particular
workflow you are using, either Expedition or Netlist.
• From a DMS database. See “Copying or Deleting a Project” on page 24 for more
information.
To create a new project using a default or a custom template in either the Expedition or
Netlist workflow:
The following figure shows an example of various templates available from each
workflow. If you choose a Netlist workflow template, you can then choose your target
layout tool:
Choose a
template from
here to target the
Expedition PCB
layout tool.
Choose a
template from
here to target a
layout tool from
the pulldown list.
the SymbolLibs partition. You can also add libraries in this format from any network location
accessible to DxDesigner.
To add libraries:
1. From the menu, click Setup > Settings > Symbol Libraries (section). The Symbol
Libraries window opens.
2. Click the Add icon . The Library dialog box opens
3. Browse to the symbol library you want to add. This library can be located in the
SymbolLibs partition of your Central Library, or anywhere on you network where it is
accessible to your system.
4. Click OK.
Result: The library is added to the list. Library entries are color-coded as follows:
• Read-0nly libraries are white.
• Writeable libraries are green.
• Mega libraries are Blue
Note: Mega libraries are store in a proprietary, compiled format. DxDesigner
decompiles the libraries automatically before displaying them in the Symbols
window.
To edit the library list:
• Using the method appropriate to your operating system, copy or move the project folder
to its new location.
To rename a project:
• Using the method appropriate to your operating system, rename the project folder.
To delete a project:
• Using the method appropriate to your operating system, delete the project folder from its
location within your file system.
All the non-root blocks for all the designs in the project appear in the navigator window under
the Blocks node in alphabetical order by name. You can create a design from a block and define
the root node of the design from the RMB popup menu ( > Create Design and > Set as Root)
after a right-click on the block of interest.
The first schematic you create in a project automatically goes under the Designs node as the
root. Subsequent schematics go under the Blocks node.
For each block in either the Designs node or Blocks node, the navigator shows all the sheets
associated with that block. For each sheet, the navigator shows an expandable folder for
symbols and one for nets.
Navigator Contents
The project hierarchy is as follows: Project > Designs > Schematics > Blocks[0..n] > Leaf
Cells, where the number of blocks can be zero to an indefinite number greater than zero. The
complexity of blocks containing other blocks define the complexity of the design hierarchy.
Click the minus (-) sign or plus (+) sign to expand or collapse the
contents of entries on the Project tab. Right-click on the object name to
display a shortcut menu with a list of applicable options.
The Project Navigator cross-probes bidirectionally with the Schematic Editor, the InterConnect
Editor, CES, and Expedition Enterprise. Selecting a design object in one highlights it in the
other. See Figure 1-5 for an example. It also updates dynamically. Design changes appear
immediately, with no manual refresh required.
From the Navigator you can do additional tasks as described in the following topics:
In the Navigator, blocks are denoted as either a schematic with the symbol or as an ICT
object with the symbol.
1. Position the cursor over one of the objects in the list you want to filter. For example, if
you want to filter a list of blocks, position your cursor over any block object in the list.
See the following figure. You could also filter on sheets, symbols, or nets.
2. Right-click > Filter. In this example, the Filter blocks dialog appears. A similar dialog
box appears for sheet, symbol, or net selections.
3. Select either the Wildcard or Reg. exp. (regular expression) radio button for your search.
4. Click the Add button shown in the following figure. A new line is added in the Filter
blocks dialog list box.
Click Add button
5. As shown in the previous figure, select the Property type you want to use from the drop-
down list. This example uses the Name of the block objects for the filter operation.
6. Edit the Pattern field to restrain the filter operation. This example is searching for all
blocks that begin with “pci”, by using the wildcard operator “*” as shown in the
previous figure.
7. Click the OK button. The list is filtered down. In this example, the filtering causes the
following list to be displayed:
1. Position the cursor over any object in the Project Navigator list.
2. Right-click > Reset all filters.
To rename selected object from Navigator:
1. In the Project Navigator, select a sheet, then drag and drop it to its new position in the
order. The sheets will still reflect their original sheet number.
2. Select all the sheets in the design.
3. Right-click > Renumber. DxDesigner renumbers the sheets to reflect the new sheet
order.
To copy sheets:
To add a sheet:
• In the Project Navigator, position the cursor over the last sheet name in the level where
you want to add a new sheet.
• Right-click > Page Down.
To delete a sheet:
• In the Project Navigator, position the cursor over the schematic name you wish to delete.
• Right-click > Delete.
The title bar of the active window indicates the schematic or symbol's name.
For additional information on the command line commands shown in the previous figures, see
the topic “List of Command Line Commands” in the DxDesigner Reference Manual.
To show the pins and nets that are attached to one or more components:
Also See
• Selecting and Deselecting Objects
1. Select the object or objects you want to reflect. For more information, see “Selecting
and Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. To flip horizontally, select Format > Mirror, or click .
Result: Objects are reflected 180 degrees about their horizontal axis.
3. To flip vertically, select Format > Flip, or click .
Result: Objects are reflected 180 degrees about their vertical axis.
4. To flip both vertically and horizontally, select Format > Flip/Mirror, or click .
Result: Objects are reflected 180 degrees about their vertical and horizontal axis.
To flip the selected object(s) around a defined axis:
1. Select the object or group of objects. For more information, see “Selecting and
Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. Select Format > Rotate.
3. For additional rotations, repeat these steps.
1. Select the object or group of objects you want to scale. For more information, see
“Selecting and Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. Choose Format > Scale or
click or
type “scale” on the command line and execute the command.
3. Fill in the Scale factor field of the Scale dialog box.
4. Click OK.
To change the size of text, properties, or names using the command line:
1. Select the object or group of objects you want to stretch. For more information, see
“Selecting and Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. Choose Format > Stretch or
click or
type “stretch” on the command line and execute the command.
3. With the left mouse button, use the cursor to grab the object and drag it to the shape and
size you want.
4. Release the mouse button.
1. Select the object or group of objects you want to cut or copy. For more information, see
“Selecting and Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. To cut the selected object(s), choose Edit > Cut. (Removes and saves-to-clipboard.)
To copy the selected object(s), choose Edit > Copy. (Saves-to-clipboard.)
Related Topics
• Pasting Objects From the Clipboard
• Paste Special Dialog Box in the DxDesigner Reference Manual
dialog box. For a list of options available, see Paste Special Dialog Box in the DxDesigner
Reference Manual.
Related Topic
• Cutting or Copying a Selected Object
1. Select the object or group of objects to include in the array. For more information, see
“Selecting and Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. Choose Add > Array or enter “array” on the command line.
3. In the Array Dialog Box, specify the number of columns and rows as well as relative or
absolute spacing.
Using positive values for the spacing settings creates the array to the right and/or upward in the
window.
1. Select the object or group of objects you want to zoom in on. For more information, see
“Selecting and Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. Choose View > Fit Selected or
click the button or
enter “zselect” on the command line.
Tip: If you want to zoom in more tightly than the default, you set the
VL_FULL_ZOOM environment variable, using the syntax VL_FuLL_ZOOM=1. If you
do not set this environment variable, you will zoom in at a medium distance from the
selected object.
1. Right-click on the property, name, or text string to select it and bring up a menu. Also
see “Filtering Which Objects to Select” on page 108.
2. Choose Properties to bring up the appropriate Properties window.
3. In the Properties window, change the name and click OK.
To find a string from the Find/Replace dialog box:
1. After you have filled in the Find tab, click the Replace tab.
2. Enter the replacement string.
3. Click Find Next.
4. Once the string is found, click Replace... or Replace All.
To change a string using the command line:
1. Select the string that you want to change. For more information, see “Selecting and
Deselecting Objects” on page 104.
2. Type “string” on the command line and execute the command.
3. Enter the new string name in the Edit String dialog box.
4. Click OK.
You invoke the command line by depressing the space bar. This places the cursor at the
beginning of the command line in the command line menu.
The command line entry field is a dockable bar. You can drag it to the edge of the
application window and the bar will dock to the edge of the window automatically. To
undock it, drag it into the application window.
To use the Command Line dialog boxes:
The Command Line Dialog boxes support several useful Hot Keys. Use them to
manipulate the data in the dialog box.
• To open a pulldown list, use ALT+ DOWN ARROW or click anywhere in the list
box
• To close a pulldown list, use ALT+ DOWN ARROW or ENTER.
• To select the desired value from the pulldown list use UP ARROW or DOWN
ARROW.
• To select a new value, type the first letter of the value you want. The box will be
automatically filled in.
Related Topic
• DxDesigner Key Bindings and Strokes in the DxDesigner Reference Manual
The following topics describe methods you can use to set up DxDesigner.
Other tasks such as setting the WDIR environment variable and setting soft pathnames are also
tasks an administrator should perform before you create your project. These topics are covered
in Preparing your Environment for Project Development in the DxDesigner Administrator’s
Guide.
Related Topics
• DxDesigner.xml File (in DxDesigner Reference Manual)
• project.prj File (in DxDesigner Reference Manual)
2. From the Preferences dialog box, set the following default behaviors:
• Whether the Dashboard will open Internet Explorer in the Application Launch Pad
or open your system's default browser in a full-screen window when you click a
Web-enabled item in the Dashboard Tree.
• Whether a user-specified Web page or expanded information from the Dashboard
Tree will appear in the Application Launch Pad when you open the Dashboard.
• What color various message types displayed in the Output Bar will be.
Each toolbox has a directory associated with it. DxDesigner places all default toolbox
directories in the standard directory, which is located one level below your DxDesigner
installation directory. When you create a new toolbox, you specify where you want to place the
associated directory. This directory can include items of the following types:
• Executables
• Shortcuts to executables
• Batch files
• Script files (such as VBScript)
• Icons associated with any of these items
To create a toolbox use one of the following methods:
• Select File > New > Toolbox, and then enter the name and path of the toolbox in the
toolbox properties dialog box.
• From the Dashboard Tree, (right-click) > Toolboxes > New Toolbox, and then enter the
name and path of the toolbox in the toolbox properties dialog box.
1. From the Dashboard Tree or Application Launch Pad, right-click the desired toolbox,
and then click New Tool.
Alternative: To modify properties for an existing tool, right-click the tool icon, and then
click Properties.
2. From the Properties dialog box, type a name for the tool.
3. Type the path or browse to the executable file for the tool and enter any command line
arguments you want to use with the tool.
Tip: A command line argument is often used to identify a specific document associated
with an application. For example, if the item you are adding is a link to a specific.doc
file, you still need to associate the application to the item. In this case, the path to the
tool would be the path to the Microsoft Word or Wordpad application executable to
which you want the file to be associated. The command line argument is the path to the
specific file you want opened when the user clicks on the item.
4. If you do not want a generic icon to represent the tool in the toolbox, type the path or
browse to the icon you want to use.
Tip: The graphic used to represent the tool in the Dashboard can come from an icon
(.ico) file, or an executable or dll with an embedded graphic (such as viewdraw.exe).
5. Specify whether you want the tool to be visible in the Output Bar while it is running.
6. If your tool does not require user input, specify that you want to see messages and errors
from the tool in the Output Bar.
Tip: If the tool will require user input, do not select this option. Instead, the tool will
open in a separate window, where you will be asked to enter the input it requires. You
will see messages and errors in this window, rather than in the Output Bar.
To delete items from a toolbox:
Entries you may find useful to include within a shortcut group include:
• Right-click within the open space of the Shortcut Bar, and then click Rename Group or
Remove Group.
You customize your Tools menu by adding, removing, or editing menu command entries. The
Tools menu has three sections:
1. Select Tools > Customize to display the Customize Tools Menu dialog box.
2. If you want the command available to all users who log on to your PC, select the
Common option from the Menu Item Types section.
