Editing Group Contents by Using Transparent Group Mode

The transparent group mode enables you to edit a user-defined group without doing Edit-in-place (EIP) into the group. In this mode, the contents of user-defined groups become available for selection and editing at the top-level, while being retained as objects of their respective groups. You can edit objects in nested groups also at the top level itself, without performing multiple EIPs. You can enable this mode only for the active window. In transparent group mode, you can perform group-related commands, such as creating groups and adding, removing, and ungrouping objects in a group.

You can enable the bannerFields environment variable to indicate on the status banner whenever transparent group mode is activated.

To edit groups in transparent group mode:

1. In the layout window, activate transparent group mode in one of the following ways:
   • In the Display Options form, select the Transparent Group option in the Display Controls section.
   • On the Options toolbar, click the Transparent Group icon. You can access the toolbar by choosing Window - Toolbars - Options.
   • Set the window-specific environment variable in the CIW:
     

     window = hiGetCurrentWindow()
     window~>transparentGroup = t

   This makes all the user-defined groups in the design editable. In transparent group mode, the pointer changes to white.
2. Perform the desired edit operations on the objects within a group.
3. After you are done with editing, you can leave the transparent group mode enabled for the current window session or you can disable it in one of the following ways:
   • In the Display Options form, deselect the Transparent Group option in the Display Controls section.
   • On the Options toolbar, toggle the Transparent Group icon to OFF.
   • Set the window-specific environment variable in the CIW:
     

     window = hiGetCurrentWindow()
     window~>transparentGroup = nil

If you intend to retain the transparent group setting ON for the remaining window session, Cadence recommends that you switch on the visibility (Vis) of Groups in the Objects panel of the Palette assistant. This will display a boundary around groups even in transparent group mode and will prevent you from inadvertently modifying the objects belonging to any group.

In transparent group mode, contents of user-defined groups are available for selection and editing without doing EIP into groups. You can, therefore, select objects belonging to multiple groups and edit them simultaneously. For example, you can move shapes belonging to two different groups at the same time: Activate the transparent group mode, select shapes irrespective of the group to which they belong, and move them by the desired value. Similarly, you can select objects belonging to different groups and chop them simultaneously.

You cannot merge objects belonging to different groups. You also cannot attach an object from one group as the owner of an object belonging to another group. If you run the Make Cell command on objects belonging to different groups, the selected objects are removed from their respective groups. The resultant instance is placed at the top level and is not included in any group.

Related Topics

Display Options Form

Editing Group Contents by Using Edit In Place

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