Virtuoso Layout Editor User Guide, Product Version 5.0

14

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Plotting Your Design

This chapter contains these topics:

• Using the Submit Plot Form

• Using the Display Options Form

• Using the Plot Options Form

• Using a Plot Template File

• Using the Queue Status Form

• Required Files for Plotting

Using the Submit Plot Form

The Submit Plot form plots a part of or an entire cellview.

About the Submit Plot Form

To open the Submit Plot form,

Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

Plot sets how much of the cellview to plot.

Cellview plots the entire cellview.

Viewing Area plots the area shown in your window.

Library Name, Cell Name, and View Name set the library, cell, and view names of the cellview you want to plot.

Browse lets you select the library, cell, and view names by clicking on them in the browser.

Area to Plot lets you set what area to plot.

Full Size plots the entire cellview, and the cellview bounding box coordinates are displayed.

Select lets you select an area to plot.

Plot With specifies what to include in the output.

Header prints a separate header page listing

Your name
Today's date
The total plot size
The magnification used
Number of pages printed
The library, cell, and view names and the version number of the cellview

Notes lets you type notes that appear as part of the plot header.

Template File specifies the name of the ASCII form template file.

Load updates the Submit Plot form with the settings from the file.

Save saves the current form settings to the file.

Plotter Name, Paper Size, Total Pages, Copies, and Plot to File display the setting specified in the Plot Options form. To change any of these fields, click on Plot Options.

Plot Options opens the Plot Options form, to let you specify the plotter, page size, and plot job settings.

Display Options opens the plotter Display Options form, to let you control the appearance of the objects you plot.

Plotting a Cellview

To plot all data in a cellview,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. Set Plot to Cellview.

   

3. Click Plot Options.

   The Plot Options form appears.

4. Set the plotter, paper, and plot job settings to your specifications.

5. Click OK in the Submit Plot form.

   The entire design in this cellview is plotted to the printer you chose.

Plotting the Window Contents

To plot the portion of the cellview shown in the cellview window,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. Set Plot to Viewing Area.

   

3. Click Plot Options.

   The Plot Options form appears.

4. Set the fields to your specifications.

5. Click OK in the Submit Plot form.

   The portion of the cellview that you can see in the window is plotted to the printer you chose.

Plotting a Selected Area of a Cellview

To plot a selected area of the cellview,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. Set Plot to Cellview.

   

3. Choose the Select button.

   

You are prompted to select the area you want to plot.

4. Click to create a box around the area you want to plot.

5. Click Plot Options.

   The Plot Options form appears.

6. Set the fields to your specifications.

7. Click OK in the Submit Plot form.

   The area you chose is plotted.

Plotting Hierarchy

To control whether a plot shows details about cell instances or arrays,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. Click Display Options.

   The Display Options form appears.

3. Set the options you want.

4. Click OK.

5. Click OK in the Submit Plot form.

   The cellview is plotted using the display options you set.

Enlarging or Reducing the Plot Size

To control the plot size by setting a scale factor or specifying the plot height or width,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. Click Plot Options.

   The Plot Options form appears.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To scale the plot by any factor, type the factor into the Scale field.

   • To set the dimensions of the plot, type the value into the Plot Size fields and choose the measurement from the cyclic field.

   The other fields are automatically updated to reflect the value you typed. For example, if you type in a scale factor, you can see the resulting X and Y plot size in the Plot Size and Total Plot Size fields.

4. Click OK in the Plot Options form.

5. Click OK in the Submit Plot form.

   The design is plotted at the scale or size you chose.

Plotting at a Later Time

If you have a large design or the plotter is currently in use, you might want to plot your cellview at a later time.

To schedule your plot for a later time,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. Click Plot Options.

   The Plot Options form appears.

3. Do one of the following:

   • Choose a time in the Queue Plot Data At cyclic fields.

   • To save the plot to a file formatted for your chosen plotter, type a filename in the Send Plot Only To File field.

4. Click OK in the Plot Options form.

5. Click OK in the Submit Plot form.

   If you set a specific plot time, your job is automatically sent to the printer or plotter at that time.

If you saved a plot data file formatted for your plotter, you can later use the appropriate UNIX command to plot the file. For example, if you can plot files using the lpr command, you can type

lpr -Pyour_plotter plot_filename

where your_plotter is the name of the plotter defined in your /etc/printers.conf file and plot_filename is the name you typed in the Plot Options form.

Using the Display Options Form

The Display Options form for the plotter sets plot controls but does not affect the current display of the cellview. To open the Display Options form for the plotter, click Display Options in the Submit Plot form.

About the Display Options Form

Array Icons shows only outlines of the instances in arrays, when Array Border is set to show only instance outlines.

Axes includes the cellview axes in the plot.

Path Center Line sets how you want paths to appear in the plot.

yes plots the path center line.

no does not plot the path center line.

only plots only the path center line.

Show Name Of when Display Levels is set to show only instance outlines, sets whether the instance name (for example, I1) or the master cell name appears on each instance.

Array Border sets which instances in the array you want plotted.

Full plots all instances in the array.

Border plots only the instances around the outside edge of the array.

Source plots only the instance in the lower left corner of the array.

Display Levels sets the first (From) and last (To) levels in the design hierarchy that are plotted in detail. The hierarchy levels are numbered 0 to 32. The current cellview is level 0, instances inside of it are level 1, and so forth.

Grid Controls controls whether you plot the cellview grid and how it appears.

Type sets whether you want no grid, dots, or lines plotted.

None does not plot the grid.

Dots plots a dot for each grid point.

Lines plots a grid of lines.

Minor Spacing and Major Spacing control the spacing, in user units (typically microns), between the dots or lines of the grid.

