DesignPad Text Editor User Manual

Release v2.72

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 1
About DesignPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Standard Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Integration With HDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Design Content Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Component Instantiation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Graphical Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Converting to Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Showing as Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tracing to Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Visualizing Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Version Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 2
Using DesignPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Working With Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Creating a New File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Opening and Closing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Saving a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Printing and Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Editing Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Undo and Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cut, Copy, Append, Paste, and Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Selecting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Inserting a Text File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Commenting Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Changing Indents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Changing Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Completing Keywords, Symbols, and Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Search and Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Finding and Replacing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Looking for a Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Finding Text in Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Replacing a Text String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using Go To Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Using Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
View Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Showing Line Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Using the Report Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Highlighting Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72 3

 Table of Contents

Showing Whitespace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Using Language Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Displaying Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using the Code Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Document Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Setting the Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reporting Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Checking Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Sorting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Using Outline Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Using Column Select Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Comparing Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Window Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Appendix A
DesignPad Toolbars and Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Standard Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Search Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Edit Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Bookmarks Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
View Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Macros Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Document Tools Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Windows Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Version Management Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Tasks Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Scrolling Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Customizing DesignPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Customizing Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Customizing Menus and Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Customizing Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Keystroke Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Appendix B
Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
General Text Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Editor Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
File Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Code Browser Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Window Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Document Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Printing and Font Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Spacing and Indent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Parsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Syntax Highlighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

4 DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72

Table of Contents

Code Browser Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Preference File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Appendix C
Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Appendix D
Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Appendix E
vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Appendix F
Regular Expression Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Class Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
End-User License Agreement
with EDA Software Supplemental Terms

DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72 5

 Table of Contents

6 DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72

 Chapter 1
About DesignPad

This chapter provides an overview of the DesignPad key features and user interface.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Standard Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Integration With HDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Design Content Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Component Instantiation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Graphical Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Converting to Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Showing as Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tracing to Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Visualizing Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Version Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72 7

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About DesignPad
Introduction

Introduction
DesignPad is a powerful multi-platform language-sensitive text editor designed to integrate
with HDL design flows and to complement the functionality available in the main HDL
Designer Series (HDS).
Standard Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Standard Features
DesignPad supports all normal text editing procedures including file creation, read-only or edit
modes, print and HTML export. Advanced features include multiple undo or redo operations,
indenting, case changing and automatic keyword completion.
Search and navigation features include find, replace, goto and bookmark commands.

Line numbers or whitespace can be optionally displayed and a separate report pane used for
error reporting.

Language support includes automatic syntax highlighting, checking and comment insertion for
C++, Tcl, PSL, Verilog, VHDL and SPICE. In addition, language templates are provided for
fast insertion and expansion of Verilog or VHDL code constructs.

The code browser window displays the structure of the code in the active window as a
hierarchical tree and allows rapid navigation through large blocks of code.

An outline mode can be used to selectively expand or collapse code blocks within a large files
and a column select mode is also supported. The editor also includes a file comparison utility
and supports user-defined keystroke macros.

8 DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72

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 About DesignPad
Integration With HDS

Integration With HDS

DesignPad is the default tool used for creating, editing, or viewing HDL or plain text views in
HDL Designer.
DesignPad is invoked when you use the Design Content Creation wizard or when you open
down (or double-click) on a recognized HDL or text file. You can also invoke a DesignPad
editor window by using the button in the main HDS Design Manager window.

The following figure shows a VHDL file (uart_top_rtl.vhd) displayed in the active tab and a
Verilog file (uart_tb.v) open in a separate editor window tab:

Note
Refer to “DesignPad Toolbars and Controls” on page 53 for information about the default
toolbars, status bar and window scrolling controls.

If the main HDS Design Manager is hidden below other windows, it can be popped to the top by
choosing DesignManager from the DesignPad File menu.

DesignPad Text Editor User Manual, v2.72 9

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About DesignPad
Design Content Creation

Design Content Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Component Instantiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Graphical Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Converting to Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Showing as Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tracing to Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Visualizing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Version Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Design Content Creation

You can create a new HDS source view file.
Use the button, + shortcut or choose Design File from the New cascade in the File
menu.

