The following section describes the commands and associated dialog boxes that are available in the Floorplanner.
This command opens the About Floorplanner dialog box, which presents copyright and logo information.
This command allows you to use the mouse to make available those resources in the FPGA that were marked prohibited.
You invoke the command, then click or drag the mouse on the resources in the Floorplan window that you want to make available.
[Note: this command is not yet supported.]
This command arranges the minimized Design Hierarchy and Floorplan window icons in the lower left quadrant of the Floorplanner window on the PC.
This command creates an area constraint. When you select a hierarchical group and drag out a box in the Floorplan window, an area constraint is created for that group. The rectangular area constraint created covers all the tiles that are inside the drag box.
This command brings to the front a selected area constraint that is currently behind another area constraint in the Floorplan view.
This command makes a copy of the currently selected logic icon pattern, and saves it as the “reference” pattern. The reference pattern represents the relative placement and spacing of individual pieces of floorplanned logic.
You can impose this reference pattern onto other logic of similar makeup, using the Impose Pattern command or the Impose Pattern toolbar button.
The Floorplanner saves the reference pattern as a list, in the same order that the selected symbols are found in the Design Hierarchy window. When you use this command to capture a pattern, the Floorplan Impose Pattern menu and toolbar buttons become enabled.
This command arranges the open windows diagonally down the screen so they overlap one on top of another. The active window is on top.
This command checks the floorplanned logic for the following design rules:
If there are errors in the floorplanned logic, the Floorplanner opens the Check Floorplan Warnings dialog box shown in the following figure. Consult the error descriptions to pinpoint the logic responsible for each error in both the Design Hierarchy and Floorplan windows.
Figure 5.1 Check Floorplan Warnings Dialog Box |  |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follows.
Warning MessagesLists warnings found while checking the floorplan. You can scroll through this list. Double-clicking on an item causes the Floorplanner to zoom the Floorplan window to the problem area.
FindFinds the warnings when you click the button. The Floorplan and Design Hierarchy windows zoom and pan to the logic causing the current warning. This is the default.
ReCheckReinitiates the placement checks, and updates the warning messages to the results. Use this button to recheck the floorplan as you fix the problems causing the errors and warnings.
This command closes the current design. Close frees up all memory associated with the current (loaded) design.
If you have edited either the floorplan or hierarchy since the last Open or Save command, Close opens a dialog box that asks whether you want to save the changes before closing the design. Click Yes to save the floorplan under the same name as the loaded design. Click No to close the dialog box and the design. All changes made to the design hierarchy and the floorplan are lost. Click Cancel to close the dialog box, allowing you to continue with the current floorplanning session.
This command collapses the selected, expanded hierarchical groups in the Design Hierarchy window so that the sub-hierarchy is no longer visible. Logic icons that represent the lower hierarchical levels appear to the left of the text line for the collapsed logic in the Design Hierarchy window.
This command opens the Colors dialog box shown in the following figure, where you change the color associated with logic or nets. The dialog box shows the current color that is assigned to a particular logic node or net. Use the Color Select region to change from one color to another.
Figure 5.2 Edit Colors Dialog Box | |
A description of the buttons on the dialog box follows.
Current ColorShows the color of the currently selected color button in the box in the upper right corner (above Apply).
Color SelectCauses the Floorplanner to use that color when you click Apply or Define Color. There is one button for each available color.
Auto AssignAutomatically assigns colors to all selected logic nodes. The Floorplanner sequentially assigns colors to hierarchical nodes, and assigns symbols the color of their parent.
Define ColorOpens the Define Color dialog box. Use this dialog box to edit the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) definitions that are associated with the currently chosen Color Select button. You can also define custom colors and assign them to the Color Select buttons.
Default PaletteSets all Color Select buttons to their default colors.
Apply to SymbolsCauses the Floorplanner to apply the color changes to the selected logic symbols or hierarchical groups when you click Apply.
Apply to NetsCauses the Floorplanner to apply the color changes to the selected nets and their ratsnest lines in the Floorplan window when you click Apply.
