The following commands are available in the menus of the PROM File Fomatter's graphical user interface.
This command displays information about the version number of the PROM File Formatter.
Adds a BIT file to the display in the PROM description area.
The following toolbar button executes the Add Bit File command.
To add a BIT file using the Add Bit File command, follow these instructions:
Add Bit File or select the Add Bit File toolbar button.You can also add a BIT file by selecting the PROM description area entry below which you will add the BIT file, then double-clicking the BIT file you want to add.
This command adds an empty data stream to the display in the PROM description area. The data stream is added before the End PROM entry.
The following toolbar button executes the Add Data Stream command.
This command collapses the hierarchical display in the PROM description area, leaving a display of data streams without BIT files.
This command copies a selected data stream or BIT file from the PROM description area and temporarily stores it on the clipboard. The command is available only if there is a selected file or data stream.
The following toolbar button executes the Copy command.
To copy multiple data streams or BIT files to the clipboard, use the multiple object selection method described in the “Using the Mouse” section of the “Getting Started” chapter before you execute the Copy command.
To duplicate data streams or BIT files, you can first copy them, then paste them back to insert as many copies as needed.
This command removes a data stream or a BIT file from the PROM description area and temporarily stores it on the clipboard. The command is available only if there is a selected file or data stream.
The following toolbar button executes the Cut command.
To cut multiple data streams or BIT files, use the multiple object selection method described in the “Using the Mouse” section of the “Getting Started” chapter before you execute the Cut command.
To duplicate data streams or BIT files, you can first copy them, then paste them back to insert as many copies as needed.
Changes the contents of the file selection area so the design directory (and the BIT files in that directory) are displayed.
The following toolbar button executes the Design Directory command.
When you start the PROM File Formatter, the design directory will have an initial value depending on how you started the program.
Once the PROM File Formatter is open, the design directory may be changed by the following operations:
Use this command to exit from the PROM File Formatter program. If you are in the process of creating a PROM file, the program prompts you to save the current data.
Expands the hierarchical display in the PROM description area to show all data streams and all BIT files.
This command displays a dialog box that lists the contents of the Help facility.
This command moves the entry currently highlighted in the PROM description area down (that is, closer to the end of the PROM). The highlighted entry may be either a data stream or a BIT file.
The following toolbar button executes the Move Down command.
This command moves the cursor to the splitter bar, allowing you to change the relative sizes of the PROM description area and the file selection area.
This command moves the entry currently highlighted in the PROM description area up (that is, closer to the beginning of the PROM). The highlighted entry may be either a data stream or a BIT file.
The following toolbar button executes the Move Up command.
This command clears the data currently loaded in PROM File Formatter window, and creates a new, empty PROM file, PROM description file, and memory map file. The new PROM file will be named untitled.format, where format is the default format (.tek, .mcs, .exo, or .hex) set for the PROM File Formatter.
The new PROM description file will be named untitled.pdr and the new memory map file will be named untitled.prm.
The following toolbar button executes the New command.
Once you have removed the old data from the window, you can start building a new PROM file. If you click New while you are in the process of creating a data stream, a warning message asks you if you want to save changes to the current PROM file before you open a new one.
This command opens an existing PROM file (stored in PDR format).
The following toolbar button executes the Open command.
When you select this command the Open dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure.
The dialog box shown in the figure is the dialog box as it appears on a UNIX workstation. On a PC, you will see a standard Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 dialog box.
Figure 4.1 Open Dialog Box |  |
This is a standard file selection dialog box. For a description of the fields in the dialog box, refer to the documentation and online help for the applicable windowing system.
This command inserts the data stream or BIT file currently in the clipboard into the PROM description area. If an item is selected in the PROM description area, and the item is of the same type as the cut or copied item (that is, both are data streams or both are BIT files), the command pastes before the selected item.
The following toolbar button executes the Paste command.
To duplicate data streams or BIT files, you can first copy them, then paste them back to insert as many copies as needed.
This command opens the PROM Properties dialog box, which lets you set properties for the PROM file currently displayed in the PROM File Formatter window.
The following toolbar button executes the PROM Properties command.
The dialog box has three tabs, each of which is described in the following sections.
You set the PROM file format in the Format tab of the PROM Properties dialog box. The Format tab is shown in the following figure.
Figure 4.2 PROM Properties Dialog Box - Format | |
Xilinx recommends that you first decide which PROM type and which PROM file format you will be using. Some PROM formats support larger file sizes than others. The following table shows the capacity of each of the PROM formats supported by the PROM File Formatter.
| Format | Number of Addresses (Bytes) | Total Number of Bits |
|---|---|---|
| TEKHEX | 65,536 | 524,288 |
| MCS-86 | 1,048,5761 1. This size applies to the Up loading direction only. The Down loading direction is limited to 64 K. | 8,388,608 |
| EXORmacs | 16,777,2162 2. Files with up to 65,536 addresses are formatted in S19 format. Files with more than 65,536 addresses are formatted in S28 format. | 134,217,728 |
| HEX | No limit | No limit |
The Format tab contains the following fields.