The Design Content Creation Wizard displays prompting you to specify a file type, choose a
location for the file and enter a new view name.

For information about the Design Content Creation Wizard, refer to the “Design Views” chapter
in the HDL Designer Series User Manual or click the button on the wizard.

HDL text views edited in DesignPad are automatically updated in the HDS Design Explorer
windows. You can open up or down into related text or graphical views and cross-reference
between design units or from error messages issued by the HDL parser.

You can create a new untitled plain text view by choosing PlainText File from the New cascade
in the File menu.

You can also create a graphical test bench for the view which is currently active in DesignPad
by choosing the Graphical Test Bench option.

Note
This option is inactive if the active view open in DesignPad is not a HDS source view.

Use the button on the dialog box or refer to the Graphical Editors User Manual for more
information about graphic editor views and creating graphical test benches.

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 About DesignPad
Component Instantiation

Component Instantiation
You can instantiate a HDS or ModuleWare component in DesignPad by copying or dragging
and dropping from a Design Explorer window.
Alternatively, you can do this from the component browser which displays when you use the
button or choose ComponentBrowser from the Window menu.

You can drag and drop a component from the component browser by selecting a component,
holding down the left mouse button and dragging it into DesignPad.

Use the icon on the component browser or refer to “Using the Component Browser” in the
HDL Designer Series User Manual for more information about the component browser.

The required component instantiation statements are inserted into the file and if automatic
indenting is set, the indent level is set to match the location in the file.

On instantiating a ModuleWare component the ModuleWare Parameters dialog displays. Refer

to “Instantiation of a ModuleWare Component” in the Graphical Editors User Manual.

ModuleWare component code is only generated when choosing Run Through Components
from the Generate cascade of the Tasks menu or using the button from the DesignPad

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About DesignPad
Graphical Rendering

toolbar. When running a flow ModuleWare component code is also generated.i.e ModelSim
flow.

Note that inline generation is not yet supported for ModuleWare components.

Graphical Rendering
You can render any VHDL or Verilog HDL text view as a temporary or saved graphical view
which can be viewed using the HDL Designer Series graphical editors.
Refer to the “Graphical Rendering” chapter in the Graphical Editors User Manual for
information about these features.

Converting to Graphics
You can create a graphical view from the active HDL declaration.
Use the button or choose ConvertTo Graphics from the Graphics menu to display the
Convert to Graphics wizard.

You can set preferences for converting HDL to Graphics by choosing HDL2Graphics from the
Options menu to display the HDL2Graphics Options dialog box.

Use the button on the dialog box or refer to the “Convert to Graphics Wizard” section in
the Graphical Editors User Manual for information about these options.

Showing as Graphics
In case of opening a non Hierarchy Data Model (HDM) file—that is, a HDL file that does not
belong to a library—the Show as Graphics dropdown palette will be available.
You can render the active HDL view as a temporary graphical view by using the button.

A pulldown palette on the button allows you to choose a block diagram , IBD view ,
state diagram or flow chart view.

Tracing to Graphics
You can trace a line of HDL text to the associated graphics, when the active HDL text file has a
corresponding graphics view. For example, when you are viewing the HDL generated from a
graphics file.

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 About DesignPad
Visualizing Code

You can display the graphics view by using the button or by choosing Traceto Graphics
from the Graphics or popup menu. The graphics file is opened and centered on the graphics
corresponding to the HDL text under the cursor.

Visualizing Code
The Visualization feature enables you to convert your HDL text views into graphical views
known as visualization views to which you can apply only non-logical edits; that is to say, you
can only make layout changes to your visualizations thus preserving your HDL source code
intact.
To visualize your code do one of the following:

• Select a graphical view type from the Visualize Code dropdown palette
• Select a view from the Visualize Code cascade of the Graphics menu.
The newly generated view is added in the Files pane of the Design Explorer, under the
Visualization folder.