ApplySets the color of all currently selected logic or nets to the currently chosen Color Select Button, based on the selection status of the Nets and Symbols settings.
This command is a toggle switch that either puts the Floorplan window into the congestion map display mode or restores it to the normal mode of display.
The congestion map mode gives you information about the congestion of each tile in the FPGA. Congestion is defined as the probable routing density for each CLB tile.
To adjust the color display of the congestion graph, open the View 
Options dialog box and select the Congestion panel. This dialog box also shows the maximum and average values of the routing densities through the CLBs that have placed logic.
Use this command to help locate areas with potential routing problems in the design.
This command updates the floorplanned design after PAR is run. It places in the floorplan all selected objects in the Design Hierarchy according to where PAR has placed them in the input NCD file (Placement view). If objects already in the floorplan are in the way, they will be removed.
This command opens the Distribution Options dialog box that allows you to set the interleave factor and the distribution direction.
Figure 5.3 Distribution Options Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follows.
Interleave FactorThe interleave factor changes the spacing that the Floorplanner uses during distribution and allocation when you drop logic icon stacks in the Floorplan window in the distribute mode.
A value of 1 means no separation between adjacent resource allocations. A value of 2 means that every other resource is allocated. The maximum value allowed is 9.
Use this feature to help you place an interleaved bus pattern.
Distribution DirectionThe distribution direction can be up, down, left, right, or single. The single direction allows you to select and drop only one logic icon at a time, allowing you to manually pick the locations one by one.
You can also set the distribution direction using the five direction buttons in the toolbar.
The Floorplanner associates the first logic icon with the resource in the Floorplan window at the current mouse pointer location. The next logic icon, and subsequent logic icons thereafter, are associated with resources located above, below, to the right or left of the current mouse pointer location, depending on the distribution direction.
The Floorplanner distributes the selected logic icon stacks until it either reaches an edge of the FPGA, encounters an obstruction from previously placed logic, or until it uses all the selected logic icons.
If you stop the layout and have not used all of the logic icons in transit (selected logic icons that are to be moved from the Design Hierarchy window to the Floorplanner window), these logic icons remain in transit. You must find another location for the placement of these logic icons.
This command exits the Floorplanner. If you have edited the data in your design since the last Open or Save command, Exit opens a dialog box that asks whether you want to save the changes before terminating the Floorplanner. Click Yes to save the changes you made to the design hierarchy and floorplan in an FNF file before exiting the Floorplanner. Click No to exit the Floorplanner without saving the changes you have made to the design. Click Cancel to close the dialog box, allowing you to continue with the current floorplanning session.
This command expands all currently selected hierarchical groups so that the sub-hierarchical levels and symbols display in the Design Hierarchy window.
Expand fully expands the hierarchical branches to the lowest level. It recursively expands all selected hierarchical groups until the symbols display in the Design Hierarchy window.
This command opens the Find dialog box shown in the following figure. This dialog box allows you to select the criteria that you want the Floorplanner to use when finding logic symbols in the design hierarchy and Floorplan window.
When you click Find, the Floorplanner finds those logic symbols that meet all the criteria that you have defined.
Figure 5.4 Find Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follow.
NameFinds only symbols that have instance names containing a user-entered pattern. You can use the standard wildcards, “*” and “?”.
Match whole word onlyFinds only symbols that have instance names exactly matching a user-entered pattern. You can use the standard wildcards, “*” and “?”.
TypeFinds a particular type of symbol. Valid symbol types are as follows.
The Floorplanner finds Hierarchical Groups if their names match the Name criterion, and if the group contains symbols that match the Connections and From File criteria.
Finds only symbols that have the chosen status. If the symbol Type selected is Nets, the following status choices are available.
For all other symbol Types, the following status choices are available.
Finds only symbols that are connected to currently selected symbols or nets. If the symbol Type selected is Nets, the following connections are available.
For all other symbol Types, the following connections are available.
Finds only symbols that have instance names matching names in a designated text file. You can type the file name or click Browse to bring up the standard File Open dialog box from which you can select a file.