3. Enter the name that you want to appear as the new menu command in the Menu Text
field.
4. You can specify a letter in the menu title as a menu accelerator by entering the title with
an ampersand (&) immediately preceding the accelerator letter. If you do not specify an
accelerator, the first unique letter in the title is the accelerator by default.
5. Enter the command that invokes the new application in the Command field.
You can use the Browse button to select the appropriate drive and directory, and then
select the executable you want to add from the list of file names.
6. Enter the arguments associated with the command in the Arguments field.
For information on valid arguments, refer to “Using Arguments” on page 45.
7. Enter the working directory for the tool in the Initial directory field.
8. Click the Add button to add the menu item to the Tools menu.
9. Click the OK button to dismiss the dialog box.
Result: The command now appears on the Tools menu. To run the program, choose it from the
menu.
6. Click OK.
Using Arguments
Each application may support a set of predefined variables called arguments. Arguments are not
required. You can specify arguments for any program that you add to the Tools menu.
Enter arguments (in uppercase) in the Arguments field of the Customize Tools Menu dialog
box. If you want to use more than one argument, leave a space between each argument entry.
Note
If the command is named the same as the executable, the application closes the window
when done executing. If you want to keep the window open, use the /k qualifier as the
first argument.
DxDesigner Arguments
Argument entries are case sensitive and must be entered in uppercase.
Tip: You can toggle the Add-ins toolbar on and off using the View > Toolbars > Addins
menu choice. When the Addins toolbar is displayed, hover over the buttons to see a
tooltip which describes the associated addin.
You can drag and drop icons on the toolbar as a shortcut to customizing the toolbar.
For more information, see View Menu in the DxDesigner Reference Manual.
1. Select Setup > Settings (dialog box) > Display (section) > Objects (subsection).
2. Select the object type whose color you want to change
3. For each object you select choose the object color, text color, fill and line styles, and
font. Note that all choices will not be available for every selection.
4. Click OK.
To change the color of an object using the command line:
If you enter only the command “color”, the Change Color dialog box appears to prompt
you to enter the color.
Note
If the object is a text object, you can change the only the color and font style for the
object.
Related Topic
• Display - Settings Dialog in the DxDesigner Reference Manual
Things that must be done to use borders on your DxDesigner schematics are as follows:
• Create or locate border symbols for each sheet size you will be using in your project(s).
You store these border symbols in a partition in your Central Library. You can start with
the border symbols provided in the SymbolLibs/Borders partition of the default Central
Library or create your own.
• Decide where you will store the border configuration for your project or group of
projects. The border configuration is stored in a borders.ini file. You can choose to
locate the borders.ini file in location visible to multiple users, such as the Central
Library or in a local project or a working directory.
• Use DxDesigner to configure a project to use selected borders for each sheet size you
will be using, both for the first sheet in a design and for subsequent sheets.
Once you have a set of border symbols and have set up your project with a border configuration,
you are ready to add a border to your schematic sheet.
Related Topics
• Creating a Sheet Border Symbol
• Specifying Border Configuration File Location
• Creating a Border Configuration
• Controlling Sheet Borders on a Schematic
• Changing Border Properties
1. Use the Library Manager to copy/paste an existing border symbol from your current
Central Library. See the following example in Figure 2-1.
For more details refer to the topic “Copying Objects via the Library Navigator Tree” in
the Library Manager Process Guide.
a. Select border
symbol you want to
copy.
b. Right-click to
select Copy menu
choice.
c. Fill in name of your
new symbol.
d. Optionally specify
a different Target
Partition if
applicable.
2. Use the Symbol Editor (click the icon from Library Manager) to edit your new
symbol. The DxDesigner Symbol Editor manual describes the details of creating and
editing symbols.
3. If you have started this symbol creation process from DxDesigner as described here, you
will have to restart DxDesigner before your new symbol(s) is available in the Border
Symbol window (accessed from Setup > Settings > Borders), as shown in Figure 2-3
on page 53.
Figure 2-2. Specifying Which borders.ini File to Use for Border Configurations
Requirement
Before you create a border configuration for your project, you should have specified where the
configuration is stored (where the border.ini file is located). See “Specifying Border
Configuration File Location” on page 50.
Procedure
To configure each sheet size with a particular border symbol:
1. Select the Setup > Settings menu choice to open the Settings dialog.
2. Under the Project section of the Settings dialog, click Borders.
The Borders section of the Settings dialog lists the possible sheet sizes that can be used
in your project. Now you must assign a border symbol to each of the sizes you plan to
use.
3. Locate the Sheet size you wish to assign a border symbol. Left-click in the associated
“First sheet” column. For example, click the “First sheet” box in the “A Portrait” row.
The Border Symbol window appears as shown in Figure 2-3.
4. In the Border Symbol window, navigate to the desired partition that holds your border
symbols. (In the Figure 2-3 example, the border symbols are located in the Border
partition.)
5. Select the desired border symbol and click OK.
The border symbol is added to the box and recorded in the border.ini file you specified
earlier. (Note: if you did not specify a border.ini file in Setup > Settings > Project
(section), your setting(s) will be ignored.)
6. Repeat the previous step for all sheet sizes and first and next sheet columns as needed.
Requirement
Before you can add borders to a schematic sheet, you first must create and configure the sheet
borders.
Procedure
To automatically have a sheet border applied to each schematic:
3. In the Border Sheet Options section, check the option “Automatically add border to new
schematic sheets.”
To add a border to a schematic manually:
1. Select Setup > Settings > Project (section) > Borders (subsection).
2. Click the Properties button. The Border Properties dialog appears as shown in
Figure 2-4.
3. Click OK in the Border Properties dialog, followed by OK in the Settings dialog. Your
change did not yet take effect in the project, but did get saved to the Border Symbols file
that is specified in Setup > Settings > Project (section) > Border Symbols (field).
4. You must choose the scope for this property change to take effect as one of the
following: Project, Design, Schematic, or Sheet.
If you are going to make this change to the entire project, you do not need to select
anything in the Navigator window. For any other scope, in the Project Navigator
window, select the desired Design, Schematic, or Sheet for this change to take effect.
5. To propagate the property change, select Edit > Update Properties. Choose the scope
for this property change to take effect. Once you have selected the desired scope, the
property change is made to that area of the project.
1. Select Setup > Settings > Project (section) > Special Components (subsection).
2. From the pulldown, select the type of component you want to edit.
3. Use the New (insert) button to open a list of available symbols for the component
type you have selected.
4. Add as many symbols as you want for each type of component you select in the
pulldown.
5. Click Apply to finish building your list and leave the Settings dialog box open, or click
OK to complete this process and close the Settings dialog box.
To remove a symbol name from the list:
1. Select Setup > Settings > Project (section) > Special Components (subsection).
2. From the pulldown, select the type of component whose list you want to modify.
3. Select the symbol name you want to remove.
4. Delete as many symbols as you want for each type of component you select in the
pulldown.
5. Click Apply to finish building your list and leave the Settings dialog box open, or click
OK to complete this process and close the Settings dialog box.
To change the order of a symbol list:
1. Select Setup > Settings > Project (section) > Special Components (subsection).
2. From the pulldown, select the type of component whose list you want to modify.
3. Within the list, select a symbol, and click the Move Up or Move Down button.
4. Click Apply to finish editing your list and leave the Settings dialog box open, or click
OK to complete this process and close the Settings dialog box.
To add a special component to a schematic:
1. On the Add toolbar, click the icon for the special component you want to add. The icons
are shown in Table 2-3.
2. If you have configured more than one symbol for the component, a list appears. Select a
symbol from the list.
CES is a centralized tool for storing constraint information and analysis results. CES reads a
DxDesigner database and displays net, pin, and component data in a spreadsheet format.
Constraints can then be entered into CES and passed to the layout tool.
CES supports both Net Classes and Constraint Classes. Net Classes include trace properties
such as trace width and impedance, as well as via assignments for each layer. Constraint Classes
are used to define the routing topology, crosstalk and parallelism rules, delay or length
constraints, and matched net lengths. Clearance rules can also be defined for all design objects
and assigned on a per-layer basis.
CES also supports topology templates. You use topology templates to define all the constraints
for a type of net and then apply the constraints to similar nets in the same design or in a new
design. For example, a complex bus topology may be created for a type of memory design.
When the same memory is used in a new product, the topology template can be applied to the
bus structure so that it does not have to be reentered.
Note
You can enter a subset of constraints in the existing constraint tab of the Properties Editor
in DxDesigner. These constraints will be synchronized with CES.
For details on how to use CES within the DxDesigner-Expedition PCB flow, refer to the
DxDesigner-CES-Expedition PCB Design Flow topic in the Constraint Editor System™ (CES)
User’s Manual.
You create and edit Central Library symbols using Library Manager. These symbols are placed
into partitions in the Central Library, and placed on a DxDesigner schematic using the Symbols
Window. For more information, see the DxDesigner Symbol Editor manual.
Also see “Creating a DxDesigner Symbol Using Dx Symbol Editor (DxD-Expedition Flow)” in
the Library Manager Process Guide.
When you build hierarchy from the bottom up, you create a symbol to associate with the
underlying schematic by creating a local symbol.
This symbol is appears in the [local symbols] “pseudo-partition” of the Symbols window. This
“pseudo-partition” is displayed separately from true Central Library partitions.
You can edit generated symbols or import them into the Central Library using the Symbol
Editor.
1. Select File > New > Local Symbol. The Symbol Editor opens.
2. Using the drawing tools, create the symbol graphic.
3. For Pin0, which appears by default, specify the Name, Direction, Side, and Pin Number
parameters, and then click Enter. An asterisk appears in the left-hand column,
indicating that the pin is unplaced.
4. Create additional pins by clicking below existing rows to add new rows.
5. Place pins by selecting the row and dragging it onto the symbol graphic. As you drag the
row, it become a graphic of a pin, for easy placement.
Note: After you placed a pin, the asterisk for the corresponding row disappears.
6. In the Properties window, do the following:
• Enter the symbol name.
• Select a symbol type from the list.
• Leave the Forward PCB value at default (True).
• Add any other properties from the <new property> list.
7. When you are finished, save the symbol.
Result: The local symbol appears in the [Local Symbols] pseudo-partition in the
Symbols Window. You can add it to the design like any other symbol.
To edit a local symbol:
1. In the Schematic Window or the Project Navigator Tree, select the symbol
2. Click File > Edit Local Symbol
Also See
• DxDesigner Symbol Editor manual
• Adding Components
When all sheets of a schematic are at the same level of hierarchy, this is known as a flat, or non-
hierarchical schematic. The following figure shows a flat design in contrast with a design that
contains hierarchy.
Flat Design
Hierarchical
Design
The following topics describe how to create and edit flat schematics:
• Turn on Setup > Settings > Advanced (section) > Create automatic backup.
To Rollback an active document:
• Select the File > New > Schematic pulldown menu item. If the schematic is the first
schematic in the project, it appears in the project tree under the Design node as the root
block. If it is not the first schematic, it appears under the Blocks node. It contains sheet
labelled “1” by default.
Once you have created a schematic, you can open it for editing at any time.
1. In the Project Navigator, click the plus sign to expand the Project node, and then the
Designs node.
2. From the list of designs under the Designs node, double-click the name of the schematic
you want to open.
Note: The navigator tree displays the design hierarchy. You can open any schematic in
the hierarchy by expanding the nodes and double-clicking the level you want to edit.
To open an existing schematic from the command line:
• On the command line, enter “schematic schematic_name” and execute the command.