You can revert from the visualization window to the DesignPad through the Open HDL Source
button. Likewise, you can revert from the DesignPad to the visualization window using the
Visualize Code button in the DesignPad toolbar (the name of the button will be Open As in this
case). Thus, you can easily switch back and forth between the visualization view and its source
code.

After opening the HDL source code of the visualization view in the DesignPad, if you make any
changes in the source code, the overlay is added to the Open As button and the button name is
changed to Update, thus indicating that the corresponding visualization view is out-of-date.

Tasks
DesignPad supports direct access to HDS tasks from the Tasks toolbar and Tasks menu.
Default tasks are provided to Generate HDL for any instantiated graphical views and to run the
ModelSim, LeonardoSpectrum or Precision Synthesis flows. You can also SetGenerate
Always or Set Compile Always to force HDL generation or compilation.

Refer to the “Tasks, Tools and Flows” chapter in the HDL Designer Series User Manual for
more information about tasks.

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About DesignPad
Version Management

Version Management
If a version management interface in enabled in the HDS preferences, an additional Version
Management toolbar in available and the Version Management cascade menu is available
from the File menu.
You can access the Version Management Settings dialog box which allows you to enable a
version management interface and set other default options by choosing Version Management
from the Options menu.

Use the button on the Settings dialog box or refer to the “Version Management” chapter
in the HDL Designer Series User Manual for information about using version management.

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 Chapter 2
Using DesignPad

This chapter describes procedures for using DesignPad.

Working With Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Creating a New File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Opening and Closing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Saving a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Printing and Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Editing Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Undo and Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cut, Copy, Append, Paste, and Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Selecting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Inserting a Text File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Commenting Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Changing Indents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Changing Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Completing Keywords, Symbols, and Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Search and Navigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Finding and Replacing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Looking for a Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Finding Text in Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Replacing a Text String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using Go To Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Using Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
View Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Showing Line Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Using the Report Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Highlighting Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Showing Whitespace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Using Language Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Displaying Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using the Code Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Document Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Setting the Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reporting Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Checking Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Sorting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Using Outline Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Using Column Select Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

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Using DesignPad

Comparing Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Using Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Window Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

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 Using DesignPad
Working With Files

Working With Files

You can access commands for working with files from the Standard toolbar or the File menu.
Creating a New File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Opening and Closing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Saving a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Printing and Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Creating a New File

You can create a new source view file.
Use the button, + shortcut or choose New from the File menu.

You can also open a new untitled text file by choosing Plain Text File from the File menu.

Opening and Closing Files

DesignPad is opened in edit mode when you open a text view from the Design Manager or in
read-only mode when you view a generated HDL file.
You can also open a file from DesignPad by using the button, + shortcut or by
choosing Open from the File menu to display the standard file browser for your workstation.
Note that you can use the Files of type filter in the dialog box to select from any of the file types
for the currently supported language types.

Opening a Selected Pathname

If a text file pathname is referenced in the active text file you can open the file in a new
DesignPad tab by selecting the full pathname and choosing Open Selected from the File menu.

Note
DesignPad supports the use of HyperText Transfer Protocol(http) paths to enable you to
open selected Web pages directly from within text files.

Opening Up or Down
You open down into a HDL text or graphical view when an instance is selected in the code
browser or in the body of a HDL text file.

You can use the button or choose Open Down from the popup menu.

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Using DesignPad
Saving a File

If the current view is a generated HDL text view, a popup list allows you to choose the source or
generated view. If the child view is described by a text file, it is opened in a new DesignPad tab.

You can use the button to open up when the parent view is a graphical symbol, block
diagram or IBD view.

Opening a Recently Opened File

You can open a recently accessed file by selecting Recent Files from the File menu. The
cascade menu shows a list of recently opened files which can be re-opened for viewing or
editing.