ClearClears all search criteria controls.
FindSearches for the logic symbols that meet the selection criteria you have chosen and marks those symbols or hierarchical groups as found. It automatically scrolls the Design Hierarchy window to the first item found.
NxtDisplays the next found item.
PrvDisplays the previously found item.
Select FoundSelects all found items.
Auto GotoWhen selected, moves the Floorplan display so that the found item is in the center of the window.
Auto SelectWhen selected, causes Nxt and Prv to make the current found element the selected element.
Number of Symbols Found messageDisplays a message at the bottom of the dialog box that states the number of symbols that met the search criteria.
This command flattens the selected portions of the design by removing hierarchical names from the lower-level logic, moving all associated symbols up the hierarchy so that their parent is the highest level selected marco.
This command flips the selected floorplanned logic symbols so that symbols on the left move to the right, and the symbols on the right move to the left.
If you use this command on selected floorplanned logic that is not in transit, that logic is flipped in place.
Flipping symbols in the Floorplan window does not affect the design hierarchy.
This command flips the selected floorplanned logic symbols so that the symbols at the top move to the bottom, and the symbols at the bottom move to the top. If you use this command on selected floorplanned logic that is not in transit, that logic is flipped in place.
Flipping symbols in the Floorplan window does not affect the design hierarchy.
This command gives the Floorplan window the keyboard focus. If the windows are cascaded, it puts the Floorplan window at the front of the screen.
This command selects the first or next element in the Design Hierarchy window that meets the criteria of the most recent find operation. If necessary, it scrolls the window to bring the selected element into view.
This command selects the previous element in the Design Hierarchy window that meets the criteria of the most recent find operation. If necessary, it scrolls the window to bring the selected element into view.
This command creates a new hierarchical group in the design. The Floorplanner places the new group into the hierarchical display in the Design Hierarchy window and moves all the selected symbols and logic into that new group.
The Floorplanner assigns an arbitrary name to the new group, GRPn. Successive new user-created groups are named GRPn+1. You may rename any new group with a more meaningful name using the Edit Properties command.
Use this command when you want to work with tightly coupled logic as a unit. For example, you might have a group of flip-flops that drive a group of tristate buffers. It might make more sense to work with a single group composed of flip-flops and tristate buffers than it does to work with a group of flip-flops and a group of tristate buffers.
Following are some other examples for user-created groups.
This command opens the Group By dialog box. This dialog box allows you to create new hierarchical groups based on the direct connectivity between function generators, flip-flops, BUFTs, and CLBs. You can also create new groups based on tristate buffers with common enable or output signals.
Use this command when you want to work with tightly coupled logic as a unit.
For example, you can use the Tristate buffer with Common enable inputs option to build a group that represents a column of BUFTs.
Next, you can use the Function generators or RAM to Tristate buffers option to create a set of groups that contain those pairs, within the first grouping.
Then, you can use the Function generators or RAM to Flip-flops option to create groups of those pairs.
The final result would be groups of function generators and flip-flop pairs that are grouped with BUFTs, all of which are grouped into the original BUFT column.
The following figure shows the Group By dialog box.
Figure 5.5 Group By Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follows.
When you select more than one group, the Floorplanner creates the groups in the order they appear on the dialog box.
Tristate buffer with Common enable inputsCreates groups of tristate buffers that have the same net connected to their output enable pin. The new group is placed nearest to the common parent for all tristate buffers in the group.
The new grouping corresponds to columns of BUFTs in the FPGA architecture. This function is mutually exclusive with the Tristate buffer with Common outputs group.
Tristate buffer with Common outputsCreates groups of tristate buffers that all have the same net connected to their output pins. The Floorplanner places the new group in the hierarchy so that the parent hierarchical node is the nearest common parent for all tristate buffers in the group.
The new grouping corresponds to rows of BUFTs in the FPGA architecture. This function is mutually exclusive with the Tristate buffer with Common enable inputs group.
