Soft Block Instances Table

The Instances table in the Soft Block mode lets you see how your logical design is currently partitioned and helps you decide whether you can gain further efficiencies by generating more or fewer soft blocks, or by changing the shape or internal configurations of existing soft blocks.

For each instance in the design, the table shows the view list used to reach the schematic instance and the corresponding layout cellview found. It also shows the type of block and view that will be created when you use the Floorplan – Generate Physical Hierarchy command.

If a schematic instance is set to be ignored, it is not displayed in the table. Instances under a valid soft block instance are in gray text, indicating that although the binding has been set up, it is never reached because of the physical stop point at a higher level. Red text in a row means that there is no physical representation for the cell in question.

There are a number of operations you can perform directly in the table view.

To sort the tree alphabetically by a particular column within each node, click the header of the column you want to sort. Alternate clicks sort in ascending and descending order.
To define soft block attributes, click the right mouse button on the soft block in question and choose Define Soft Block Parameters. This enables the controls in the Attributes pane.
To reset soft block attributes, click the right mouse button on the soft block in question and choose Remove Soft Block Parameters. This enables the controls in the Attributes pane.
To edit the entries in any of the fields, double-click the text you want to change and either type into the field directly or choose a value from the drop-down list.

You can also select a soft block instance from the table and view its attributes in the Attributes pane. To edit the shape or size of the soft block boundary or to modify the pin configuration or the internal routing obstructions of the soft block, right-click the soft block and select Edit Soft Block Parameters. This makes the corresponding soft block parameters in the Attributes pane available for editing.

Virtuoso Layout Suite XL: Connectivity Driven Editing User Guide
Product Version IC23.1, November 2023