Figure 4.3 PROM Devices (Size) Area - Split PROM | |
The Data Streams tab indicates the loading direction, start address and end address of each data stream stored in the PROM. If you are targeting the byte wide PROM type, you can also use this tab to change the starting address and loading direction of the data streams.
The fields in this tab vary depending on the PROM type (serial or byte wide). The following figures illustrate the two versions of the tab.
Figure 4.4 PROM Properties Dialog Box - Data Streams (Serial PROM) | |
Figure 4.5 PROM Properties Dialog Box - Data Streams (Byte Wide PROM) | |
The Data Streams tab includes the following fields.
The Files tab lets you view the files associated with the data in the PROM File Formatter. The files are shown in a read-only list. The tab is shown in the following figure.
Figure 4.6 PROM Properties Dialog Box - Files | |
Following are the three file types listed in the Files tab.
This command redoes the last action that was undone.
The following toolbar button executes the Redo command.
The Save command saves all of the files associated with the data in the PROM File Formatter - the PDR file, the PRM file, and the PROM files. The files are saved with their current file names and location.
The following toolbar button executes the Save command.
If you are saving the information in the PROM File Formatter for the first time, the Save As dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure.
The dialog box shown in the figure is the dialog box as it appears on a UNIX workstation. On a PC, you will see a standard Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 dialog box.
Figure 4.7 Save As Dialog Box | |
This is a standard file selection dialog box. For a description of the fields in the dialog box, refer to the documentation and online help for the applicable windowing system.
The Save As command saves the PROM File Formatter data to the file names and directory you specify.
When you select this command, the Save As dialog box appears, as shown in the preceding figure. This is a standard file selection dialog box. For a description of the fields in the dialog box, refer to the documentation and online help for the applicable windowing system.
The Save Description command saves the PROM description (PDR) file, without saving the PROM file or the PRM file. The PDR file is saved with its current file name and location.
If you are saving the PROM description file for the first time, the Save As dialog box appears, as shown in the “Save As Dialog Box” figure. This is a standard file selection dialog box.
For a description of the fields in the dialog box, refer to the documentation and online help for the applicable windowing system.
The Save Description As command saves the PROM description (PDR) file (without saving the PROM file) to the file name and directory you specify.
When you select this command the Save As dialog box appears, as shown in the “Save As Dialog Box” figure. This is a standard file selection dialog box. For a description of the fields in the dialog box, refer to the documentation and online help for the applicable windowing system.
This command displays the BIT files in the PROM description area with their full path names.
This command retargets a PROM file to multiple PROM devices. If the PROM file has already been split, the Split PROM command lets you modify the way the split is performed.
The following toolbar button executes the Split PROM command.
The procedure for splitting a PROM is described in the “Splitting a PROM File” section of the “Using the PROM File Formatter” chapter. The Split PROM Wizard dialog boxes are described below.
When you select Split PROM, the dialog box shown in the following figure appears.
Figure 4.8 Split PROM Wizard Dialog Box | |
The options in this dialog box are listed as follows.
When you have selected an option, click Next to continue the Split PROM Wizard.
The Automatic selection option of the Split PROM Wizard selects the minimum number of PROMs required to contain the data. If you selected Automatic in the Split PROM Wizard dialog box, the dialog box shown in the following figure appears.
Figure 4.9 Split PROM Wizard Fields - Automatic | |
The information in this dialog box is read-only; it indicates the devices into which the PROM File Formatter divided the existing PROM File, and the size of each device.
Select Finish to complete the PROM Wizard.
The Custom selection option of the Split PROM Wizard allows you to specify how PROM File Formatter will split the PROM data. If you selected Custom in the Split PROM Wizard dialog box, the dialog box shown in the following figure appears.
Figure 4.10 Split PROM Wizard Fields - Custom | |
The Split PROM File dialog box for custom selection includes the following options:
The files created by the Split PROM Wizard are not saved to disk until you execute a Save command.
This command displays or hides the status bar, located at the bottom of the PROM File Formatter window. The status bar provides command and processing information and information about the PROM properties.
This command displays or hides the toolbar located at the top of the PROM File Formatter window. The toolbar displays several buttons, which you can use to specify commands directly. Use the toolbar as an alternative to the menu commands. See the “Toolbar” section of the “Getting Started” chapter for descriptions.
This command reverses the last action you performed.
The following toolbar button executes the Undo command.