Note: if you execute the command without a command name, the Open Schematic
dialog box appears. Enter the name in the Schematic field.
1. From the Windows Start menu, select Programs > Mentor Graphics SDD >
DxDesigner-Expedition Flow > Translators and 3rd Party Interfaces.
2. Select the interface or translator you want to use.
You must have previously created a border or borders and specified how they will be used. For
details on how to create and set up a border, see “Framing a Design with Borders” on page 47.
For procedures on editing schematic borders, see “Controlling Sheet Borders on a Schematic”
on page 53.
You can reorganize the table to show nets in the top row and components in the leftmost column
by clicking the curved arrow icon in the top left cell of the table.
You can also view the net properties and the symbol properties in the ICT viewer in the Net
Properties and Symbol Properties tabs. For Net properties, each net is listed on the left while
the properties of the nets are listed on top. For Symbol properties, each symbol is listed on the
left while the properties of the symbols are listed on top. You can modify the properties on a
cell-by-cell basis.
1. Select File > New > Interconnectivity Table. The new ICT appears in the viewing
window and its name appears in the Navigator window as Blockn, where n indicates the
number of ICTs created during the session.
2. Give the ICT an identifiable name, for example; RLDRAM. There are two methods to
rename an ICT:
• Right-click > Rename on Blockn in the Navigator window.
• Click twice, slowly, on the Blockn cell in the ICT.
To create an ICT from an existing schematic:
Note
You lose all graphical information in the schematic when you convert it to an ICT. This
operation is irreversible.
1. In the Navigator pane, place the cursor on the schematic you want to convert to an ICT.
2. Right-click > Change to ICT. A popup window warns that all graphical information
will be lost if you proceed.
3. Select Yes in the popup window.
Placing Components
To place components in the ICT:
4. If you want to automatically add nets and net names while placing the symbol in the
design, click the Add Nets and Add Net Names check boxes in the Symbol View pane.
You cannot select Add Net Names unless you have first selected Add Nets.
Note: If a symbol has any pins without net connections, a red circle with a yellow x
appears on the ICT icon for the symbol. When all pins on a symbol have net
connections, the ICT icon appears without the red circle/yellow x overlay.
5. Click the Place Symbol button above the Symbol View pane.
6. Click the main cell in the ICT (the Blockn cell, which you may have renamed) to place
the symbol. Click multiple times to place multiple instances of the symbol.
7. Right-click to quit the Place Symbol function.
Note
You can also drag and drop from the Preview symbol window to place a single instance
of the symbol into the table. You can drop the symbol on any icon in the component row
at the top of the ICT.
Renaming Components
You can rename components in place in the schematic, and by editing the component
properties.
• Select the Add Nets option at the right end of the Symbol View pane. You can also
select Add Net Names, but only after you have selected Add Nets. When you select
these options, the symbol appears in the ICT with nets already connected and named.
If you did not select the Add Nets option, you can add nets to pins later, either automatically, or
manually.
1. Select the symbol or symbols to add nets to. Click on a single symbol, or <Shift>-click
to select multiple symbols.
2. Right-click > Add Nets To Pins.
This procedure creates nets in the ICT, and connects them to the symbol pins. Warnings appear
in the Output window for already existing nets. Cross probing is enabled between the Output
window and the table.
1. Double-click in the cell corresponding to the pin you want to connect to get a dropdown
list of the unconnected pins
2. Select a name from the dropdown list, type in a name, or copy and paste an existing net
from elsewhere in the ICT. If you enter an invalid name, a warning appears in the Output
window.
Note
Copying and pasting is an efficient way to connect symbols. You can copy and paste
components, component pins, and block pins.
1. Click in the appropriate cell to select the first of the bits you want to add.
2. Enter a name, or select a name from the dropdown list.
3. Click the small tab in the bottom right corner of the cell (the cursor turns to a plus sign
when you are over the tab), and drag it down to envelope the rest of the cells you want to
add. Bits are added to each cell, and the bus index increments automatically.
• Rename nets (which you can’t do from the Add Nets to Pins command).
• Select nets by clicking and dragging, as in the ICT
• Automatically add hierarchical ports
To use the Advanced Connect tool:
2. Right-click > Advanced Connect on one of the selected components, or select Edit >
Advanced Connect. This opens the Add nets with ports dialog box.
3. Select the nets you want to connect in the dialog box.
4. Select the type of net you want to view from the Directions filter dropdown list.
5. Click Generate Nets, then OK.
Sorting Nets
You can sort nets by name, hierarchy, or type; single net, bus or differential pair, for example.
To sort nets, do the following:
1. In either the nets (the leftmost) column or the component (the top) row, Right-click >
Sort.
2. Select the sorting method from the list.
Renaming Nets
To rename a net in a cell:
1. In the nets (the leftmost) column or the components (the top) row, select the rows or
columns you want to group. Use the <Shift> and <Ctrl> keys to make multiple
selections.
2. Right-click > Group.
3. Enter a meaningful name for the group in place of the supplied default name, if desired.
The group name cell is the only cell visible after you group a set of rows or columns.
To view the contents of the group:
• Click on the plus (+) sign to the left of the group name.
The placement of rows and columns in an ICT is arbitrary. Pressing the button with the curved
double-headed arrow in the upper left corner of the ICT reverses the layout of rows and
columns.
1. Select the rows or columns you want to ungroup. Use the <Shift> and <Ctrl> keys to
make multiple selections.
2. Right-click > Ungroup.
The selected items are removed from the group. If all of the items in the group are selected and
ungrouped, the group is deleted.
• In the topmost or leftmost column, place the cursor over the right-side delineator of a
cell, and double-click. The cell automatically resizes.
• In the topmost or leftmost column, place the curser over the delineator between cells,
then click and drag to the new width.
• Right-click > Autofit Selection to adjust column width to fit the text in the column.
1. Select the rows or columns to hide. Use the <Shift> and <Ctrl> keys to select multiple
rows or columns.
2. Right-click > Hide. An icon of a spreadsheet appears in the upper left cell of the ICT
to indicate that rows and columns are hidden.
1. Right-click > Show Hidden on the “hidden” icon in the upper left corner of the ICT.
Hidden rows and columns appear with their names in italics.
2. Right-click > Unhide on a row or column to take it out of the hidden state.
To unhide all of the hidden rows and columns in the ICT at once:
• Right-click > Unhide All on the icon in the upper left corner of the ICT.
• A net is selected — When you apply the Add > Port command, the port is added to the
net. There is no need to enter a net name. This also works for busses.
• No net is selected — You get an entry box to type the name of the port in. If a net of the
same name already exists, they are automatically connected.
To add ports:
Viewing Ports
To view ports:
• Click on the arrow next to the block symbol to expand the block interface to show the
net connections. An icon of a black square with a horizontal line through it depicts
the net connections.
• Click on the net connection button to disconnect or reconnect the port to a net.
Adding a Block
A block can be a mixture of ICTs and schematics across the entire hierarchy. The
Interconnectivity Table editor is a hierarchical editor. You can use the Add > Block command
to create ports dynamically. The new block is generic; the Push command decides its type:
• Push ICT places an interconnectivity table under the main block. The icon for an
interconnectivity table is .
• Push Schematic places a new schematic page under the main block. The icon for a
schematic is .
You can also copy a block within or between designs.
1. In the Project Navigator Tree of the source project, select the block you want to copy.
2. Right-click > Copy.
3. Open another sheet in the same project.
4. In the Project Navigator tree, select the Block Node.
5. Right-Click > Paste.
To copy a block to a different project:
1. In the Project Navigator Tree of the source project, select the block you want to copy.
2. Right-click > Copy.
3. From the File menu, click Open > Project
4. DxDesigner warns you that it is closing the source project. Click OK. The destination
project opens.
5. In the Project Navigator Tree of the destination project, select the Block node.
6. Right-Click > Paste.
To add a block:
1. Click on the block that is above the one you want to add.
2. Select Add > Block.
3. Type in the desired name for the block. (You can edit the name without clicking it when
it first comes up.)
4. Right-click > Push ICT or right-click > Push Schematic. The push command displays
the design (schematic or ICT) that underlies the block.
1. Double-click on the ICT cell corresponding to the net you want to connect, to get the pin
type drop-down list.
2. Select the pin type from the drop-down list. Pin types include IN, OUT, BI, TRI, OCL,
OEM, and ANALOG. After you choose a pin type, the ICT updates automatically to
show the connections.
To connect multiple nets to a block:
1. Click and drag to include all of the cells you want to connect. One of the cells in the
group will have a different color than the rest.
2. Click in the different colored cell to get the pin type drop-down list.
3. Select the pin type from the drop-down list.
• Right-click on the net and select Create Diffpair. Create Diffpair creates the second net
in the pair automatically, and adds the extensions _p and _n to the nets in the pair.
To remove a differential pair:
• To rip a subset of nets, enter the list of nets in place of the bus name, in the format;
busname# busname#. For example; to rip nets 0, 1, 6, and 7 of a bus named
DAT[0:7], enter DAT0 DAT1 DAT6 DAT7.
If you add nets in the table, and create a bus later, the bits are concatenated into the bus
automatically. For example; if you add nets xxx0, xxx1, and xxx6 to the table, and later use the
Add Bus command to create xxx[0:7], the table will show:
xxx[0:7]
xxx0
xxx1
xxx6
1. Locate the handle at the top of the vertical scrollbar. The handle is a small rectangle just
above the up arrow at the top of the scrollbar.
2. Click-and-drag the handle down. A horizontal separation bar appears in the table to
indicate the split.
To split an interconnectivity table vertically:
1. Locate the handle at the left end of the vertical scrollbar. The handle is a small rectangle
just to the left of the left pointing scrollbar arrow.
2. Click-and-drag the handle to the right. A vertical separation bar appears in the table to
indicate the split.
To recombine the table and remove the separation bar:
• Click on the separation bar, and drag it up (for a horizontal separation bar) or to the left
(for a vertical separation bar) until the bars merge.
1. Select Setup > Settings > Display Objects to open the Objects table.
2. Select the ICT option to see the current color scheme.
3. Click on any cell in the Objects table to bring up a color pallet for the object associated
with that cell.
4. Select a color for the object from the color pallet.
5. Click Apply.
Note
To save the changes for future use, click Save Scheme. Reload a saved scheme by
clicking Load Scheme.
Related Topic
• Display - Objects - Settings Dialog in the DxDesigner Reference Manual
1. Open up a schematic.
2. Select View > ICT Viewer.
3. Select the appropriate viewing tab:
• Hierarchy — View the entire schematic in tabular form.
• Net Properties — View the schematic’s nets in tabular form.
• Symbol Properties — View the Schematic’s symbols in tabular form.
4. Use the dropdown arrows in the top row of table cells on each tab to filter selections
on the tab to view the specific information you are interested in. To return the table to its
original state after filtering, click the reset icon in the upper leftmost cell of the table,
then click Reset All Filters.
• Adding Components
• Adding and Replacing Power/Ground Pins
Adding Components
You use the Symbols dialog box to add components to a design. The Symbols dialog box
consists of three tabs. You select a tab based on how you want to view the information.
• The Part View tab: Items in the Part View tab are PDBs (or parts) that contain symbol,
cell, and padstacks (including pads and hole) data in one package. Parts are normally
used to create or edit designs with both logical (electrical) and physical (footprint)
characteristics.
• The Symbol View tab: Items in the Symbol View tab are symbols only. There is no cell
or padstack data associated with them. Symbols are normally used to create or edit
designs with logical (electrical) characteristics only. In addition, you can use symbols as
a basis to build and create a new part.