Closing a File
Choose Close from the File menu to close the current file. Alternatively, you can use the
button to close the current file. You are prompted whether to save the file if there are any
unsaved edits. You can close all the open files by repeating the procedure until all the file tabs
have been closed.

Saving a File
You can save a file in the active tab using the following methods:
• Use the button

• Use the + shortcut keys

• Choose Save from the File menu

Alternatively, you can choose Save as to display the Save File dialog box for your window
system. You can optionally navigate to a different location or enter a new name into the File
name text entry box. A file type filter on the dialog box allows you to view existing files of the
supported language types in the destination directory. For example:

Verilog files (*.vo,*.v,*.vlg,*.verilog,*.vlog)

VHDL Files (*.vhd,*.vho,*.vhdl)
Tcl Scripts (*.tcl,*.tk,*.itcl,*.itk)
C/C++ sources (*.c,*.h,*.cpp,*.hpp)
XML Files (*.xml,*.htt,*.htl)
All Files (*.*, *.*)

Saving All Files

You can save all of the unsaved files open in DesignPad by choosing Save All from the File
menu or using the + + shortcut keys.

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 Using DesignPad
Printing and Exporting Files

Reverting to the Last Saved File

You can revert to the last saved version of the active file by choosing Revert to last save from
the File menu.

Read-Only Mode
DesignPad indicates read-only mode by showing the words (read-only) after the filename on the
menu title bar.

If you have write access to the file, you can check the mode by setting or unsetting the
Readonly option in the File menu.

Printing and Exporting Files

Printer page layout, print, and export commands are available from the File menu.

Page Layout
You can setup the page layout for printing by choosing Page Setup from the File menu to
display the Page Setup dialog box for your window system.

You can choose from a pull down list of paper sizes. On Windows, these are the paper sizes
supported on your current printer. On UNIX systems, a list of standard sizes are available or you
can define the width and height for a custom page size (which should correspond to a paper size
supported by your system printer).

You can set the horizontal and vertical margins at the left, top, bottom and right of the page and
set portrait or landscape orientation.

Note
Note that the GNU enscript utility is used to print text files on UNIX systems and you can
pass extra arguments to enscript by entering them in the Page Setup dialog box.

Printing a File
You can print the active file by using the button, + shortcut keys or choosing Print
from the File menu. The standard print dialog box for your window system displays.

On Windows, you can choose from a list available printers and set properties for the selected
printer. On UNIX systems you can choose to specify the print command (which initially
defaults to lp -c) or choose from a pulldown list of recently used print commands.

You can choose to print the whole file, selected text or a specified page range or you can choose
to print to a file.

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Using DesignPad
Printing and Exporting Files

Exporting a HTML File

You can export the active file as a HTML file by using the button or choosing Document
and Visualize from the File menu. The Document and Visualize dialog box displays. Choose to
create a website. You can specify a different filename or navigate to a new location using the
standard directory browser features supported by your window system.

Click the OK button to confirm the dialog box and write out the HTML file.

Note
If you select the HTML export option, a HTML browser must be installed on your
Windows®/Linux®1machine to be able to view the exported files.

1. Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.

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 Using DesignPad
Editing Operations

Editing Operations
Standard editing commands are available from Standard or Edit toolbars and the Edit menu.
Undo and Redo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cut, Copy, Append, Paste, and Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Selecting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Inserting a Text File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Commenting Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Changing Indents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Changing Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Completing Keywords, Symbols, and Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Undo and Redo

You can use the following methods to cancel the last action you performed:
• button

• + shortcut keys

• Choose Undo from the Edit menu

In general, any insert or delete editing operations can be undone including those performed by a
replace or sort command.

You can reverse the undo action by using the button, + shortcut keys or choosing
Redo from the Edit menu.

