Many things in Virtuoso can be customized, showing/hiding and configuring the layout of assistants and toolbars are no exception. They can be configured and saved as a workspace. It seems that this might be a little known fact, so I'll explain with an example.
Take Virtuoso ADE Explorerfor example, we have assistants for Parasitics & Electrical Setup, Parasitic Filters, Parasitic Report, Explorer Run Summary, Setup, Operating Region,Variables and Parameters, Save By Subckt Instances and ViVA Graph. By default we only see the Setup assistant as we intentionally tried to keep ADE Explorer as simple as possible. The other assistants are available by right clicking on the menu bar or selecting from the Window->Assistants menu.
Similarly, we have toolbars for Run, Explorer Simulation Setup, Real Time Tuning, Results, Plotting, Named filters, Parasitic Mode, Bookmarks, Go and Workspaces and again, by default, only some of these are enabled. Again these are available by right clicking on the menu bar or selecting from the Window->Toolbars menu.
You can also disable assistants and toolbars through the same menus.
So, lets change ADE Explorer up a bit.
By default, it looks like this:
So, I'll enable the Variable and Parameters assistant, the Run Summary assistant and the ViVA assistant and arrange them just how I want them. I've left the Save By Subckt Instances assistant floating outside my ADE Explorer window. I've enabled the Parasitic Mode, Results and Workspace toolbars too.
Then I want the ADE Explorer Simulation Setup toolbar down the left hand side of ADE, so I'll drag that there.
Now my Virtuoso session looks completely different, but that is how I like it....
Saving, Loading and Deleting Workspaces
This configuration can be saved as a Workspace and loaded in the current or future sessions.
Click the save workspace icon on the Workspace toolbar, or choose Window->Workspaces->Save As.
Give the workspace a name.
Then this workspace will be available in the drop-down and it's simple to toggle between them. You can also decide whether to save it to the project .cadence directory or your home .cadence if you'd like to share it on other projects.
You can delete a workspace by selecting Windows->Workspaces->Delete.
Setting a Default Workspace
You can save a workspace as the default workspace for that application, so you don't have to choose your favorite one from the drop down every time you open the tool. Simply, choose Window->Workspaces->Save Default and you'll get this form.
So every time I open an ADE Explorer view, it will use this workspace.
Does This Only Work for ADE?
No, workspaces are available in the schematic and layout editors, VIVA XL, ADE XL, GXL and ADE Assembler too.
Toggling Assistants and Toolbars
Maybe a handy tip if you didn't already know, all assistants can be toggled on/off with this button on the toolbar - or from the Window->Assistants menu.
Toolbars don't have an icon, but you can use the toggle these via the Window->Toolbars menu.
Workspace Search Order
When you create a custom workspace, whether it's just for you or for your project/site, the built-in Cadence search mechanism determines which configuration is used. By default, the locally defined workspace will take precedence over the others; followed by the workspaces defined for your site, then Cadence workspaces.
The search order can be controlled by editing the setup.loc file.
For more information and examples on this, you can refer to the Cadence Application Infrastructure User Guide.
Related Resources
- Virtuoso Design Environment User Guide
- Virtuoso ADE Explorer User Guide
- Virtuoso ADE Assembler User Guide
- Virtuoso Schematic Editor User Guide
- Virtuoso Layout User Guide
For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com
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Arja Hunkin