• The Reuse Blocks tab: Items in the Reuse Blocks tab are entire designs that can be
treated as a single component when placed in your project
Note
When a .prj file in DxDesigner is mapped to a central library, the entries in the Partition
column (in both the Part View and Symbol View tabs) match those that appear in Library
Manager (Parts and Symbols entries in the library navigator tree).
1. Open the Symbols dialog boxwith the View > Symbols pulldown menu item.
2. Filter the window for the symbol you want to add.
3. Select the symbol. The symbol appears in the view window to the right of the Symbols
window. Cells and alternates preview also appear when relevant.
4. To place one instance of the symbol, drag the symbol from the view window to the to
the schematic and click where you want to place the symbol.
5. To place multiple instances of the symbol, click the Place Symbol button followed by a
click on each location on the schematic where you want that symbol to appear.
3. The filter fields correspond to the list columns directly below them. Enter all or part of
the information you want to filter on in the appropriate field. For example, if you want to
filter for all parts beginning with CC0, type CC0 in the Part field of the Part View tab.
Tip: the filter supports * and ? wildcards.
Related Topics
• For more information on Reusable Blocks and the Reuse Blocks tab of the Symbols
dialog box, see “Placing a Logical-Only Reusable Block in a Host Design” in the
Reusable Blocks Process Guide, and “Symbols Window” in the DxDesigner Reference
Manual.
• You can also add symbols from the DxDataBook and DMS. For more information, see
the DxDataBook User’s Guide, and the DMS Librarian User’s Guide.
Requirement
You have previously configured Specialized Components. See “Configuring Special
Components” on page 55 for instructions.
Procedures
To manually place a pin on the schematic:
1. Select Add > Power (or click ) or Add > Ground (or click ). A list appears of all
the choices available for a given type such as Basic:power.1, Basic:vbb.1, etc.
2. From the list, select the pin you want to place.
3. DxDesigner automatically attaches the pin to your cursor. Drag and drop it onto a
component or net. You can add multiple copies of the component. When you are
finished, press the <ESC> key.
Tip: If you have only provided one symbol for the pin type during setup, the pin is
automatically attached to the net you selected, and you are in drag mode with the
component and net.
To automatically attach a pin to an existing net:
Use the following procedure to attach a pin to an existing net that has only one unconnected
point.
If a Central Library symbol changes, the equivalent components may need to be updated to
reflect the changes. DxDesigner checks design components against their base symbols upon
startup, or when you reload a schematic. All components whose symbols have changed are
highlighted in pink. You can then choose to update the components with the new symbol
definition. When you are finished updating, the highlights are cleared.
1. Select Tools > Update Symbols or (right-click on any symbol) > Symbol Update >
Update Symbol.
2. In the Component Definition Update dialog box, select the desired symbol(s) you want
to update, and click OK.
Result: The highlights on all schematic sheets with updated selected symbols are
cleared.
To clear all highlights:
When constraints mode is enabled for a design, you can assign constraints defined within
classes to nets, components, and differential pair nets on a schematic.
In an Expedition workflow, you create new properties using the Library Manager Property
Definition Editor. For more information see the Property Definition Editor in the Library
Manager Process Guide.
In a Netlist workflow, you can create and edit properties with the Property Definition Editor
from the Tools > Property Definition Editor menu. For more information see “Using the
Property Definition Editor - Netlist Workflow” on page 81.
When you instance a symbol on your design, you can select which of the symbol properties to
use for the instance, then add or edit them within DxDesigner using the Properties window. The
Properties window can be toggled on and off by selecting the View > Properties menu item or
clicking the button. You can also display the Properties window by double-clicking an
object or you can select an object and right-click > Properties.
Property and value visibility is controlled by the following order of precedence, with “1” having
the highest precedence and “3” the lowest:
• Name strings can consist of any characters except the following: < > ' , ( ) = \
• Name strings cannot contain spaces.
For editing purposes, there are three types of properties. The rules for editing them are different
as described in Table 4-1.
Related Topics
• Changing Between Floating and Docked Window Types
Procedures
To add a property:
1. If the Properties window is not visible, double-click the object you want to add the
property to.
Tip: You can select multiple objects using the <Ctrl> key.
2. Click the empty box at the bottom of the Property column (see figure below). A list of
available properties appears.
3. From the available list (created from the Property Definition Editor), select the property
you want to add.
4. In the associated columns, enter the value and, optionally, instance value you want to
assign to the property.
To change a property or name value visibility status:
• In the Properties window, select or clear the checkbox in the Property or Value field.
To change the value of a property:
• In the Properties window, click on the desired property value to select it and type the
new value.
To delete editable properties:
• In the Properties window, move the cursor over the desired property and right-click >
Delete Property. Visibility may need to be turned off before the delete can happen.
Parameterized Properties
A parameterized property has a variable value field. You use parameterized properties to
specify values that change in the design. The following parameterized properties are supported.
For more information, see the DxDesigner Properties Glossary.
• @NAME
• @SHEET
• @PATH
• @SHEETTOTAL
• @XYCOORD
Use the Property Definition Editor to define the available properties and their format in a central
library. Use this editor to define new properties, define property types and their associated
syntax, and change certain aspects of pre-defined system properties. The values of the
properties are stored on the data objects and are not defined in the Property Definition Editor.
User-defined properties are used to add custom information to symbols and parts from
DxDesigner. When saved, the Property Definition Editor writes all properties to the central
library property definition file.
Note
System properties cannot be deleted, and user-defined properties are not used by
simulation tools.
User properties (created using the Property Definition Editor) are assigned a unique property
number. However, when using the compiler on a schematic design that contains user properties,
the user property numbers that appear in the generated ASCII file are different than what
appears in the Property Definition Editor.
Example: Property Definition Editor software assigns “UserProp1” with a Property Number of
224. However, after using the compiler and generating an ASCII file, “UserProp1” appears in
the file with a randomly assigned property number. Therefore, refer to the property name (or
“Property Value”) in the ASCII file and ignore the property number assigned to user properties.
Property numbers assigned to System properties are unaffected.
more information see the table titled Regular Expressions Used by Property Definition
Editor in the DxDesigner Reference Manual.
8. Attach the selected property by placing a check against one or all of the following:
Symbol (default), Pin, or Net.
9. Include the selected property in the property lists for Design Entry (selected by default),
10. Select the “Ignore notation settings when displaying property value” checkbox to ignore
the notations settings. This option is only active when the property format is set to
Integer or Real. For example, 0.01 could be displayed as 10m if the option is selected. If
the checkbox is not selected, 0.01 would display.
11. (Optional) Click the Import button to Import properties from a file using the Import
Properties From File dialog box.
You can import properties from either design entry or Parts Database by selecting the
appropriate property file name with an extension of .prp. Once you have selected a
property file, the available properties within that file are displayed.
a. Select the properties you want to import.
b. Click Apply to display the selected properties in the Property List of the Property
Definition Editor and continue the display of the Import Properties from File dialog
box or click OK to dismiss the dialog box and return to the Property Definition
Editor. Click Cancel to terminate the operation without updating the Property List
and return to the Property Definition Editor dialog box.
12. Click Apply to save changes incrementally to the Property Definition Editor without
dismissing the dialog box. Click OK to save changes in the Property Definition Editor
dialog box to the CentLib.prp file associated with the central library. Click Cancel to
dismiss the Property Definition Editor dialog box without saving changes since the last
Apply.
A mechanical part, such as a socket, bolt, nut, etc. has no electrical significance, and should not
appear in the PCB netlist, but may be placed on the schematic for inclusion during the Part
Lister process.
1. Right-click the desired symbol on the schematic and choose Properties from the
pulldown menu.
2. In the Properties window, locate the “Forward To PCB” row in the Property column.
3. In the “Forward To PCB” row, click the Value column as shown in Figure 4-6. A drop-
down list appears. You can choose to set this property on the selected component to one
of the following:
a. Inherit From Definition - This causes the Forward Annotation process to use the
setting defined in the symbol definition (either True or False)
b. True - Ignore the setting in symbol definition and Forward Annotate this
component.
c. False - Ignore the setting in symbol definition and do not Forward Annotate this
component.
1. Right-click the desired symbol on the schematic and choose Properties from the
pulldown menu.
2. In the Properties window, click the blank field at the bottom of the Property column as
shown in Figure 4-7.
3. Locate and select the “Part List Exclude” property (see Figure 4-7). The property is
added to the top of the Properties window list for the selected component.
In a Netlist workflow design, you can view and edit existing constraints using the View > Other
Windows > Constraints window.
Connecting/Disconnecting Components
Once you place components on a schematic, you can connect them using nets and busses. After
connecting a component you may wish to move it. It could be helpful to disconnect the
component first before moving it.
• Routing Modes
• Creating Intersecting Connections
Routing Modes
All connectivity is formed in DxDesigner with the specification of a routing mode. You
construct a net or a bus under a specified routing mode that assists with determining the optimal
route path.
1. Select Setup > Settings > Schematic Editor (section) > Nets (subsection)
2. In the Route Mode options section, select one of the following modes:
• Straight
Straight routing specifies a straight connection between two points. This “as is” form
of routing can overlap or pass through components and existing connections. Any
incidental crossing of nets from straight routing does not imply a connection, and
does not create a solder dot.
• Orthogonal
Orthogonal routing begins with a horizontal or vertical orientation depending on the
point of origin as follows:
o From a joint — begins in a horizontal or vertical direction following the cursor
movement (left or right, horizontal — up or down, vertical)
o From a pin — automatically begins in a horizontal or vertical direction,
depending on the orientation of the pin
o From a point on a net or bus segment — begins in a direction perpendicular to
the orientation of the segment
Note: Orthogonal routing does not allow a connection to pass through a component.
• Avoidance
Avoidance routing specifies an automatic connection between two points that avoids
components. Specifying intermediary points along the connection creates a more
distinct specification of the path of the connection.
The distance between components and the connection is the avoidance distance.
DxDesigner automatically staggers a connection by the avoidance distance as the
route hugs to the components or other connections.
Related Topic
• Nets -Schematic Editor - Settings Dialog in the DxDesigner Reference Manual
Setup > Settings > Advanced (section) > Dot Size (option)
• Click on the dangling net box while the Add Net command is activated. You can then
stretch the dangling net by dragging the box until it intersects a component pin
To maintain dangling connectivity when you delete a component:
• Hold down the <Ctrl> key when you select Delete from the Edit menu (or from the
popup menu).
• Use the Edit-Delete Special command from the DxDesigner menu.
Disconnecting a Component
To aid in moving a component after it has been connected, it might be helpful to first disconnect
the component from attached nets and busses.
• Propagating Ports
• Adding Missing Ports
• Replacing Ports
Propagating Ports
DxDesigner automatically adds a port on a selected net, including power and ground nets,
provided the selected net is connected at one end. DxDesigner also provides top-down
automatic port insertion. Drawing nets to a block creates pins on the block. The ports
corresponding to those pins are then propagated down via the Push Schematic tool.
To propagate ports:
Replacing Ports
Because a port is a type of symbol, you replace a port using the Replace Symbol/Part dialog
box. For more information, see Replacing a Symbol or Part.
The method you will likely use to create nets depends on the number of connections you want to
make.
• Creating and Editing Nets Using the Schematic Editor - for small designs or to connect
low pincount components
• Adding Nets to Pins
• Merging Nets
• Establishing Connectivity in Multi-Sheet Designs
• Creating Differential Pairs Automatically
• Inserting a Serial Component on a Net
Also see
• Connecting Components With Busses
Procedures
To set or check default display characteristics for nets:
1. Select Setup > Settings > Display (section) > Objects subsection.
2. In the Object column, locate the Net type in the list.
3. For net Color, Fill Style and Line Style, click in the box and use the pulldown list to
choose a value.