Flip-flops to Tristate buffersCreates groups of flip-flop to tristate buffer pairs. The flip-flop drives the primary input of the tristate buffer. The Floorplanner places the new groups in the hierarchy so that the parent hierarchical nodes are nearest the original tristate buffer parent hierarchical node.
Function generators or RAM to Flip-flopsCreates groups of function generator and flip-flop or, RAM and flip-flop pairs, in which the function generator or RAM drives the D input of the flip-flop. The Floorplanner places the new groups in the hierarchy so that their parent hierarchical nodes are nearest the original flip-flop parent hierarchical node.
Function generators to H-Function generatorsCreates groups of function generator pairs or triplets in which the function generator is an H-type function generator and the other function generators have their outputs directly and exclusively connected to the H-type function generator inputs. The Floorplanner places the new groups in the hierarchy so that their parent hierarchical nodes are nearest the original H function generator parent hierarchical node.
Function generators or RAM to Tristate buffersCreates groups of function generator (RAM) and tristate buffer pairs in which the function generator drives the primary input of the tristate buffer. The Floorplanner places the new groups in the hierarchy so that their parent hierarchical nodes are nearest the original tristate buffer parent hierarchical node.
I/O pads to Tristate buffersCreates groups of IOB-to-Tristate buffer pairs in which the IOB drives the primary input of the tristate buffer. The Floorplanner places the new groups in the hierarchy so that their parent hierarchical nodes are nearest the original tristate buffer parent hierarchical node.
This command opens the online help facility for the Floorplanner and initially displays the contents page of the online help.
The contents page is the first page of the online help and lists the available subjects. From this page you can access the online help topics, including command descriptions and procedures, look up glossary terms, search on keywords, and use bookmarks.
[Note: this command is not yet supported.]
This command gives the Design Hierarchy window the keyboard focus. If the windows are cascaded, it puts the Design Hierarchy window at the front of the screen.
This command imposes a relative placement upon the logic currently in transit or selected, that corresponds to the reference pattern, saved with the Capture Pattern command. You can also use this command on logic that is already placed in the Floorplan window.
The Floorplanner imposes the reference pattern upon the transitory logic by matching symbol for symbol in the order they are found in the Design Hierarchy window.
This command is disabled until you use either the Capture Pattern command or Capture Pattern toolbar button to make a pattern.
This command allows you to use the mouse to designate a location within the hierarchy tree to where the Floorplanner moves all selected hierarchical groups and symbols.
When you select this command, the mouse pointer appears as a thick horizontal line that lies between lines of text in the Design Hierarchy window. This “node move” cursor indicates that the mouse is in the mode of designating the location.
You complete the move of the selected logic to the desired location (indicated by the cursor) by clicking the mouse button. You can cancel the move with the ESC key.
Use this command to reorganize symbols for placement into the Floorplan window using the distribute mode.
This command gives the Design Nets window the keyboard focus. If the windows are cascaded, it puts the Design Nets window at the front of the screen.
This command opens the dialog box shown in the following figure.
Figure 5.6 New Design Dialog Box | |
Choose from a list of NCD files that you want to load into the Floorplanner and click Open. The New Floorplan dialog box, shown in the following figure, opens.
Figure 5.7 New Floorplan Dialog Box | |
Enter the path for a Design Source (NGD) file. Use the Browse button to search different directories.
If a previous Floorplan File (FNF) exists, enter its path in the dialog box. This field may be left blank.
Click OK to load the design. The Floorplanner reads the selected files and opens a Design Hierarchy window and a Floorplan window for that design.
A description of the fields and buttons in the “New Design Dialog Box” figure follows.
Look inLists both the directories accessible from the current directory and the files whose extension matches the one specified in the Files of type box. You can change the current directory by double-clicking in this list.
File nameDisplays the file that is currently selected in the list of files that match the selected file type. You can also edit the name of the file you want to open.
Files of typeDisplays the file extension for which you want to search the current directory.
Open as read-onlyOpen the selected design file in read-only mode.
This command creates a new instance of the currently selected window. Any changes you make in the new window are reflected in the original one.
