Utilities

Foundation contains multiple utilities to help you manage and organize your project.

Library Manager

The Library Manager allows you to perform a variety of operations on the design entry tools libraries and their contents, such as copying macros from one project to another. These libraries contain the primitives and macros that you use to build your design.

The Foundation design entry tools contain two types of libraries: system libraries and user libraries.

• System libraries, which are supplied with the Foundation design entry tools, contain sets of components for each device family as well as for simulation. System library contents cannot be modified. The Foundation system libraries include: simprims, xabelsim, xc3000, xc4000e, xc4000x, xc5200, xc9500, spartan, spartanxl, and virtex.
  
  
• User libraries contain user-defined components. Each project has at least one user library known as the project working library. The project working library is named the same as the project and is located in the LIB subdirectory of the project directory. The Library Manager automatically places any user-created macro in the current project's working library.
  
  

You can access the Library Manager from the Project Manager by selecting Tools Utilities Schematic Symbol Library Manager. Refer to the online help accessed from the Library Manager window for details on how to use the Library Manager. Or, select Help Foundation Help Contents Advanced Tools Symbol Library Manager.

Command History

Command History (Tools Utilities Command History) sequentially lists the processes that have been performed for the selected revision. You can select from two different modes: 1) Process, which displays the name of the process only, and 2) Command Line, which displays the full command line of each process. An option to display the date and time for each command is also available.

Project Notes

Project Notes (Tools Utilities Project Notes) opens a standard text editor of your choice in which you can make notes for the current project. Specify the text editor in the Configuration dialog (File Preferences Configuration).

Implementation Template Manager

The Implementation Template Manager can create or modify three types of templates for a selected device: implementation, simulation, and configuration. Implementation templates control how an FPGA design is mapped, optimized, placed, and routed and how a CPLD design is fitted. Simulation templates control the creation of netlists for front- and back-end simulation. Configuration templates control the configuration startup, readback, and parameters for the device.

To access the Template Manager window, select Tools Utilities Implementation Template Manager from the Project Manager. For details on how to use the Implementation Templates refer to the online help available from the Template Manager window.