Macro Coloring

This section provides options to assign different highlight colors for hard and soft blocks so that they are visually distinguishable in the layout canvas.

Enable macro coloring scheme

Enables color coding of hard and soft blocks.

Environment variable: colorOrNot

Soft block color

Specifies the highlight colors for soft blocks.

Environment variable: softBlockColor

Hard block color

Specifies the highlight colors for hard blocks.

Environment variable: hardBlockColor

Generate Physical Hierarchy

This section lets you specify which objects are to be automatically re-generated when the physical hierarchy is generated or the components and nets are updated.

See Physical Hierarchy Generation Methods, Updating Components and Nets.

Create Instances

Specifies that all instances are to be re-generated.

Environment variable: initCreateInstances

Create Pins

Specifies that all pins are to be re-generated.

Environment variable: initCreatePins

Create Boundary

Specifies that the boundary is to be re-generated.

Environment variable: initCreateBoundary

Pin Snapping

This section provides an option to specify whether pins are to be resized during pin snapping.

Allow Pin Resizing

Specifies whether pins are to be resized during pin snapping.

Environment variable: allowPinResizing

See Snapping Soft Block Pins to Grid.

Pin Placement

This section defines the pin placement settings.

Respect Layer Priority For Valid Routing Layers Constraint On Net

Specifies that the layer priority to be followed while placing pins during pin optimization.

During pin optimization, pins are re-positioned and re-layered to obtain the shortest possible net length. When this option is not selected (default state), the Pin Optimizer places pins on layers that are closest to the connected pin. Example: Pin A is connected to top-level pin B. Valid layers from net PRO for pin A are (M1, M2, M5, M7). Pin B is located on layer M2.

The Pin Optimizer first tries to place pin A on M2 to enable the router to connect the two pins without any via insertions. If there are no slots available on M2, the Pin Optimizer tries to place pin A on M1, which is the layer closest to M2.

When Respect Layer Priority For Valid Routing Layers Constraint On Net is selected, pins are optimized based on their layer priority.

Environment variable: layerPriority

See Pin Optimization, Support for Net PROs in Virtuoso Floorplanner.

Default blockType (when unknown)

Specifies the default block type for soft blocks when the assigned block type is not custom or digital. Floorplanner supports two types of blocks - custom and digital. Soft blocks can be assigned to either of these block types. The default value is Custom. The block type determines the pin and PR boundary placement during floorplanning, as described below:

• Custom: Places pins and PR boundary on the manufacturing grid.
• Digital: Places pins on the routing grid and the PR boundary on the placement grid.
• As-Is (XY Snap Spacing): Specifies that the pins and PR boundary must placed on the grid defined by X Snap Spacing and Y Snap Spacing in the Grid Controls section of the Display Options form. See Setting Up Grid Controls.

Environment variable: defaultBlockTypeWhenUnknown

See Setting the Block Type.

SKILL function to set the placement grid information: dbSetPlacementGrid.

Label Layer Purpose Pair Update

This section controls the re-layering of pin labels when their associated pins are re-layered.

Update Label Layer without updating Label Purpose

Re-layers labels to match the pins, but their purposes remain unchanged. This option is selected by default.

Environment variable: labelLayerPurposePair

Define Custom Layer Purpose Pair

Defines the layer and purpose to which labels are to be moved.

Options

Opens the Label Layer Purpose form.

Enable Deep Hierarchy Editing of Soft Blocks

Enables viewing and selection of soft-block PR boundary, instances, and pins from any hierarchical level.