Using the Plot Options Form

The Plot Options form controls the plotter, paper, and plot job setting.

About the Plot Options Form

To open the Plot Options form,

Click Plot Options in the Submit Plot form.

Display Type lists all the plotter types defined in your technology file. The default, display, plots the same stipple patterns, colors, and line styles used to display the cellview on your monitor screen.

Plotter Name sets the type of plotter as defined in your Cadence^® plotter support file. This field includes all plotters from your .cdsplotinit file.

Paper Size sets the paper size. This field includes all paper sizes supported by the selected plotter.

Orientation sets what edge of the paper to use as the top.

Portrait plots the cellview as it appears in the window.

Landscape rotates the plot 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Automatic plots whichever way fits best.

Scale scales the plot by the entered factor. Entering a scale updates the Plot Size and Total Plot Size fields.

Center Plot automatically adjusts the offset, centering the plot on the plotted page. If the plot spans multiple pages, the plot is centered across all pages.

Fit to Page scales the plot to fit on one page. The Scale and Plot Size fields are updated to reflect the scaled plot.

Plot Size is the width and height of the cellview or viewing area after it is plotted. You can specify what size you want the image to be.

The cyclic field to the right of the Plot Size fields specifies the display units for all the fields on the Plot Options form.

Offset specifies the X and Y origin of the cellview or viewing area on the plotted page. If the plot spans more than one page, the offset is from the bottom left corner.

Total Plot Size is the sum of the plot size and the offset. You cannot edit this field.

Image Position assists in setting desired plot options. It is a graphical representation displayed in the form using orientation, scale, fit, plot size, and offset chosen in the plot options form and shown on an outline of the selected paper size.

Total Pages displays the number of pages that will be printed. You cannot edit this field.

Number Of Copies indicates the number of copies that will print.

Local Tmp Directory is the temporary directory used by the Plot command.

Queue Plot Data At sets the time and day to run the plot job.

Send Plot Only To File saves the plot to the specified file formatted for your chosen plotter. You can then use the appropriate UNIX commands for your plotter to plot this file.

Mail Log To sends e-mail to the specified address when the plot finishes.

Using a Plot Template File

If you want to use the same plot options for other cellviews, you can store the options in a plot template file. The plot template file stores plot options in property list format. You can use a template file to plot cellviews in batch mode.

Creating a Plot Template File

To create a template file,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. In the Template File field, type the path to the directory in which you want to store the file.

3. Complete the rest of the form to indicate all settings you want to save for the plotting.

4. Click Save.

5. Click OK.

Loading a Plot Template File

When you load a template file, the system imports plot setup information that you have previously saved.

To load a template file,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Submit.

   The Submit Plot form appears.

2. In the Template File field, type the path to the directory in which you want to store the file.

3. Click Load.

4. Click OK.

Creating a Default Plot Template File

To create a default plot template file,

Add the following line to your .cdsinit file:

lePlotTemplate = "/usr/myPath/myTemplate"

The system loads the default plot template file when you use the Design - Plot - Submit command for the first time. Once you change the path in your .cdsinit file, use the Load button to load other template files.

Using the Queue Status Form

You can monitor your plot with the Queue Status form. This form lets you view a list of and cancel any plotting jobs waiting at a selected plotter or printer.

About the Queue Status Form

To open the Queue Status form,

Choose Design - Plot - Queue Status.

Select Plotter lists the available plotters as defined in your .cdsplotinit file.

Cancel Selected Plot Jobs removes the selected plot jobs from the plot queue.

Selected Jobs lets you type the number of each print job you want to select.

Job list lists print and plot jobs waiting to be printed. You can select any job by clicking on that job.

Using the Queue Status Form

To view or cancel any of the print jobs you sent to a plotter,

1. Choose Design - Plot - Queue Status.

   The Queue Status form appears.

2. Choose a plotter from the Select Plotter cyclic field.

3. Do either of the following:

   • Type the number of the job you want under Selected Jobs field.

   • Click on a job number in the list of queried jobs.

4. Click Cancel Selected Plot Jobs to cancel a job.

5. Click OK.

Required Files for Plotting

Before you can plot, your system must contain certain files and directories, depending on the type of UNIX operating system you use.

For complete information on how to load the plotting utility and how to set up your system to plot, see the Cadence Plotter Configuration User Guide.

Plot Support File

The Cadence software uses the .cdsplotinit file to identify each printer or plotter on your network.

The .cdsplotinit file includes printer and plotter names for your system, along with information such as the UNIX commands used to manage plotting, the maximum pages to send, the print resolution (dots per inch), a map of pen numbers to colors (for plotters), and the available paper sizes.

You can store the .cdsplotinit file in any or all of the following directories. The Cadence software looks for plotter definitions in each of these files, in the following order:

your_install_dir/tools/plot/.cdsplotinit	Cadence Design Framework II directory
./.cdsplotinit	Your working directory
~/.cdsplotinit	Your home directory

If the same plotter is defined in more than one .cdsplotinit file, the software uses the last definition it finds for that plotter.

To see an annotated sample of the .cdsplotinit file, type the following in your top Design Framework II directory:

more tools/plot/samples/cdsplotinit.sample

Plotter Names in the Submit Plot Form

The .cdsplotinit file controls the following information in the Submit Plot form:

• Names of printers and plotters

• Paper sizes defined for those printers and plotters

For example, the following portion of a .cdsplotinit file lists entries for an Imagen PostScript printer. The underlined information in the example appears in the Plot form.

For support, see http://www.cadence.com/support or try Cadence's SourceLink service.

Copyright © 2003, Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
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