4. The Width column controls the displayed thickness of the net on the schematic. Enter a
value from 1 to 10.
5. Click OK.
Result: These settings will be the default display characteristics for all nets.
To add a net to the active schematic:
1. Once you have drawn a net, be sure it is selected and the Properties window is open.
2. In the Properties window, locate the Line Width property.
3. Click the Value box. A pulldown list appears.
4. Choose the desired line thickness value (1 - 10) from the pulldown list to reset the
displayed net width.
To delete a net:
Aliasing Nets
You assign names to nets using the Name property. In DxDesigner, nets with the same name are
connected, even if they appear on different sheets.That is, all nets with the same name are
actually the same net. However, you might want to connect nets with two different names while
preserving the original net names. This is called net aliasing.
Note
Although you can use net aliasing in all three of the examples below, only the first is
recommended.
• You have migrated a project to DxDesigner from another tool that uses net aliasing.
DxDesigner net aliasing allows you to duplicate the behavior of the other tool.
• Given a bus named A[0:7], you want to rip a net from bit 7 and attach it to a net named
C without changing the name of either net. You alias net A7 to net C.
• You want to connect two power nets while leaving their individual names intact.
To alias two nets:
Requirement: You have already assigned a value to the Name property for each net. For more
information, see Adding and Editing Properties.
1. Double-click one of the nets you want to alias together. The net’s Properties dialog box
opens.
2. Change the value of the Name property to include the name of both nets to be aliased,
using the following syntax:
firstnetname|secondnetname
Where the delimiter is the vertical bar or pipe character.
Results:
• In the navigator, the two nets are replaced by one net named
firsthetname,secondnetname.
• On the schematic, the selected net displays the new name
firstnetname|secondnetname, and the unselected net retains its original name.
Merging Nets
DxDesigner supports merging nets. It is possible that you need to connect two nets that have
previously been named. A Net Short dialog box informs you that two nets have been shorted,
and gives you the option of which net name to use for the combined net as shown in the
following figure:
Prerequisite
You have configured Onsheet/Offsheet pins. (See “Configuring Special Components” on
page 55.)
1. Select Add > Onsheet (or click ) or Add > Offsheet (or click ). A list appears of
all the choices available for a given type such as Basic:con_offsheet.1,
Basic:new_offsheet.1, etc.
2. Select the pin you want to place from the list.
3. DxDesigner automatically attaches the pin to your cursor. Drag and drop it onto a
component or net.
Tip: If you have only provided one symbol for the pin type during setup, the pin is
automatically attached to the net you right-clicked, and you are in drag mode with the
component and net. If you have provided more than one symbol, a dialog box opens. In
the dialog box, select the pin symbol you want to attach. Pins that have already been
used are indicated in italics.
To automatically attach a pin to an existing net:
Use the following procedure to attach a pin to an existing net that has only one unconnected
point.
1. Double-click on a net or bus to view its properties. (See the figure below.)
2. In the cell to the right of the Diff pair property, either use the drop-down list to select
the name of the second pair element or enter it manually.
Hint: If the names in the drop-down list are too long to read, expand the Value column.
Note
The differential pair Property of the other net is updated automatically. You don’t have to
enter the information twice.
1. Select Tools > Constraint Editor System to open the Constraint Editor System (CES).
2. In the CES Navigator window, click on the plus (+) sign to expand Constraint Classes,
then the plus (+) sign to expand All. (See the figure below.)
3. Double-click on Diff pair, and scroll down to view the differential pair you have created.
(The list is arranged alphabetically.)
Selecting the “Assign default names to all pieces” option discards the existing net name on the
selected net segment. You can then use the Properties window to assign net names later.
• Adding a Bus
• Ripping Nets
Adding a Bus
To add a bus:
Select the Bus tool by selecting Add > Bus or clicking the button.
1. Place the cursor in the schematic at the point you have selected as the beginning point
for the bus.
2. Press-and-hold the left mouse button and move the mouse to draw the bus as desired.
You can add multiple extensions from the bus by click-and-holding the mouse button
and moving the mouse away from the bus. You can change the direction of the bus as
you draw it by depressing the space bar while dragging.
3. If the Properties window is not open, double-click on the bus to open up the Properties
window.
4. Click in the cell to the right of the Name property, shown in the figure below.
5. Either enter a name for the bus, or select a bus name from the dropdown list of busses
and bus contents that already exist in the project. The name of the bus must include the
width of the bus as two numbers separated by a colon, inside square brackets. For
example, L1_CADOUT_N[15:0].
Note
While the supported bus syntax calls for square brackets, you can use parentheses ( ), or
braces { }. Parentheses and braces are automatically converted to square brackets.
Ripping Nets
DxDesigner provides two net ripping methods that are described in this topic:
This method of name delimiting can prevent confusion in situations such as the inability to
distinguish between signal A10 (bit 10 of bus A) and signal A10 (bit 0 of bus A1).
So, for example, suppose you have 2 busses named A[0:1] and A1[0:1]. The following table
shows how the ripped nets would be named, according to the settings specified with the net
name delimiter.
Note
Use care when assigning net name delimiters. If you copy a schematic from a migrated
project to another project with different delimiter settings, it may cause some nets to
become disconnected and may cause other, unintentional connections.
For example, suppose you have a project with no delimiter for ripped nets and that project
includes a bus A[7:0]. In this case, the constituent signals of the bus are named A7...A0.
If you then copy a schematic sheet from that project to another project that has a ripped
net delimiter set, the constituent signals are not automatically renamed with brackets.
That is, their names remain A7...A0.
• Rippers Symbols
• Changing Spacing of Nets
• Adjusting Net Orientation
Rippers Symbols
Whenever you rip a net off a bus as shown in Figure 4-10, the appearance of the ripper is
dependant on the number of nets being ripped from the bus, and their designation.
1. Open the Name Nets dialog box from Edit > Name Nets...
2. Enter the name of the bus (ADDRESS, for example; do not enter the width portion of
the bus name (for example, [0:63]).
3. Enter the starting bit in the Bit entry box.
4. Choose the ripping order (Ascending or Descending).
5. Enter the increment in the Delta entry box.
6. Click Close.
7. Activate the Net tool by selecting Add > Net or by clicking the button.
8. Position the cursor over the start position on the bus where you want to rip a net.
9. Click-and-hold the left mouse button while moving the cursor away from the bus to rip a
net. The net name will correspond to the settings of the Name Bus Elements dialog box.
10. Repeat step 8 to rip as many nets as you require.
The Name Nets tool allows you to rename nets in two modes:
• Object/Action mode - You select the net and then apply the command.
• Action/Object mode - You set up the command, which is then applied when you rip the
net.
1. Click on the Select icon in the tool tray at the top of the DxDesigner window. The Select
icon resembles the standard cursor pointer arrow.
2. Activate the Resize Box tool by selecting Edit > Resize Box. This action adds handles
to the box around the selected nets.
3. Click-and-drag on one of the handles to change the spacing.
4. Click elsewhere in the schematic window to deselect the nets.
The Resize Box functionality stays active. The next set of nets you select will have resizing
handles until you turn Resize Box off. To turn Resize Box off, select Edit > Resize Box again,
or press <ESC>, or click the Select icon.
Note
Resize Box can also be used to adjust the distance between components and other objects
in your schematic. It is very useful when adjusting the spacing in an array of components.
Note
The Flip and Mirror tools are also useful for changing the orientation of the rippers. The
Flip tool changes the orientation of Rippers on a vertical bus. The Mirror tool changes the
orientation of the rippers on a horizontal bus.
To delete a sheet:
All constraints applicable to objects in the sheet are also copied and take precedence over
constraints in the destination project.
To add an arc:
Tip: All closed drawing objects can be assigned a color, line style, and fill style. Select
the object then right-click > Properties to set these values.
To add a line:
Selection Rules
• When you select an object, the object outline is highlighted.
• When you select a net, bus, pin, or component, all associated names and properties are
also selected.
• If the selected object contains associated names and properties that are visible on the
schematic, a text-owner indicator line visually connects the text to the center of the
object that owns it as shown in the following figure:
Requirement
• Before you can select an object, you must be in Select mode. To enter Select mode, click
the button. The Select button is depressed when you are in select mode.
To select an object of a particular type, the selection filter must include the desired type. See
“Filtering Which Objects to Select” on page 108.
Selecting Objects
Do one of the following:
• Place the cursor on the object you want to select and click the left mouse button. All
previously selected objects are deselected.
• Depress the left mouse button and drag the cursor to specify the selection area.
DxDesigner selects only objects completely within the selection box.
To select multiple objects:
3. To select a group of objects, depress the <Ctrl> key while clicking and dragging the
mouse over the group of objects you want to select.
To select a net or bus:
1. Place the cursor on a segment of the net or bus and click the left mouse button.
2. With the cursor on the selected segment, press <Ctrl> and click the left mouse button
again.
The DxDesigner schematic editor selects the entire net or bus up to the solder joint.
To select Components:
• Select labels:
a. Type “slabel label_name” in the command line field and execute the command.
b. If you do not specify label_name, the Select Label dialog box appears. In the Select
Label dialog box, enter the name of the label you want to select and the specify if
you want the select to apply to all labels, then click OK.
• Select labels and associated objects:
a. Type “sname selected_name” in the command line field and execute the command.
b. If you do not specify selected_name, the Select Name dialog box appears. In the
Select Name dialog box, enter the Internal name or label of the desired objects, then
click OK.
• Select objects associated with specified property value(s):
Type “svalue property_value on the command line and execute the command. If you do
not specify property_value, the Select Value dialog box appears. Enter the
property_value, specify if you want the select to apply to all properties matching the
select criteria, then click OK.
• Select a text string:
a. Type “stext” on the command line and execute the command. You can use wildcard
characters when specifying the text string.
b. In the Select Text dialog box, enter the text to select and specify if you want the
select to apply to all text strings matching the select criteria, then click OK.
Deselecting Objects
A selected object remains selected until you deselect it, delete it, or select something else.
• All • Property
• Arc • Text
• Box • Ripper
• Circle • Symbol Group
• Symbol o Reference Designators
• Label o Pin Properties
• Line • Pin Group
• Net
• Pin
2. Select All, or deselect All and select any combination of the objects in the upper section
of the list.
Caution
Be sure to reset the selection filter to All before closing the schematic. If you do not, you
may see an unexplained inability to select certain objects the next time you work on the
schematic.
1. In the Project Navigator Tree of the source project, select the block you want to copy.
2. Right-click > Copy.
3. From the File menu, click Open > Project
4. DxDesigner warns you that it is closing the source project. Click OK. The destination
project opens.
5. In the Project Navigator Tree of the destination project, select the Block node.
6. Right-click > Paste.
To copy a bitmap picture of a schematic section to another application window:
enter <Ctrl> + C or
enter “copy” in the command line.
3. Open and make active the application window that you want to paste the component in.
4. Select Edit > Paste Special.
5. Click OK on the Paste Special dialog box.
Bitmap images will show the object as selected. If you want to copy a bitmap without
the selection boxes, zoom in so that the section you want to copy fills the screen and
perform the copy with nothing selected.
Note
You can select other symbols and repeat. The Replace Symbol/Port dialog box stays open
until you click Close.