Cut, Copy, Append, Paste, and Delete

You can cut, copy, append and paste text to or from the clipboard using the following toolbar
buttons, shortcut keys and menu commands:

Table 2-1. Cut, Copy, Append, Paste and Delete Commands

Toolbar Shortcut Menu
+ Cut

+ Copy

+ + Append

+ Paste

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Using DesignPad
Selecting Text

Table 2-1. Cut, Copy, Append, Paste and Delete Commands (cont.)
Toolbar Shortcut Menu
+ + Paste Column

Note
You can select and copy columns when Column Select Mode is enabled as described in
Using Column Select Mode.

You can delete text using the or keys. Either key deletes the selected text. Additional
shortcuts are defined using the and keys:
Delete selected text or next character if nothing selected
Delete selected text or previous character if nothing selected

+ Delete to start of next word

+ Delete to start of previous word

+ + Delete to the end of the line

You can also copy or move selected text by holding down the right mouse button and dragging
it to a new location within the file. When you release the mouse button a popup menu displays
for you to choose Copy Here or Move Here and drop the text at the new location.

Selecting Text
You can select text with mouse by pressing and holding the left mouse button down at the start
of the text, dragging the cursor to the end of the required selection and then releasing the button.
Alternatively, you can click the left button at the start of the text and hold the key down.
Then click the left mouse button at the end of the text to complete the selection.

You can select text using the keyboard by using the cursor arrow keys to move the cursor to the
start of the text you want to select. Then press and hold the key while using the arrow keys
to move the cursor to the end of the selection.

You can select a word by moving the cursor over the word and double-clicking the left mouse
button.

You can select the current line by using the shortcut key or choosing Line from the Select
cascade of the Edit menu.

You can select the current text block by choosing Block from the Select cascade of the Edit
menu.

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 Using DesignPad
Inserting a Text File

You can select the whole document by using the + shortcut keys or choosing All from the
Select cascade of the Edit menu.

The following shortcuts are also available to extend the current selection:
+ Extend selection one character to the right

+ Extend selection one character to the left

+ + Extend selection to end of word

+ + Extend selection to beginning of word

+ Extend select to line above

+ Extend selection to line below

+ Extend select to beginning of line

+ Extend selection to end of line

Clearing Highlighted Text

You can clear all highlighted text by using the button or choosing Clear Highlights from
the Edit menu.

Inserting a Text File

You can insert the contents of a specified text file by choosing Insert File as Text from the Edit
menu.
The Open File dialog box for your window system allows you to browse for the required file.
When you select a text file and confirm the dialog box its contents are imported at the current
cursor position.

Commenting Lines
You can enter the comment characters for the active language (for example, // in a Verilog file
or -- in a VHDL file) by using the following methods:
• button

• + shortcut keys

• Choose Comment Selected/Line from the Comments cascade of the Edit or popup
menu

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Using DesignPad
Changing Indents

The comment characters are added before the selected text or at the start of the current line if
nothing is selected.

You can add comment characters at the start of all lines in the current text block by choosing
Comment Block from the Comments cascade of the Edit or popup menu.

You can remove comment characters from the current line (or from the selected lines) by using
the button, + + shortcut keys or by choosing UnComment from the Comments
cascade of the Edit or popup menu.

Changing Indents
You can set defaults for the indents and spacing used by each language type by setting
preferences.
Refer to Setting Preferences.

Note
The default preferences are set to insert a specified number of spaces when you use the (tab)
key instead of inserting explicit tab characters.

You can increase the indent used for the selected text or the current line by using the button
or by choosing Increase Indent Selected/Line from the Change Indent cascade of the Edit or
popup menu.

You can decrease the indent used for the selected text or the current line by using the button
or by choosing Decrease Indent Selected/Line from the Change Indent cascade of the Edit or
popup menu.

You can increase or decrease the indent used for the current text block by choosing Increase
Indent Block or Decrease Indent Block from the Change Indent cascade of the Edit or popup
menu.

You can apply automatic indenting to the selected text (or all text in the document if nothing is
selected) by choosing Auto-Indent Selected/All from the Change Indent cascade of the Edit
or popup menu.

