Preface

This document provides a high-level overview of the new and enhanced features added for the IC23.1 Base and subsequent incremental releases (ISRs). Each chapter in this document maps to a Virtuoso application and may contain one or more of the following sections:

New and enhanced features
Removed features
Documentation updates, including a list of new and updated videos

The table of contents lists only those releases in which new features or enhancements have been introduced.

This preface contains the following topics:

Licensing Requirements
Related Documentation
Additional Learning Resources
Customer Support
Feedback about Documentation
Typographic and Syntax Conventions

Licensing Requirements

For information about licensing in Virtuoso Studio design environment, see Virtuoso Software Licensing and Configuration Guide.

Release README.txt

The README.txt for the IC23.1 release will be made available for the base release.

The contents of README.txt file are organized under the following heads:
- Supported Platforms and Operating Systems
- Cadence Products and Standalone Software Compatible with the IC Release
- Installation Information
- Accessing Product Documentation
- Contact Cadence
- CCRs Fixed in <release information> (this comprises a list of customer-reported bugs that have been fixed in the current release)
To view the contents of README.txt, do one of the following:
- Locate the file in the installation directory.
- Log on to downloads.cadence.com and follow the 'Get release information' instructions.

Known Problems and Solutions

For information about Known Problems and Solutions (KPNS), see Known Problems and Solutions in Virtuoso Studio IC23.1.

Additional Learning Resources

Rapid Adoption Kits

Cadence provides a number of Rapid Adoption Kits that demonstrate how to use Virtuoso applications in your design flows. These kits contain design databases and instructions on how to run the design flow.

To explore the full range of training courses provided by Cadence in your region, visit Cadence Training or write to training_enroll@cadence.com.

Help and Support Facilities

Virtuoso offers several built-in features to let you access help and support directly from the software.

The Virtuoso Help menu provides consistent help system access across Virtuoso tools and applications. The standard Virtuoso Help menu lets you access the most useful help and support resources from the Cadence support and corporate websites directly from the CIW or any Virtuoso application.
The Doc Assistant Home Page is a self-help launch pad offering access to a host of useful knowledge resources, including quick links to content available within the Virtuoso installation as well as to other popular online content.
The Home Page is displayed by default when you open Doc Assistant in standalone mode from a Virtuoso installation. You can also access it at any time by selecting Help – Virtuoso Documentation Library from any application window.

For more information, see Getting Help in Virtuoso Studio Design Environment User Guide.

Customer Support

For assistance with Cadence products:

Contact Cadence Customer Support
Cadence is committed to keeping your design teams productive by providing answers to technical questions and to any queries about the latest software updates and training needs. For more information, visit https://www.cadence.com/support.
Log on to Cadence Online Support
Customers with a maintenance contract with Cadence can obtain the latest information about various tools at https://support.cadence.com.

Feedback about Documentation

You can contact Cadence Customer Support to open a service request if you:

Find erroneous information in a product manual
Cannot find in a product manual the information you are looking for
Face an issue while accessing documentation by using Doc Assistant

You can also submit feedback by using the following methods:

In the Doc Assistant window, click the feedback button and follow instructions.
On the Cadence Online Support Product Manuals page, select the required product and submit your feedback by using the Provide Feedback box.

Typographic and Syntax Conventions

The following typographic and syntax conventions are used in this document.

text	Indicates names of manuals, menu commands, buttons, and fields.
`text`	Indicates text that you must type exactly as presented. Typically used to denote command, function, routine, or argument names that must be typed literally.
z_argument	Indicates text that you must replace with an appropriate argument value. The prefix (in this example, z_) indicates the data type the argument can accept and must not be typed.
`\|`	Separates a choice of options.
`{ }`	Encloses a list of choices, separated by vertical bars, from which you must choose one.
`[ ]`	Encloses an optional argument or a list of choices separated by vertical bars, from which you may choose one.
`[ ?argName t_arg ]`
	Denotes a key argument. The question mark and argument name must be typed as they appear in the syntax and must be followed by the required value for that argument.
`...`	Indicates that you can repeat the previous argument. Used with brackets to indicate that you can specify zero or more arguments. Used without brackets to indicate that you must specify at least one argument.
`,...`	Indicates that multiple arguments must be separated by commas.
`=>`	Indicates the values returned by a Cadence^® SKILL^® language function.
`/`	Separates the values that can be returned by a Cadence SKILL language function.

If a command-line or SKILL expression is too long to fit within the paragraph margins of this document, the remainder of the expression is moved to the next line and indented. In code excerpts, a backslash ( \ ) indicates that the current line continues on to the next line.