Related Topic
• Replace Symbol/Part Dialog (DxDesigner Reference Manual)
• Symbols Window (DxDesigner Reference Manual)
1. Select Edit > Find/Replace. The Find and Replace Text dialog box opens.
2. In the Find tab, specify what you are searching for and the scope of the search.
3. Click More to specify additional search parameters
4. In the Replace tab, specify the string you want to use to replace the search string.
5. Use the buttons to control how the search and replace are executed.
Related Topic:
• Find and Replace Text Dialog (DxDesigner Reference Manual)
The following table shows the numerical sequences that the strokes recognize and translate into
commands.
Requirement
• You must enable strokes before they become available in the Schematic Editor.
Related Topics
• DxDesigner Key Bindings and Strokes in the DxDesigner Reference Manual
• List of DxDesigner vdbindings.vbs Stroke Definitions
• List of DxDesigner exped_wvo.vbs Stroke Definitions
• List of DxDesigner exped_pv.vbs Stroke Definitions
• From the Setup > Settings > Schematic Editor (section) > Strokes, Pan and Zoom
(subsection), click the Right Button or Middle Button option to set the strokes.
To disable strokes:
1. Setup > Settings > Schematic Editor (section) > Strokes, Pan and Zoom
(subsection), click the Strokes off option.
1. Press the stroke mouse button that you selected in the Settings dialog box.
2. Move the mouse in the predefined stroke pattern for the function, and release the mouse
button.
As you move the mouse to draw the pattern, a red line follows the mouse movement in
the window to show you the pattern you are creating.
Restriction
• You can only add strokes for commands that are already in the .vbs file and are bound to
a key.
Example
To add a stroke for the numerical sequence 1478963, which the system recognizes as
AddArc, enter the following:
• Prepare a design for forward annotation by assigning reference designators using the
Packager. If the design is hierarchical, the packager flattens it. See “Packaging A
Design” on page 137.
• Create a BOM of the design. See “Generating Bills of Materials” on page 157.
• Create a cross-reference of the design. See the Cross-Referencing a Design manual.
• Archive the design and its libraries. See “Archiving Projects” on page 141
• Print or plot the design. “Printing, Plotting and Generating PDF” on page 143.
• Export the design in EDIF format. See “Exporting Schematic/Symbol File to EDIF
Schematic File” in the DxDesigner Schematic Translators manual.
• Export a Foreign Database. See “Working with Foreign Databases” on page 126.
• Create Variant Designs (Expedition workflow only). See Variant Manager User’s
Manual.
• Simulate the design. For more information, see Help > Documentation in InfoHub >
Analysis - Simulation and Signal Integrity.
• Post-process the design using scripting. See the DxDesigner Automation Reference
manual.
The following topics describe how to create and edit hierarchical designs:
Bottom-up design lets you re-use an existing schematic by creating a top-level composite block
that represents the schematic. You then place this block multiple times on your design,
assigning unique hierarchical properties (Instance Values) to the underlying schematic for each
occurrence.
Top-down design lets you work at a more abstract level by using a “placeholder” block, in the
top level design. For example, you can divide the work between a system designer and a circuit
designer. The system designer designates I/O for a “black box” hierarchical block, for which the
circuit designer later creates the underlying schematic. When the circuit designer has created
and tested the underlying schematic, its associated “black box” block is transformed into a
composite block.
You can choose to automatically create a block from an existing schematic, or you can
manually create a symbol to represent the underlying schematic. The final step is to add the new
block to the top-level schematic.
Requirements:
• You have already created the schematic that you want to make into a block.
• You have defined onsheet and offsheet pins in the Settings dialog, and placed them on
the schematic.
1. Open the schematic you want to use as the source of the symbol.
2. Select Tools > Generate Symbol.
3. Fill in the Generate Symbol dialog box as follows:
• Block Input: This field is unavailable. It specifies the name of the schematic you
currently have open.
• Symbol Output: You specify the name of the symbol. It is suggested that you use
the default for the name of the output symbol. This default is the same as the block
name. This common name creates the hierarchical association.
• Override Existing Symbol, if any - If this box is checked, a symbol with the same
name as specified in the Symbol Output field will be over-written.
If the box is unchecked, a warning message is issued if a duplicate name is found. In
this case the symbol generation is stopped.
• Open Symbol in Symbol Editor - If this box is checked, the generated symbol is
opened for editing in the Library Manager Symbol Editor.
• Advanced (button) - This button opens the Advanced Options dialog box, which
you use to set the following options:
o Symbol Properties - Use this field to add properties to the symbol that you are
creating. The syntax for this field is: name=value. Separate multiple properties
with a space.
o Symbol Property Size - set the size of the symbol attribute
o Input Pin(s) - Specify the names of inputs to the symbol. The values in this field
are used by DxDesigner as a last resort by the algorithm that searches for I/O
nets. Type the names of the input pins separated by a space. You can use the left
and right arrow keys to scroll if you have multiple name entries
o Output Pin(s) - Specify the names of outputs from the symbol.
o Pin spacing, Pin length, and Pin label size - Enter settings to override the values
you assigned in the Setup > Settings dialog box.
o Pin Sides - For each of the listed pin types, select placement values of top, left,
bottom, or right.
To extract a block:
• Select View > Symbols to open the Symbols window, then select the symbol you
want to edit from the [local symbols] partition.
• Within the schematic, select the generated symbol you want to edit.
2. Right-click > Edit Local Symbol. The Symbol Editor opens.
3. Use the Symbol Editor to edit the symbol. Also see the DxDesigner Symbol Editor
manual.
1. Open the Symbols window with the View > Symbols pulldown menu item.
2. Choose a tab based on how you want to view the symbols, by part number (Parts View
tab), by symbol type (Symbol View tab), or by reuse blocks (Reuse Blocks tab).
3. You can scroll through the list of symbols or filter the list by entering a string in a field
above a column that matches the symbol you are looking for.
4. Select the symbol you want. An image of that symbol appears on the right side of the
Symbols window.
5. Choose whether or not you want nets and/or net names to appear on the symbol.
6. If you are placing reuse blocks, set the merge options and numbering options as
described in either the Placing a Logical-Only Reusable Block in a Host Design or the
Placing a Logical-Physical Reusable Block in a Host Design sections of the Reusable
Blocks Process Guide.
7. Click the Place Symbol button.
8. Place the mouse cursor in the schematic window. An outline of the symbol you are
placing appears at the cursor.
9. Click the RMB in the location where you want to place the symbol. You can click
multiple times in multiple locations to place more than one symbol.
10. Press the <Esc> key to stop the place symbol action.
To manually create a local symbol for the low-level schematic:
1. In DxDesigner, display the top-level sheet where you will add the newly-created
symbol.
2. From the Symbols window (View > Symbols), find the local symbol you created and
select it.
3. Drag-and-drop the symbol to the schematic sheet.
Related Topics
• Creating a Local Symbol
• Configuring Special Components
Requirement
You have previously configured Specialized Components. See “Configuring Special
Components” on page 55 for instructions.
Procedure
To add ports:
Related Topics
• Placing Blocks on the Top-Level Schematic
• Adding Nets and Pins to a Block
• Freezing and Unfreezing Blocks
Result: When the net reaches the edge of the block, a pin is automatically added to the
block, named the same as connecting net. After you save the design, DxDesigner
automatically updates the symbol shell to include the required pin labels by copying the
labels from the attached nets.
Note
Creating a block pin clears the schematic’s Undo and Redo stacks, disabling the
operation of these commands.
Note
Deleting a block pin clears the schematic's Undo and Redo stacks, disabling the
operation of these commands.
To Freeze a block:-
Once you have finished your design, you may want to post-process it for use in other tools.
Figure 6-1 shows the possible flow of data between DxDesigner and other tools when you have
created a project using the Expedition workflow.
Figure 6-2 shows the dataflow possibilities when you have created a project using the Netlist
workflow.
For more information on the Expedition and Netlist workflow types, see the topic titled “The
DxDesigner Workflows” on page 14.
Export
DxDesigner iCDB Foreign Expedition PCB
Import Database
PCB Interface
If the Expedition PCB layout design process is to occur at a remote location, you can detach the
PCB design process from the main schematic design project by using the File > Export >
Foreign Database feature (shown below). This enables you to create a design database that you
can ship to a remote site.
Using the File > Import > Foreign Database feature allows you to import changes made in
layout back to the schematic. For more information, see “Working with Foreign Databases”.
Export
DxDesigner iCDB Foreign Expedition PCB
Import Database
Also See
• iCDB (integrated Common Database) Administration in the DxDesigner
Administrator’s Guide
• Expedition PCB User’s Guide
The Expedition Job Management Wizard is used to create the PCB design from the foreign
database and the project file in the remote location, but must use the same Central Library as the
main DxDesigner project. During the PCB design process, Expedition modifies connectivity
data in the form of “Reference Designator” and “Pin Number” changes along with modifying
constraint data. These modifications may be back-annotated to the design project utilizing the
DxDesigner File > Import > Foreign Database utility. (See “Importing a Foreign Database
from DxDesigner - Example”.
Further changes at the DxDesigner front end may be re-exported with over-write to update the
Expedition PCB, keeping the project synchronized.
1. From DxDesigner select the File > Export > Foreign Database menu item.
You are prompted for the target location for the Foreign Database.
1. In DxDesigner, choose the File > Import > Foreign Database menu item.
You are prompted for the Foreign Database location.
2. Select the desired database. A message box appears indicating that the import has been
successful.
3. Using the previous example in “Exporting a Foreign Database from DxDesigner -
Example”, step 6 when a change was made to the Crystal Oscillator: After importing
this particular design, the Reference Designator for the Crystal Oscillator is back-
annotated to the lower-level schematic as follows:
Also, the Max Vias Constraint values that were added onto the three nets in Layout have
been synchronized in the Front-End design database.
2. From DxDesigner select the File > Export > Foreign Database menu item.
You are prompted for the target location for the Foreign Database.
3. Specify the same location for the Foreign Database as before.
A DxDesigner dialog asks if you want to overwrite the old database.
4. Answer Yes. The design is incrementally packaged and Reference Designator R9 is
annotated onto the lower level schematic as shown below:
5. This change must now be integrated back into Expedition PCB using the same process
as described in “Exporting a Foreign Database from DxDesigner - Example”.
Also See
• iCDB (integrated Common Database) Administration in the DxDesigner
Administrator’s Guide
• PCB Interfaces User’s Guide
Quick Connection View works on packaged and un-packaged designs. If no Ref Des is
available, the Id is used instead.
DxDesigner saves the Quick Connection View generic netlist in a file that you specify, and it
displays the results in a Quick Connection View tab.
The following topics describe what you can do with the Quick Connection View:
• Top Level Block - define the top level block that you want to netlist
• Output File - define where you will store the .txt output
• Single Line Per Net - If set, configures the output to put all large nets on one line. If
unset, configures the output to break large nets into separate lines as shown in the
following example:
(unset)
NET : '/RLDRAM1/GND' GND-B C206-2 C46-2 C209-2 C210-2 C211-2
NET : '/RLDRAM1/GND' C49-2 C52-2 C53-2 U32-A2 U32-A4 U32-A9 U32-B4
(The /RLDRAM1/GND nets are listed on multiple lines)
(set)
NET : '/RLDRAM1/GND' GND-B C206-2 C46-2 C209-2 C210-2 C211-2 C49-2 ...
(all /RLDRAM1/GND nets are listed on one, possibly long, line)
Separate No/Single Pin Nets - If set, configures the output to list the No/Single Pin nets
in a separate section of the netlist as noted by the following entry:
# begin one pin nets list
• Display Un-connected Pins - If set, configures the output to list the un-connected pins
in a separate section of the netlist as noted by the following entry:
# begin un-connected pins list
• Exclude Special Components - If set, configures the output netlist to omit connections
to Special Components as defined in Setup > Settings > Project (section) > Special
Components, which are typically power, ground, hierarchical ports and sheet
connectors that have no part number associated with the symbols.