This command opens the dialog box shown in the following figure. Choose from a list of FNF files that you want to load into the Floorplanner.
The Floorplanner reads the selected FNF file and opens a Design Hierarchy window and a Floorplan window for that design, based on the device and package file specified in the design. The Floorplanner also reads any constraints (NCD) files of the same name, if they are present in the directory of the selected FNF file.
Figure 5.8 Open Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follows.
Look inLists both the directories accessible from the current directory and the files whose extension matches the one specified in the Files of type box. You can change the current directory by double-clicking in this list.
File nameDisplays the file that is currently selected in the list of files that match the selected file type. You can also edit the name of the file you want to open.
Files of typeDisplays the file extension for which you want to search the current directory.
Open as read-onlyOpen the selected design file in read-only mode.
The Options dialog box allows you to control the appearance of the Floorplan and Placement views. The dialog box contains four panels that determine the following.
This panel controls what unoccupied resources are displayed on the FPGA in the Floorplanner and Placement windows.
Figure 5.9 Resources Dialog Box | |
A description of the buttons on the dialog box follows.
Function generators and RAM (default off)Controls the display of the function generator, RAM, and carry logic resource graphics in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Flip flops and Latches (default off)Controls the display of D flip-flop resource graphics in the Floorplan and Placement windows. It does not display flip-flops that are associated with IOBs.
Tristate buffers (default off)Controls the display of tristate buffer resource graphics in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
I/O pads and Global buffers (default on)Controls the display of IOB and global buffer resource graphics in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Grid (default on)Controls the display of the grid, column and row labels, and I/O pin labels in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
This panel controls what occupied resources are displayed on the FPGA in the Floorplanner and Placement windows.
Figure 5.10 Logic Dialog Box | |
A description of the buttons on the dialog box follows.
Function generators and RAM (default on)Controls the display of placed function generator, RAM/ROM, and carry-logic logic symbols and logic icons in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Flip flops and Latches (default on)Controls the display of placed D flip-flop placed logic symbols and logic icons in the Floorplan and Placement windows. It does not display flip-flops that are associated with IOBs.
Tristate buffers (default on)Controls the display of placed tristate buffer logic symbols and logic icons in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
I/O pads and Global buffers (default on)Controls the display of placed IOB and global buffer logic symbols and logic icons in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Labels (default off)Controls the display of text labels associated with logic icons in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Flash selected (default on)Controls whether selected symbols in the design flash or not in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Icon stacks (default on)Controls the stacking of symbols in the Hierarchy window.
This panel controls which nets are present in the ratsnest display and how the Floorplanner and Placement windows present those nets.
You can disable nets using Selected Nets: Disable. The Floorplanner excludes disabled nets from automatically displaying when you click Disable. By default, all nets driven from global buffers are disabled.
Figure 5.11 Ratsnest Dialog Box | |
A description of the buttons on the dialog box follows.
Display nets connected to selected logic (default on)Controls whether only the nets connected to the selected logic are displayed or all nets are displayed in the Floorplan and Placement windows are displayed.
Direction Arrows (default on)Controls the display of direction arrowheads at the load pins of lines in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Rubberbands (default on)Controls the display of stretching the lines that represent nets when moving icons or patterns in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Orthogonal Routing (default off)When selected, nets are drawn following only horizontal and vertical paths in the Floorplan and Placement windows. When not selected, nets are drawn as straight lines between the source and load pins.
ModeSelect one of the following modes.
Controls whether all nets are listed in the Design Nets window or just the ones visible in Floorplan and Placement windows.
Selected NetsSelect one of the following modes.
This panel controls the value of the colors assigned to the congestion map in the Floorplan and Placement windows.
Figure 5.12 Congestion Dialog Box | |
A description of the buttons on the dialog box follows.
RangeThis slide bar changes the congestion values assigned to each color.
AutoThis button automatically adjusts the values assigned to each color so that only one spot (the highest congestion value) is red.
KeyThis is a read-only field that shows the values currently assigned to each color.
OrientationSelect one of the following modes.
Display all nets that contribute to the spots shown in red.
