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The Setup Page

This page contains a number of entries which control various defaults and features that apply when reading data files. These settings always apply when reading, in particular during use of the commands in the File Menu, as well as through use of the Read File page of this panel.

PCell evaluation: Don't eval native
Setting this check box will prevent evaluation of native pcells when an instance is found while reading file input. If an archive file contains the sub-masters, it is more efficient to use them rather than recreate them through evaluation. Note that if sub-masters are not provided, the super-masters for the pcells must be available.

This check box tracks the state of the NoEvalNativePCells variable.

PCell evaluation: Eval OpenAccess
Setting this check box will cause Xic to attempt to evaluate OpenAccess pcells when instances are encountered when reading file input. By default, this is not done, as evaluation is likely to fail, and the exporter has probably included the sub-master cells in the archive.

This check box tracks the state of the EvalOaPCells variable.

Don't create new layers when reading, abort instead
By default, when reading an input file, layers are created if necessary to match layers found in the file. The new layers are appended to the layer table. If the source is GDSII or another format such as OASIS that provides layer and datatype numbers, the new layer name will be an encoding of these numbers (see 14.6).

If this box is checked, new layers will not be created, and encountering a layer in input that is not mappable into an existing Xic layer will be treated as a fatal error.

The boolean NoCreateLayer variable tracks the state of the check box.

Default when new cells conflict
This menu determines the default behavior when a cell from a file being read conflicts with the name of a cell already in memory. There are five choices: Overwrite All, Overwrite Phys, Overwrite Elec, Overwrite None, and Auto Rename. If AutoRename is selected, when a name clash with a cell in memory is detected, the cell name of the cell being read is automatically changed to avoid the clash. A suffix ``$N'' is added to the cell name, where N is a small integer, and a warning message is added to the log file. The Merge Control pop-up will never appear in this mode. For the other four choices, in graphical mode, when a conflict is detected, the Merge Control pop-up will appear, if enabled. The initial state of the pop-up will be determined by this menu, but the actions can be modified by the user on a per-cell basis. If the pop-up does not appear either because it has been suppressed or the program is running in non-graphical (server or batch) mode, the default action will be performed.

The default cell name conflict behavior can also be set with three boolean variables: AutoRename, NoOverwritePhys and NoOverwriteElec. If AutoRename is set (with the !set command or otherwise), the other two variables are ignored, and the auto-rename mode is enabled. If none of these variables is set, then the default action is Overwrite All.

When a cell is encountered while reading an archive file or native cell into memory with the same name as a cell already in memory, and we are overwriting cells in memory, the new cell will overwrite the existing cell in memory in most cases. The exception is for existing cells that were read through the library mechanism. These cells have the IMMUTABLE (read-only) and LIBRARY flags set.

The IMMUTABLE flag has no bearing on whether or not a cell can be overwritten in memory. The overwritten cell will no longer be IMMUTABLE. In releases prior to 3.0.11, IMMUTABLE cells would not be overwritten.

If the existing cell has the LIBRARY flag set, it will be overwritten, unless the NoOverwriteLibCells variable is set. A warning message will be included in the log file in this case, but the read will be successful, with the result being as if overwriting was not enabled. If overwritten, the cell will no longer have the LIBRARY flag set. In releases prior to 3.0.11, LIBRARY cells would always be overwritten, unless IMMUTABLE was also set, which is the default for library cells.

Don't prompt for overwrite instructions
In graphical mode, when a cell name clash with a cell already in memory is detected while reading a file, the Merge Control pop-up may appear. This can be used to change whether or not to overwrite the cell in memory on a per-cell and per-mode basis. When this button is active, the Merge Control pop-up will not appear, and the overwriting will use the default setting.

This state can also be enabled by setting the boolean variable NoAskOverwrite with the !set command.

Clip and merge overlapping boxes
When this button is on, boxes on the same layer are merged together, if possible, as files are being read into the database. Overlapping boxes are clipped and/or merged. This applies to box objects only, and not polygons (even rectangular ones) or wires, and applies only for physical mode data. Electrical mode boxes are never merged. This tracks the setting of the boolean variable MergeInput, which can (equivalently) be set with the !set command.

This mode applies when reading input from a layout file, and is separate and unrelated to the object merging as controlled from the Editing Setup panel from the Edit Menu. These settings have no effect when reading layout data.