• Flat mode - If set, the output netlist displays the FlatNet name above each group of
related nets as shown in the following example (Single Line Per Net is also set in this
example):
(set)
FlatNet: PAR
NET : '/MICRO1/PAR' AMD_8111_TO_HUB1-PAR PCI_CONN1-PAR
NET : '/MICRO1/PCI_CONN1/PAR' PAR-B1 J_PCI-A43
NET : '/MICRO1/AMD_8111_TO_HUB1/PAR' PAR-B1 U29-AF6
(unset)
The three '/MICRO1/... net lines are listed without the FlatNet line preceding them.
FIELD1[separator]FIELD2[separator]FIELD3[separator]FIELD4[separator]
The following topics describe how to export to, and import from HyperLynx with LineSimLink:
4. With the bidirectional pin selected, click the Change direction button.
Packaging A Design
The packager prepares for forward annotation, mapping each component in the logical
schematic to a physical part by assigning reference designators. If the design is hierarchical, the
packager flattens it.
Although a design is packaged automatically when you forward annotate, you can also package
it manually. This is useful when you are not finished with a design, but want to confirm that
Reference Designators will be handled correctly when the design is forward annotated.
Refraining from forward annotation also saves time.You can increase time savings by
restricting the behavior, optimization algorithm, and scope of the packager, using the Packager
dialog box.
To package a design:
You verify schematics using the Design Rule Checker, (DRC). The DRC is an event driven tool
that you use to locate electrical rule violations in your design. You can configure the DRC for
your design environment.
For more information on the Design Rule Checker options, see the topic “DRC
(schematic_name) Dialog” in the DxDesigner Reference Manual. For information on
configuring custom defaults for the DRC dialog, see the topic Design Rule Checker (DRC)
Defaults File in the DxDesigner Reference Manual.
1. In the Settings tab, select the appropriate Check option to specify what DRC will run on.
2. Chose the desired Level Property to limit how far DRC descends into the hierarchy.
3. If you want the resulting report to show hierachical paths, click the box under the Report
section.
To configure the check rules:
4. If you want to change the severity of a rule, click in the Severity column for the rule and
use the pulldown box to make the change.
Tip: You can reset either tab by clicking the Defaults button. The Rules tab will revert to
the defaults stored in the
\<mgc_home>\<release>\SDD_HOME\standard\NetlistVerifyDefaults.ini file for an
Netlist workflow design or
\<mgc_home>\<release>\SDD_HOME\standard\VerifyDefaults.ini file for an
Expedition workflow design.
The Archiver is a project management utility that collects and stores schematics, symbols, and
other data associated with a specific design or project in DxDesigner. It provides a self-
contained design that is ready to be checked in to DMS or other data management tools. You
run the Archiver from a Wizard, where you select such options as what files to archive, and the
location and format of the output. For more information, see Archiver Wizard in the
DxDesigner Reference Manual.
1. Open the Archive wizard with the Tools > Archiver pulldown menu item.
2. In the Options screen, select the project you want to archive and the target directory for
the output.
3. If you want the output compressed, click the Compress using zip format check box.
4. If you want all the sheets saved in pdf format, click the Create pdf check box.
5. Click Next.
6. Enter any additional files you want to include in the archive.
7. Click Finish.
The Archiver produces the archive file in the format and location you specified. It also reports
results to a log file in the standard directory, and to the Results screen.
To work on an archived project, simply open the archived .prj file in DxDesigner,
uncompressing first if necessary.
The following topics contain information on how to print and plot schematic sheets or symbol
representations from DxDesigner, and how to create a PDF of your design.
Printing in Windows
The following topics describe how to print from Windows:
You can print the active window or a specified schematic sheet using the Window and Sheet
options in the Print dialog box. You can also print an entire design using the File > Print Project
option. As a special case, you can send your output to an HPGL file.
Because colors that are easy to work with during a DxDesigner session are not always the best
colors to use for printing, DxDesigner allows you to define a viewing color and a printing color
for each object. Refer to “Changing Object Colors” on page 46 for information about defining
colors for graphical objects, components, text, and annotation objects.
• WDIR (Required)
• HPGL_WIDTH_SCALE (Optional—used for HPGL output)
• HPGL_HEIGHT_SCALE (Optional—used for HPGL output)
Using WDIR
• WDIR is a required environment variable.
• You specify WDIR during your DxDesigner installation.
Tip: If you want to use default print settings, click the toolbar button.
To print a file to an HP LaserJet 5Si printer from an input tray containing 11x17 plain
paper, enter the following:
Where <printer_name> represents the name of the printer as recognized by the UNIX
system, and <filename> represents the name of the plot file created within DxDesigner
through File >Plot or File >Plot Project...
Note
Please contact the vendor of your printer for further details on how to target the desired
input paper tray of your printer.
Printing in UNIX
The following topics describe how to print from UNIX:
1. Double-click Toolboxes and then Service & Documentation Center. This displays the
Control Panel dialog box.
2. Double-click Printers. This displays the Printers dialog box.
3. Double-click Add New Printer. This displays the Add Printer wizard.
4. In the Add Printer wizard, do the following to define the settings for your printer:
a. Click Next to start the wizard.
b. In the Unix Printer field, type the network name of your printer or select the name
from the list below. Click Next.
c. In the Print Command field, change the UNIX command listed for printing (if
necessary). If the default command in this field is correct, click Next.
d. In the Printer Name field, type a more descriptive name for the printer (such as HP
LaserJet), which will be displayed when you print from DxDesigner. In the Printer
Description field, you can type even more information about this printer (such as
Engineering Laser Printer - 3rd floor). Click Next.
e. Review the information displayed and do one of the following:
• Click Back to return to a previous wizard screen and make changes.
• Click Finish to apply your printer settings.
Plotting in Windows
To plot the current sheet, perform the following steps:
Perform the following required tasks to plot the current sheet using the plotter’s default
parameters:
1. From the command prompt, type plotsetup. This opens the plotting worksheet.
2. In the Devices box, select the device that matches your plotter.
Tip: You use the Plot Options worksheet to specify ZSIZE parameters or to define
additional custom paper sizes.
• Click OK to close the plotting worksheet and save the parameters you have set.
splplt –p <path><filename.met>
The file is plotted on the device you specified when you configured the plot.
Plotting in UNIX
The following topics describe plotting operations in UNIX:
<install_directory>/standard/devdes
and populates this directory with .des (description) files for commonly used plotters. These
description files are included on the installation CD. You can add plotters by copying their .des
files to this directory.
• WDIR (Required)
• SYSPLT (Required)
• HPGL_WIDTH_SCALE (Optional—used for HPGL output)
• HPGL_HEIGHT_SCALE (Optional—used for HPGL output)
Note
To plot a design using default settings, you must first select a default device. You only
need to do this once unless you want to change the default device.
1. Choose File > Plot Setup from the main menu. This displays the Plotting Worksheet
dialog box.
2. In the Devices list, select the device that matches your plotter.
Select the paper size:
You use the Plot Options worksheet to specify ZSIZE parameters or to define additional custom
paper sizes.
• FILE — In the Output field, type the name of the plot file you want to create. If you do
not enter a filename, the filename will default to the current sheet.
• SPOOL — Select this to spool the plot to a specified plotter.
• Port... — From the popup menu, select an available port (such as /dev/ttya).
Select the view:
• To plot the entire sheet, regardless of whether you are zoomed in when you initiate
plotting, click Full Sheet.
• To plot the section of the sheet at the current zoom setting, click Zoomed View.
Complete the configuration:
1. In the Paper Size area of the Plotting Worksheet, click the ZSIZE button.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, select any US or Metric paper size, depending on the type
units you want to use.
Note: It does not matter which size you select. You select a size to tell Plot Setup
whether to add a sheet using US or Metric units.
2. Click Options to open the Plot Options worksheet.
3. Fill in the boxes in the DEFINE ALTERNATE PAPER SIZE area.
4. In the Name: box, enter the name of the new custom paper size.
5. In the Range: boxes, enter the length (X>) and width (Y>) of the paper in inches or
millimeters.
6. In the Margins: boxes enter the Left>, Right>, Top> and Bottom> margins in inches or
millimeters.
The new paper size is added as a selection in the Paper Sizes section of the Plotting
Worksheet. It will be added to the US or Metric size list depending on which units you
selected in step 1.
To place a string at the beginning or end of your plot output:
You can place control strings at the beginning or end of your plot file. You can also send control
form feed behavior of the plotter by enabling an automatic control string.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Options to open the Plot Options worksheet.
2. Enter the string you wish to prepend in the Init String> box. You can leave the box
blank.
3. Enter the string you wish to append in the Term. String> box. You can leave the box
blank.
To specify a Form Feed:
• Select Feed On to enable form feed or deselect Feed On to disable form feed.
If you select Feed On, DxDesigner will place a form feed control string before each plot.
To select a directory for your file output:
You can select a directory to hold your File output when you are not sending your output
directly to the printer:
Note
If you do not enter a directory, your file will be placed in the current project directory.
To specify a font:
You can specify a font for the text on your plot if font rendering is supported for your plotter.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. In the font area, select the font you want to use.
3. Click Device Text to enable font rendering.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. Enter a scaling multiplier in the Scale X> and Scale Y> boxes. To reduce the size of the
plot, enter a decimal number between zero and one.
The plotting image is multiplied by the scaling constants you have specified.
To specify a fit rectangle:
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. Enter the X> and Y> measurements of the fit rectangle. If you have selected US paper
size, units are inches. If you have selected Metric paper size, units are millimeters.
The plotting image is scaled to fit the rectangle by stretching or compressing it along the
X- and/or Y-axis.
To set the plot origin:
You can set the location of the lower left corner of the plot (plot origin) relative to the lower left
corner of the paper as follows:
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. Select Enable Corner.
3. In the boxes to the right of Enable Corner, specify the offset of the X> and Y> positions
from the corner of the paper. If you have selected US paper size, units are inches. If you
have selected Metric paper size, units are millimeters.
To specify a rotation:
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. In the Plot Expansion area, select ALIGN.
3. In the Rotation area of the worksheet, select a rotation amount. You can rotate the plot
on the paper by 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees. The plot will rotate counterclockwise.
To enable automatic rotation for best fit:
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. In the Plot Expansion area, select BESTFIT.
To partition an image:
You can partition an image so that it can plot onto several smaller-sized sheets. Tiling works
only with plotters that support form feed.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. Select Enable Tile.
3. In the boxes to the right of Enable Tile, specify the number of Rows and Columns into
which you want to partition the image.
4. Select a Tiled Output size to specify the size of the sheet your plot will be printed on.
If you select ZSIZE, a dialog opens to allow you to specify the ZSIZE dimensions for the tiling
output. When you disable tiling, the system returns the ZSIZE dimensions to those you have
previously specified.
A D-size sheet measures 22 by 34. A C-size sheet measures 22 by 17. To tile a design
that was created on a D-size sheet into two C-size sheets, you would specify 2 rows and
1 column.
Example 2: Tile one D-size sheet onto four B-size sheets
A D-size sheet measures 22 by 34. A B-size sheet measures 11 by 17. To tile a design
that was created on a D-size sheet into four B-size sheets, you would specify 2 rows by 2
columns.
To set line width:
If you are plotting to a PostScript plotter, you can set a line width for graphics. You specify line
width in device units.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. Drag the Line Width slide to the right for a thicker line or to the left for a thinner line.
