Loading Plug-In Applications

The Plugins menu contains all the applications that are available from the Hierarchy Editor. To use any application listed in the menu, you must first load it. The Hierarchy Editor does not load the plug-ins by default.

When you load a plug-in application, it appears in the Hierarchy Editor, typically as a menu on the menu bar or an icon on the tool bar. You can load a plug-in either from the command line when you start the Hierarchy Editor or from the Hierarchy Editor user interface.

Only those Cadence applications that are predefined as Hierarchy Editor plug-ins are displayed in the Plugins menu. You cannot add any other Cadence applications, or your own menu items, to the menu.

Loading a Plug-In from the Hierarchy Editor User Interface

To load a plug-in application from the Hierarchy Editor user interface,

Start the Hierarchy Editor.
The Plugins sub-menu appears in the Launch menu. The menu lists the applications that you can load. A check mark next to a menu item indicates the application is already loaded.
The Plugins sub-menu appears only if plug-ins have been added to the Hierarchy Editor.
Choose Launch – Plugins and select a plugin that you want to load, for example, AMS HDL Settings.
The application appears in the Hierarchy Editor as specified by the plug-in. For instance, it could appear as an additional menu in the Hierarchy Editor menu bar or an icon in the Hierarchy Editor tool bar.
(Optional) If you want the Hierarchy Editor to automatically load the plug-in application every time it starts, save the Hierarchy Editor defaults with the File – Save Defaults command.

Loading a Plug-in from the Command Line

To load a plug-in application from the command line,

Start the Hierarchy Editor with the following command:
```
cdsHierEditor -plugin pluginName [pluginOptions]
```

To load more than one plug-in, use the following format:

cdsHierEditor -plugin pluginName [pluginOptions] -plugin pluginName [pluginOptions] ...

-plugin must be the last argument specified with the cdsHierEditor command. It can be followed only by other -plugin arguments.

When the Hierarchy Editor starts, the plug-in application appears in the Hierarchy Editor graphical user interface, typically as a menu in the menu bar or an icon in the tool bar.

(Optional) If you want the Hierarchy Editor to automatically load the plug-in application every time it starts, save the Hierarchy Editor defaults with the File – Save Defaults command.

Virtuoso Hierarchy Editor User Guide
Product Version IC23.1, August 2023