However, on layers where the NoMerge technology file keyword is set, box (or any object) merging is inhibited, in all cases.

Skip testing for badly formed polygons
When set, the reentrancy test for polygons is skipped while an input file is being read into the database. The default behavior is to check each polygon for potentially troublesome geometry specification while the polygon is being created.

This mode can also be enabled by setting the boolean variable NoPolyCheck with the !set command.

Duplicate item handling
When reading data from a layout file, identical objects and subcells placed on top of one another are sometimes found. Although these generally cause no harm, this is almost always a layout error. This menu provides three choices of how to handle the situation. The default action is to print a warning in the log file, but import the duplicate objects into the database. The Remove Duplicates choice will also issue a warning, but will not add the duplicates to the database. The third choice suppresses checking for duplicates entirely.

This menu tracks the status of the DupCheckMode variable.

Skip testing for empty cells
When set, there is no checking for empty cells as an input file is being read into the database, and the pop-up that normally appears when a file is opened for editing or viewing if there are empty cells in the hierarchy is suppressed. An ``empty cell'' actually means that both physical and electrical cells of this name either don't exist in the hierarchy, or contain nothing. It is possible to check for empty cells at any time with the !empties command.

This mode can also be enabled by setting the boolean variable NoCheckEmpties with the !set command.

Map all unmapped GDSII datatypes to same Xic layer
This setting affects only the creation of new layers when a GDSII or OASIS file is read into the database. The default behavior is to create a separate new Xic layer for each GDSII layer/datatype encountered that is not mapped in the technology file. With the variable set, all datatypes on the new GDSII layer are mapped to the same (new) Xic layer.

This mode can also be enabled by setting the boolean variable NoMapDatatypes with the !set command.

How to resolve CIF layers
This is an option menu which specifies how Xic interprets layer directives in CIF files.

The layer directive has the syntax

L token;

If the token is an integer, it might indicate the name of a layer with the name being the same integer string, or it might be an index into the layer table. The choices in the menu enforce these two behaviors.

The default resolution method (Try Both) works as follows: The parser reads ``L token;''. If token matches an existing layer name (as string comparison), that layer is accepted. If there is no matching layer, and the token is an integer in the range of 1 through a maximum number, and there is no leading 0, the token is tested as an index. if a layer exists with that 1-based index, that layer is chosen. If the layer still has not been resolved, a new layer is created in the layer table, with the given (numerical) name.

The option menu gives two additional choices. The By Name choice will skip the index test. If the string match fails with all existing layers, a new layer will be created. If the By Index choice is selected, the layer tokens are assumed to be integers. The string match test is skipped. If the index test fails, an error is reported and the operation aborts. New layers are never created in this mode. The layer tokens must be positive integers with no leading zeros that have a corresponding layer table entry.

The CifLayerMode variable corresponds to this set of options, where its value of 0-2 corresponds to the three choices.

Don't flatten standard vias, keep as instance at top level
This mode may apply when flattening a physical cell hierarchy. When set, instances of standard vias are retained as such, rather than being written as geometry. This check box tracks the state of the NoFlattenStdVias variable.

Don't flatten pcells, keep as instance at top level
This mode may apply when flattening a physical cell hierarchy. When set, instances of parameterized cells (pcells) are retained as such, rather than being written as geometry. This check box tracks the state of the NoFlattenPCells variable.

Ignore labels in subcells when flattening
When flattening a cell hierarchy, if this check box is checked labels found in subcells are ignored, meaning not placed in the current cell. Labels defined in the current cell are not affected. This is intended to prevent net name labels from subcells conflicting with net name labels defined at higher hierarchy levels. The check box state tracks the NoFlattenLabels variable.

Skip reading text labels from physical archives
When set, text labels will not be read from a layout file when reading physical-mode data. It is not generally advisable to use this, as text labels, though not physical objects, should be assumed to be present for a purpose. However, this check box gives the user the flexibility to strip these out.

In Xic, text labels are included when the bounding box of a cell is computed. If a text label actually determines the boundary of a cell, the bounding box of the cell may report differently from other tools. The effective size of a text label is not well defined, and other tools will probably make different assumptions about font size, etc., or may not include text labels in bounding box computations.

The state of this check box tracks the status of the NoReadLabels variable.


next up previous contents index
Next: The Read File Page Up: The Import Cell Data Previous: The Import Cell Data   Contents   Index
Stephen R. Whiteley 2024-09-29