Hints, Tips and Solutions - October 2004
Q. Every time I create a new project or library, an empty cell with the same name is created in my project. What do I need to setup to avoid the creation of this empty cell?
A. Under the Setup>>Editor Viewer…>Editing please uncheck the box “Create new projects with default new cell” (see Figure 1). The project/library will then open without creating any default cell, the user will have to choose Cell>New to create its first cell.
An alternative to this extra step is to simply rename the default cell created to the desired name by choosing Cell>>Rename with the default cell active.
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Figure 1. Creation of new projects with default cell
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Q. When I open my *.eld project I always have to specify the technology file to use. Having a multiple user environment, I want to ensure that the project will never be open with the wrong technology file. How can I guarantee the use of the proper technology file?
A. Your default setup for the option “Use external Technology file for *.eld project” was probably changed inadvertently. Under Setup>>Technology…>General… (see Figure 2) please uncheck the box “Use external Technology file for *.eld project”. The default setup for this option is “uncheck”. An *.eld project contains all the technology information required. The specification of a technology file when opening an *.eld project is done only in specific cases. In order to guarantee the use of the proper technology file for a given *.eld project, you need to keep this option “uncheck” at all time.
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Figure 2. Use external technology file for *.eld project
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Q. How can I improve the redrawing speed of the layout in Expert without changing any hardware on my machine?
A. Many setup options are available in order to improve the redrawing speed.
- In Expert, under the tab “Setup>>Editor
Viewer...>> Viewing” you can change the “Hide objects smaller
than X pixels” to a larger number. It is set to 4 by default.
- In Expert, under the tab “Setup>>Editor
Viewer...>> Viewing” you can check the “Data reduction”
and trade Accuracy for Speed.
- In Expert, under the tab “Setup>>Technology>>Layer
Wire Setup...” press the button “Stipples…” located
in the bottom of the window. This will give you the choice of 3 sources for
your stipple; Bitmaps, System and X-Stipples. We recommend using stipples
from the System or the X-Stipples list, as the application will achieve maximum
redrawing speed with these selections. If the desired stipples is not available
in these lists and you elect to create your own through the Bitmaps option,
we recommend using an 8X8 size when possible. Using any larger dimension will
increase the required time for redrawing.
- As a general rule only the meaningful layers should be visible, all other layers should be set non-visible (NV).
Remember that the redrawing process can be stop at any
time by simply pressing “ESC”.