Using the Interface

This section describes the elements that compose the Design Manager and Flow Engine interfaces and how to use them.

NOTE

Menus, dialog boxes, and parts of the application window are documented as they appear on a UNIX workstation. Differences between the PC and the workstation applications are documented if there is a difference in operation between the two platforms.

Main Window

This section describes the Design Manager and Flow Engine main windows, their menus, toolbar, and status bar. You can execute commands from the menus or toolbar. By default, the window contains a menu bar and toolbar at the top, and the status bar at the bottom of the window. The toolbar and status bar appear by default when you start the application. You can hide them from view by selecting the Toolbar or the Status Bar commands, respectively, from the View menu. In the Design Manager, the toolbox also appears by default. You can hide it from view by selecting the Toolbox command from the View menu.

Design Manager Window

Before working with the Design Manager, you must create a new project. See the “Creating a New Project” section of the “Using the Design Manager” chapter for a description of this procedure. After you create a new project, the Design Manager window appears configured for the loaded design, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 2.1 Design Manager Window

The Design Manager project view displays design version and implementation revision icons. The toolbox allows you to launch Xilinx tools. You can select Design Manager commands from the menus and toolbar.

Flow Engine Window

You can invoke the Flow Engine automatically through the Design Manager implementation process or manually from the Design Manager Tools menu or toolbox. See the “Implementing a Design” section of the “Using the Design Manager” chapter for a description of the different ways to invoke the Flow Engine and implement a design. When you invoke the Flow Engine, the Flow Engine window appears as shown in the following figure.

Figure 2.2 Flow Engine Window

Process indicators in the Flow Engine main window show which stage in the design flow is currently processing. The arrows between each step turn black after the previous step is completed. Below each process indicator, a progress bar shows the status of each processing step, whether running, completed, aborted, or failed. You can control each step in the processing of your design by using the run control buttons at the bottom of the Flow Engine main window. You can select Flow Engine commands from the menus and toolbar.

Title Bar

The title bar displays the program name and the name of the currently loaded design.

Menu Bar

All of the Design Manager commands are available in the pull-down menus of the Design Manager window after a design is loaded. Flow Engine commands are available in the pull-down menus of the Flow Engine window.

You can select all menu commands with the mouse. To select a command, click the chosen command with the left mouse button. In addition, some commands have keyboard shortcuts and accelerators.

All commands and keyboard combinations for specific commands are described in the “Menu Commands” chapter.

Toolbar Buttons

You can access frequently used commands by clicking the appropriate toolbar button with the left mouse button. See the “Toolbars” section of the “Menu Commands” chapter for an explanation of each toolbar button.

The toolbar can be arranged in a variety of ways. The toolbar can either be docked (that is, attached to the main window) or floating (that is, contained in its own window).

You can position the toolbar in these ways.

• To move the toolbar, point to a spot between toolbar buttons (or to the title bar, if the toolbar is floating), then drag and drop the toolbar to the desired location. If you drop the toolbar near an edge of the main window, it will be docked on that edge. If you drag the toolbar away from the window edge, it will float instead of being docked.
  
  
• To toggle between a floating toolbar and a docked toolbar, double-click on a spot between toolbar buttons (or on the title bar, if the toolbar is floating).
  
  
• To prevent the toolbar from being docked, hold down the Ctrl key as you move the toolbar.
  
  

Toolbox Buttons

You can access the available set of Xilinx interactive tools from the Design Manager Tools menu or from the toolbox. To launch a tool from the toolbox, click the appropriate toolbox button with the left mouse button. See the “Toolbox” section of the “Menu Commands” chapter for a detailed explanation of the toolbox.

The toolbox can be arranged in the ways described in the preceding section.

Status Bar

By default, the status bar appears at the bottom of the main window. When you select a menu command, a brief description of the command's function appears in the status bar. As the software processes, status messages are dynamically updated and displayed.

Dialog Boxes

Many menu commands display dialog boxes in which you can enter information and set options. This section describes dialog box common fields.

Common Fields

The following fields are common to many of the Design Manager and Flow Engine dialog boxes.

• OK closes the dialog box and implements the intended action according to the settings in the dialog box.
  
  
• Cancel closes the dialog box without effecting any action.
  
  
• Help displays information on that particular dialog box.
  
  

Using the Mouse

Use the mouse to perform the following operations.

• To select toolbar buttons, menus and menu items, and dialog box options, click the left mouse button on the desired item.
  
  
• To execute a “drag and drop” operation, place the cursor on the object you want to move, press and hold the left mouse button as you move the cursor to the location you wish to move the object, then release the mouse button.
  
  
• To display a popup menu, move the mouse cursor over the appropriate area in the main window and then click the right mouse button. A menu appears, displaying possible operations you can perform. Click the right mouse button on the desired operation.
  
  

Using the Keyboard

Use the keyboard to select objects on your screen, such as a dialog box button or a menu option.

• To choose a menu and display its options, press the Alt key and the appropriate underlined letter key corresponding to the menu you want. For example, press Alt F to select the File menu.
  
  
• Use the arrow keys to scroll down the list of options in a menu or list box. Press Enter when the option you want to use is highlighted or, in the case of a menu item, press the underlined letter corresponding to the menu option you want. For example, press the N key to select the New command of the File menu.
  
  
• Use the Tab key navigate in a dialog box and select a dialog box option. To select an option, position the cursor on that object and highlight it. Press Enter to process the selection.
  
  Press Shift Tab to navigate within a dialog box in reverse direction.
  
  To cancel out of a dialog box without changing anything, press the Esc key.
  
  
• To obtain help, press the F1 function key.