Viewing the Hierarchy Tree

You can view the hierarchy of cellview instances in the currently open cellview by using the Tree command in a layout window. You can also view the hierarchy of cellview instances in a cellview without opening the cellview by using the Print Hierarchy Tree command in CIW.

It could take a long time to open the hierarchy tree for a large design. As the Print Hierarchy Tree command lets you print the hierarchy tree without the need to open a design, it provides better performance compared to the Tree command.

Viewing the Hierarchy Tree from Within a Cellview

To view the hierarchy of instances in the current cellview:

1. In the layout window, choose View – Hierarchy – Tree. In Layout XL and higher tiers, the command is available on the Edit menu.
   The Tree form appears.
2. Select levels of the hierarchy that you want to view.
3. Click OK.
   The Tree window appears, listing the hierarchy. The cellview instances information lists the hierarchy of instances in this cellview or the instances above or below the cellview. The number in parentheses represents how many times that instance appears in the design. Indents show that instances of the indented cells are inside the instance listed above.

Viewing the Hierarchy Tree without Opening a Design

To view the hierarchy of instances in a cellview without opening the cellview:

1. From CIW, choose Tools – Print Hierarchy Tree.
   The Print Hierarchy Tree form appears.
2. Select the Library, Cell, and View for which you want to print the hierarchy tree.
3. Click OK or Apply.
   The Hierarchy Tree window appears, listing the hierarchy. The cellview instances information lists the hierarchy of instances in this cellview or the instances above or below the cellview. The number in parentheses represents how many times that instance appears in the design. Indents indicate that instances of the indented cells are inside the instance listed.

Opening the Print Hierarchy Tree command from Virtuoso could be time consuming. An alternative is to run the fastTree command at the command prompt which is significantly faster. The following is the command syntax:

fastTree [-h | -lib libName -cell cellname [-view viewName] [-cdslib cdsLibName] [-file fileName] [-log logFileName]]

The following table below describes the arguments of the fastTree command.

Arguments	Description
-lib libName	Name of the library.
-cell cellName	Name of the cellview.
-view viewName	Name of the view. The default is layout.
-cdslib cdsLibName	Path of the cds.lib file. The default is the current working directory.
-file fileName	Name of the file. The default is cellName.viewName.tree.
-log logFileName	Name of the log file. The default is fastTree.log.
-h | -help	Command help.

Related Topics

Tree Form

Print Hierarchy Tree Form

Hierarchical Designs

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