The Project Manager controls all aspects of the design flow. Through the Project Manager, you can access all of the various design entry and design implementation tools. You can also access the files and documents associated with your project. The Project Manager maintains revision control over multiple design iterations.
The Project Manager is divided into three main subwindows. To the left is the Design Hierarchy Browser which displays the elements included in the project. To the right is a set of tabs, each one brings up a separate functional window. The third window at the bottom of the Project Manager is the Message Console and shows status messages, errors, and warnings and is updated during all project actions. These windows are discussed in more detail in the following sections.
Figure 5.2 Project Manager |  |
In the Files tab of the Hierarchy Browser, design source files and libraries are displayed. Next to each filename is an icon which tells you the file type (HDL file, state machine, schematic, library, text file, for example). If a file contains lower levels of hierarchy, the icon has a + to the left of the name. HDL files have this + to show the entities (VHDL) or modules (Verilog) within the file. You can expand the tree by clicking this icon. You can open a file to edit by double clicking the filename in the browser.
A Versions tab is also available behind the Files tab. Since this is a new design which has not yet been implemented, the Versions tab is empty. This tab is discussed in more detail later in the tutorial during design implementation.
As mentioned previously, the right-hand side of the Project Manager contains a series of functional tabs. The functions of these tabs follows:
You have the option to browse through these tabs at this time, and at any time during the tutorial to see how the tabs are updated during the design flow process.
Errors, warnings, and informational messages are displayed in the Message Window. Errors are displayed in red, warnings in blue, and informational messages in black.
Information about synthesis results are displayed under the HDL Errors, HDL Warnings, and HDL Messages tabs. Because the HDL messages, errors and warnings are associated with a specific file or version, you must select a synthesis version (functional structure or optimized structure) or a specific file in the Files or Version tab to see messages.