The line width you have specified is displayed in the box to the left of the slide.
Select Device to render the object directly by the output device. This improves speed, but may
degrade resolution.
Deselect Device to render the object using an internal algorithm. This produces WYSIWYG
resolution, but degrades speed.
1. From the Plotting Worksheet, click Graphics to open the Plot Graphics worksheet.
2. Select Device Text, Device Arc, Device Circle and/or Device Box to enable rendering
for that object.
You can distribute the generated PDF design to other design team members. You can also use
DxPDF in conjunction with enterprise wide data management systems to store and distribute
schematic design data.
For more information on DxPDF setup and options, see DxPDF Dialog in the DxDesigner
Reference Manual.
The following topics provide information on using the Part Lister to generate bills of materials:
• Parts lists
• Cost estimate summaries
• Printed circuit board area requirements
• MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) reports
• Bill of materials
To access and configure the Part Lister, use the DxDesigner pulldown menu Tools > Part
Lister to bring up the Part Lister dialog box.
Default settings for the Part Lister are stored in a file called
$SDD_HOME\standard\icdbPartsLister.ipl.
You can save customized settings with the Part Lister dialog > File > Save As command.
Note
To avoid accidentally overwriting your default icdbPartsLister.ipl file, you should always
save your customized settings with the Part Lister dialog > File > Save As command,
before you click Run.
You can use your saved settings by using the Part Lister dialog > File > Open command and
navigating to the desired .ipl file. If desired, you could also modify a .ipl with an editor prior to
opening it with Part Lister.
• Settings
• Page
• Columns
From the Settings tab, you set the path to the project and block, and choose the type of output
you want.
From the Page tab, you select the page size, margins, headers, and spacing.
From the Columns tab, you set up the spreadsheet columns for your output, and define the items
and labels for the columns.
For specific information on the Part Lister GUI, refer to Part Lister Dialog topic in the
DxDesigner Reference Manual
Where:
As an example, below is an output file generated for a simple mixed signal design:
TEST_CIRCUIT
REVISION_HISTORY:
REV0
REV1
1. In the Dashboard Folders Pane, double-click Toolboxes, and then click Service and
Documentation Center.
2. In the Application Launch Pad, double-click Diagnostics.
Related Topics
• Troubleshooting DxDesigner Environment Variables
• Troubleshooting Your License
• Finding Files in your PATH or WDIR
• In the DxDesigner Diagnostics dialog box, select the Environment Tab. The tab
displays the following information, that you can use to confirm that your environment
variables are set correctly.
To find a file:
1. In the Filename box, enter the name of the file you want to find
2. Click either Search through all directories in PATH or Search through all directories in
WDIR, and then click Find.
Tip: Your results will append to the information in the output window. To clear the
output window, click Clear Summary
From within DxDesigner, you can netlist your design to VHDL or Verilog design files that can
be used for simulation as described in the following topics:
The following table shows DxDesigner bus and symbol pin naming guidelines for VHDL data
transfer:
Table B-1. Naming Guidelines for VHDL Data Transfer
Item Rule
Bus • Use square brackets only to specify bus ranges, slices, or indices.
Tip: Enclose individual bits of a bus, as in BUS[2].
• Declare busses in full somewhere on the schematic level.
Example: If the schematic uses bits 0 through 15 of a bus named BUS,
then BUS[0:15] or BUS[15:0] should appear somewhere on the schematic.
• Reference a range of bus elements in the same direction as the full bus.
Example: If a design has BUS[15:0], use BUS[7:4] to refer to this slice of
BUS[15:0].
• Place bus ranges at the right of the bus name whenever possible.
Example: Use the name BUSA[15:0] rather than BUS[15:0]A or
[15:0]BUSA.
• Avoid bus bundles, such as A[1:0],B[1:0],C, which are difficult to properly
represent in VHDL.
• Avoid stepped busses.
Rationale: Schematic busses can have a step specification, but this can
also cause confusion. For example, BUS[7:0:2] is four bits wide, and the
valid indices are 7, 5, 3, and 1. Because VHDL does not support
noncontiguous busses, this construct will be declared in VHDL as being
eight bits wide, with the bits 6, 4, 2, and 0 left unconnected. When you
import the simulation values back into DxDesigner, the value for this
signal will then have eight bits as opposed to the four bits actually desired.
Symbol pin Specify unique names for symbol pins and the net names on the symbol's
schematic.
Rationale: DxDesigner symbols that have two pins with the same name
cannot be directly translated to VHDL. For example, you will not be able to
translate a symbol that has two pins with the same name and a unique range,
such as BUS[15:8] and BUS[7:0].
1. Add the generated VHDL files to the ModelSim project using a depth-first order to
create a proper file compile order.
2. Compile the files, reordering them as necessary.
3. Load the top-level VHDL design into the ModelSim simulator using the same name as
the top-level DxDesigner schematic.
For more information, see the ModelSim documentation that is shipped with the product.
Exception: Unless a net has a user-supplied label and a unique ID (for example, $N9, $1N32,
and so on), its simulation value will not be updated onto the schematic.
When you send ModelSim data to DxDesigner, one of the following shared object files from
root/3.1/common/arch/lib is loaded so that you can transfer the data:
• dx2ms.dll (Windows)
• libdx2ms.so (Solaris)
• libdx2ms.sl (HP/UX)
To manually import ModelSim data into DxDesigner:
From the ModelSim simulation command prompt, enter one of the following load command
strings consisting of a path to the shared object file and the ba option, depending on your
platform:
• load path\dx2ms.dll ba
• load path/libdx2ms.so ba
• load path/libdx2ms.sl ba
The DxDesigner schematic is updated with the simulation values. The current
simulation time appears in the lower right-hand corner of the active schematic sheet.
Tip: In addition to the ba command option specified above that explicitly requests the
import of data from DxDesigner, you can also enter the following commands from
either a ModelSim or DxDesigner command prompt.
ModelSim load command options are shown as follows:
To automatically import ModelSim data into DxDesigner each time you run the simulator:
1. Within the DxDesigner project directory, use a text editor to create a file named
startup.do.
2. Within the file named startup.do, type one of the following text strings depending on
your platform, and then save the file:
• load <path>/dx2ms.dll ba
• load <path>/libdx2ms.so ba
• load <path>/libdx2ms.sl ba
3. Open the project.mpf file in the DxDesigner project directory, search the file for the
following line, and then remove the semicolon that appears at the beginning of the
expression:
;startup = do startup.do
ModelSim data for this project will automatically be sent to DxDesigner each time you
start the simulator and the simulator pauses.
Tip: To automatically send ModelSim data to DxDesigner each time you run the
simulator for all your projects, modify the modelsim.ini file in the ModelSim install
directory as described above rather than modifying the .mpf project file.
Once you have created the symbol and placed it in a schematic, you can simulate the entire
design.
Once you have created the symbol and placed it in a schematic, you can simulate the entire
design.
The name of the generated symbol is the same as the name of the VHDL entity or the SPICE
model. DxDesigner adds attributes to the symbol to support netlisting for simulation.
The following topics describe how to link and embed objects in your DxDesigner document:
• Inserting Objects
• Embedding an Object
• Linking Objects
Inserting Objects
Note
This functionality is not available on UNIX.
You can include information or documents created in other applications in your DxDesigner
document. You can link or embed documents or objects in your DxDesigner documents. The
main difference between linking and embedding is where the data is stored. If you embed the
object, the data becomes part of your DxDesigner document. If you link the object, the
DxDesigner document stores only the location of the information and then displays a graphic
representation of the information in the DxDesigner document.
Note
On the PC, you can insert objects on to border symbols and they will also be shown on
the schematic that the border is inserted on.
Embedding an Object
You can embed a new or existing object into your DxDesigner document.
1. Position the insertion point where you want to embed the object in the document.
2. Select Add> Insert Object.
3. Select the Create New option.
4. Select the Object Type that you want to create.
The list of options in this list depends on the applications you have installed on your
computer. You cannot insert objects created by an application that you do not have
installed.
5. Click OK.
6. Return to DxDesigner.
7. Exit the application used to create the object or click anywhere in the schematic editor.
To embed an existing object:
1. Position the insertion point where you want to embed the object in the document.
2. Choose Add > Insert Object.
3. Select the Create from File option.
4. Enter or select the file name of the object you want to embed.
You can use the Browse button to search for and select the file.
5. Click OK.
6. If you want to display the object as an icon, click the Display as Icon check box before
clicking OK.
7. Return to DxDesigner.
8. Click anywhere in the DxDesigner window.
Linking Objects
You can create a link to an object to share the object between two DxDesigner documents or a
DxDesigner document and a file created in another application. You must be running both
applications, and both applications must support dynamic data exchange (DDE) or object
linking and embedding (OLE).
1. Make sure that you save the source file before you link the information.
2. In the application in which the information you want to link was created, open the
source file and then select the information you want to link.
Index
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Government subcontractor is subject to the restrictions set forth in the license agreement under which Software was
obtained pursuant to DFARS 227.7202-3(a) or as set forth in subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer
Software - Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19, as applicable. Contractor/manufacturer is Mentor Graphics
Corporation, 8005 SW Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777 USA.
13. THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARY. For any Software under this Agreement licensed by Mentor Graphics from Microsoft
or other licensors, Microsoft or the applicable licensor is a third party beneficiary of this Agreement with the right to
enforce the obligations set forth herein.
14. AUDIT RIGHTS. You will monitor access to, location and use of Software. With reasonable prior notice and during
your normal business hours, Mentor Graphics shall have the right to review your software monitoring system and
reasonably relevant records to confirm your compliance with the terms of this Agreement, an addendum to this
Agreement or U.S. or other local export laws. Such review may include FLEXlm or FLEXnet report log files that you
shall capture and provide at Mentor Graphics’ request. Mentor Graphics shall treat as confidential information all of your
information gained as a result of any request or review and shall only use or disclose such information as required by law
or to enforce its rights under this Agreement or addendum to this Agreement. The provisions of this section 14 shall
survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
15. CONTROLLING LAW, JURISDICTION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE
GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF OREGON, USA, IF YOU ARE
LOCATED IN NORTH OR SOUTH AMERICA, AND THE LAWS OF IRELAND IF YOU ARE LOCATED
OUTSIDE OF NORTH OR SOUTH AMERICA. All disputes arising out of or in relation to this Agreement shall be
submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of Portland, Oregon when the laws of Oregon apply, or Dublin, Ireland when the
laws of Ireland apply. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all disputes in Asia (except for Japan) arising out of or in relation to
this Agreement shall be resolved by arbitration in Singapore before a single arbitrator to be appointed by the Chairman of
the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) to be conducted in the English language, in accordance with the
Arbitration Rules of the SIAC in effect at the time of the dispute, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference
in this section 15. This section shall not restrict Mentor Graphics’ right to bring an action against you in the jurisdiction
where your place of business is located. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
does not apply to this Agreement.
16. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be void, invalid,
unenforceable or illegal, such provision shall be severed from this Agreement and the remaining provisions will remain in
full force and effect.
17. PAYMENT TERMS AND MISCELLANEOUS. You will pay amounts invoiced, in the currency specified on the
applicable invoice, within 30 days from the date of such invoice. Any past due invoices will be subject to the imposition
of interest charges in the amount of one and one-half percent per month or the applicable legal rate currently in effect,
whichever is lower. Some Software may contain code distributed under a third party license agreement that may provide
additional rights to you. Please see the applicable Software documentation for details. This Agreement may only be
modified in writing by authorized representatives of the parties. Waiver of terms or excuse of breach must be in writing
and shall not constitute subsequent consent, waiver or excuse.