StatisticsA read-only field that displays statistics associated with the nets.
This command gives the Placement window the keyboard focus. If the windows are cascaded, it puts the Placement window at the front of the screen.
This command allows you to print an image of the floorplanned logic currently displayed in the Floorplan window. The command opens a standard Print dialog box, shown in the following figure. You can set various properties associated with printing, such as the name of the printer, number of copies, paper size, and so forth.
Figure 5.13 Print Dialog Box | |
This command displays a window that shows what the printed page will look like. You can click Print to print the page or Close to close the preview window and return to the Floorplanner window. You can also change the size of the displayed page by clicking Zoom In and Zoom Out.
This command opens a standard Print Setup dialog box, shown in the following figure. You can set the print properties, such as the name of the printer, the size of the paper, and the orientation of the page.
Figure 5.14 Print Setup Dialog Box | |
This command allows you to lock specified resources on the die by preventing PAR from being able to place logic at those locations.
Invoke the command, then click or drag the mouse on the resources in the Floorplan window that you want to designate as prohibited.
When the constraints file is generated, the Floorplanner creates a prohibit instance record for each resource that must be reserved. The block record instructs PAR not to place logic at those locations.
You cannot prohibit global buffers because you cannot specify this type of limitation in the constraints file without prohibiting the use of some IOBs. You also cannot prohibit carry logic.
[Note: this command is not yet supported.]
This command opens the Properties dialog box. It displays various properties associated with the selected hierarchical group. You can use this command to rename the group.
This command pushes the selected area constraint behind an area constraint it currently overlaps in the Floorplan view.
This command constructs a hierarchy tree using the symbol instance names in the design. It also builds subtrees for these symbols that are associated with selected nodes. The Floorplanner derives the new hierarchical groups from the symbol instance names.
This command is enabled only when there is logic that is selected.
This command clears and redraws all open windows associated with the Floorplanner.
Use this command whenever you need to clean up the display.
This command removes all selected logic from the Floorplan window and returns them to the Design Hierarchy window.
Use this command to remove selected symbols from the floorplan.
This command removes all logic icons in the design from the Floorplan window and returns them to the design hierarchy in the Design Hierarchy window.
Use this command to remove all the symbols from the floorplan, and create an empty resource map.
This command removes the selected group from the design hierarchy. This command is enabled only when you have one or more groups selected from the Design Hierarchy window.
When the Floorplanner ungroups a hierarchical group, it does not ungroup the associated lower-level logic, even though it is selected.
This command is used to update the floorplanned design after PAR is run. It places in the floorplan all objects in the Design Hierarchy (whether selected or not) according to where PAR has placed them. If objects already in the floorplan are in the way, they will be removed.
This command saves the current design as an FNF file with the name of the current design. This file contains information about the design including, hierarchy organization, symbol and node to resource association, net and logic color assignments.
You can use this file later to restore this information to the design.
Save also creates a constraints file for the floorplan, which you can use when running PAR.
This command opens the dialog box shown in the following figure. Use this command to create a floorplan file of the current design under a different file name. You can also use this command to change directories and save the new design file name in a directory other than the current directory.
The name of the design currently loaded in the Floorplanner changes to the new name.
Figure 5.15 Save As Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on this dialog box follows.
Save inLists both the directories accessible from the current directory and the files whose extension matches the one specified in the Files of type box. You can change the current directory by double-clicking in this list.
File nameDisplays the file that is currently selected in the list of files that match the selected file type. You can also edit the name of the file you want to save.
Save as typeDisplays the file extension for which you want to search the current directory. You can select the file extension from a list of available file extensions.
This command allows you to select logic symbols whose inputs connect to selected logic outputs. You can only use Select Loads when there is logic that is selected.
Use this command to determine data flow.
This command allows you to select logic symbols whose outputs connect to selected logic inputs. You can only use Select Sources when there is logic that is selected.
Use this command to determine data flow.
This command opens the Sort dialog box shown in the following figure. Use this command to change the order in which Floorplanner displays the hierarchical groups and symbols in the Design Hierarchy window.
