Customize Toolbar Definition Files

You can choose to customize existing Virtuoso application toolbars or create new toolbars containing your own preferred functionality.

You can find application-specific toolbar definitions in text files and stored in

your_install_dir/share/cdssetup/dfII/toolbars/byApplication.

For example, toolbars specific to the Virtuoso Layout Suite are stored in the following file:

your_install_dir/share/cdssetup/dfII/toolbars/byApplication/Layout.toolbars

Whenever you launch an application, the program locates the toolbar definitions file and creates toolbars accordingly.

You can create custom toolbar definition files and put them in current folder_name/.cadence/dfII/toolbars/byApplication so that the program finds and uses these definitions first. Use setup.loc to change the location of the files from current to other folder.

Toolbar Definition File Format

The toolbar definition file is an ASCII text file containing toolbar definition information.

Here is an excerpt from Layout.toolbars:

(
    (   
    nil
    name le Toolbar
    text " "
    items (
        (
        nil
        type     action
        name     le ToolbarOpen
        text     "Open"
        icon  "file-open.png"
        callback     "de Open()"
        disabled t
        )
        (
        nil
        type     action
        name     le ToolbarSave
        text     "Save"
        icon  "file-save.png"
        callback     "geSave()"
        enableCondition modified
    )
)
...

Here is a snippet to include subAction in the actionList.

nil

  type  action

  subType  subAction

  name  lebROGSorV

  text  "Shapes Or Vias"

  icon  "shapes-vias.png"

nil

  type  action

  subType  subAction

  name  lebROGWire

  text  "Entire Wire"

  icon  "wire-entire.png"

nil

  type  action

  subType  subAction

  name  lebROGConnect

  text  "Connected Shapes"

  icon  "shapes-connect.png"

nil

  type  action

  subType  subAction

  name  lebROGShapesOnNet

  text  "All Shapes on the Net"

  icon  "shapes-on-net.png"

nil

  type  action

  subType  subAction

  name  lebROGNet

  text  "Net"

  icon  "net-category.png"

nil

  type  action

  subType  actionList

  name  lebROG

  text  "Selection Granularity"

  icon  "shapes-vias.png"

  actionList (lebROGSorV lebROGWire lebROGConnect lebROGShapesOnNet 
  lebROGNet)

  enabled  nil

The toolbar name such as le Toolbar, must be unique across all applications. The text the program uses for the toolbar title and tooltip text such as " ", need not be unique.

Here is a further example from Symbol_XL.toolbars:

nil

        inheritToolbarsFrom "Symbol"

nil

        name symSearchToolbar

        text "Search"

        items ( )

The inheritToolbarsFrom option allows you to include the toolbars from another application at any point in a toolbar file between toolbar definitions.

Toolbar Definition Search Path and Customization

The program searches for toolbar definition files in locations specified in your setup.loc file. The default location for application-specific toolbar definition files is:

your_install_dir/share/cdssetup/dfII/toolbars/byApplication/appName.toolbars

You can install your customized toolbar definition files so that the software finds those first.

Virtuoso Studio Design Environment User Guide
Product Version IC23.1, November 2023