The ordering of symbols is important for distributed floorplanning because the symbols are distributed in the order in which they are listed in the hierarchy window.
Figure 5.16 Sort Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follows.
Sort in ascending orderRearranges the currently selected logic in the hierarchical lists so that the first (top most) node or net name has the lowest ASCII value (closest to `a' or `0'). For a bus, this results in the least significant bit at the top, such as databus0.
Sort in descending order (default)Rearranges the currently selected hierarchical groups in the hierarchical lists so that the first (top most) node or net name has the highest ASCII value (closest to `Z'). For a bus, this results in the most significant bit at the top, such as databus31 for a 32-bit bus.
Sort by symbol nameRearranges currently selected hierarchical groups in the hierarchical lists based on the symbol instance names.
Sort by output net names (default)Rearranges the currently selected hierarchical groups in the hierarchical lists based on the symbol instance (pad) names for IOBs, input net names for tristate buffers, and output net names for all other logic.
Sort Selected Logic (default)Sort only the selected logic in the Design Hierarchy window.
Sort All LogicSort all logic in the Design Hierarchy window.
Sort All NetsSort the nets in the Design Nets window.
This command enables you to split the window into four views. Invoking the command creates a crosshair in the currently selected window. Move the center of the crosshair to the desired location and click the left mouse button. The window will split into four views.
To change to two views or go back to one view, move the cursor on one of the division lines, hold the left mouse button down, and move the line off the side of the window.
This command toggles the presence of the status bar at the bottom of the window. The status bar displays informative messages relating to the toolbar buttons and the Floorplanner.
This command arranges the open windows so that the Floorplanner and Placement windows are side by side. The active window is selected.
This command arranges the open windows side by side with the Floorplanner and Placement windows overlapping one another. The active window is on top.
This command (available when the Floorplan window is in focus) toggles the presence of the toolbar just below the menus. (On the workstation version, the toolbar appears under the menus on the Floorplan window). The toolbar contains buttons for easy access to many commands. The following figure shows the toolbar.
Figure 5.17 Floorplanner Toolbar | |
See the “Toolbar” section for a detailed description of each of the toolbar buttons.
This command undoes the most recent command or floorplanning operation. Undo only affects commands that actually change the hierarchy tree or the way that resources are allocated to symbols. You can also use this command to undo any changes made using the mouse to move logic, such as the following.
| Undo | Distribute (in place) |
| Group | Flip Vertical |
| Group By | Flip Horizontal |
| Remove Groups | Impose Pattern |
| Move | Prohibit |
| Sort | Allow |
| Flatten Groups | Remove |
| Rebuild | Remove All |
This command deselects all logic and nets in the design. The design logic and nets must be selected before you can perform any hierarchical or floorplan operations on them.
This command opens the Update dialog box shown in the following figure. Use this command after you have saved a Floorplanner design and run PAR or the source logic. The Update command reloads the new NCD file, NGD file, or both, and incorporates them into the design.
Figure 5.18 Update Dialog Box | |
A description of the fields and buttons on the dialog box follows.
Design Source (NGD)Loads the new NGD file into the design. Use the browse box at the right to locate a file in a different directory.
Place, or Routed (NCD)Loads the new NCD file into the design. Use the browse box at the right to locate a file in a different directory. If the NCD is placed, the placement is shown in the Placement window.
There are five functions available from the Zoom command. Use these functions to adjust the display of the Floorplan window.
This command sets the scale and the pan position so that the entire FPGA map fits in the window. It also sets automatic resizing, where resizing of the window automatically rescales the view.
This command changes the scale so that objects appear larger. It also clears automatic resizing.
This command changes the scale so that objects appear smaller. It also clears automatic resizing.
This command allows you to use the mouse to drag out an area, then automatically sets the scale and the pan position so that the area is visible. It also clears automatic resizing.
After dragging out a single area, the mouse reverts to the normal Select mode.
This command sets the scale and the pan position so that all selected logic is visible. It also clears automatic resizing.