You can apply automatic indenting to the current text block by choosing Auto-Indent Block
from the Change Indent cascade of the Edit or popup menu.

If the selected text includes indents using tabs, you can convert the tabs to spaces by choosing
Convert tabs to spaces from the Edit menu.

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 Using DesignPad
Changing Case

Caution
To prevent improper auto-indentation in Blocks, it is recommended to put the open
parenthesis in the same line of the statement that opens this block. Also, put the closed
parenthesis and a semicolon “);” in a separate line to close the block so that auto-indentation in
Blocks works properly.

Note
You can display the spaces and tabs in your document by choosing Show Whitespace from
the View menu.

Changing Case
You can change the selected text from lowercase to uppercase characters by using the following
methods:
• button

• + + shortcut keys

• Choose Make Uppercase from the Change Case cascade of the Edit or popup menu
You can change the selected text from upper case to lower case characters by using the
button, + shortcut keys or choosing Make Lowercase from the Change Case cascade of
the Edit or popup menu.

You can change the selected text (in any case) to use initial capitals for each word by choosing
Make Initial Capitals from the Change Case cascade of the Edit or popup menu.

You can change the case of all keywords in the active file by choosing Keywords from the he
Change Case cascade of the Edit or popup menu to display the Change Case dialog box:

The dialog box allows you to make all keywords upper case or lower case. You can optionally
choose to apply the changed case in VHDL packages.

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Using DesignPad
Completing Keywords, Symbols, and Signals

Completing Keywords, Symbols, and Signals

You can automatically complete a language keyword by partially typing the required word and
using the following methods:
• button from the toolbar

• + shortcut keys

• Choose Complete Keyword from the Edit or popup menu.

• + shortcut keys

• Choose Complete Symbol from the Edit or popup menu

The language templates are loaded if they are not already loaded and if a single matching
keyword for the current language is found, it is automatically completed. If more than one
keyword is found (or there is a corresponding language construct), the choices are listed in a
popup window. For example, the keywords case, casex and casez are listed if you type ca in a
Verilog file. You can insert a keyword (or language construct) by clicking on its entry in the list.
Refer to Using Language Templatesfor more information about language templates.

You can automatically complete a signal, port or variable name by partially typing the required
name and choosing Complete Symbol from the Edit menu. This command allows you to
quickly insert any matching signal, port or variable name that already exists in the code
browser.

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 Using DesignPad
Search and Navigation

Search and Navigation

You can access commands for finding or replacing strings and for navigating through a
document from the Search toolbar or the Search menu.
Finding and Replacing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Looking for a Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Finding Text in Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Replacing a Text String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using Go To Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Using Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Finding and Replacing Text

Use the following methods to find and replace text.
Use the button, + shortcut keys or choose Find from the Search menu to display the
Find tab of the Find, Replace, Goto dialog box.

You can enter a simple text string in the Look For entry box and use the or
buttons to search in the forward or reverse directions.

You can choose temporary, during search, off or persistent to control how long the found text is
highlighted from the Highlight pull down menu.You can search within specific areas of an
open text file by selecting a code block type from the pulldown list of the Search in option,
which includes all the code block types supported for the current language. You can also choose
to search through all open documents.

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Using DesignPad
Finding and Replacing Text

Alternatively, you can press the button to reveal additional search options that you can
use to refine and extend the search.

For example, you can control how the search string is highlighted when found or search in
specific areas of a text file by choosing from the pulldown list. For example, you could limit the
search to the configuration or architecture code blocks in a VHDL file.
Note that the <<Less button hides the additional search options.

You can also apply the search to all open documents as well as the active file or use the
button to find all matching occurrences of the search string.

If you set Match case in the dialog box, a case-sensitive search is performed. For example, if
you specified the string Clk, occurrences of CLK or clk would not be found. However, words
containing Clk (such as SysClk) would be found.

You can also choose Match whole words to find only occurrences where the text string is a
complete word.

Note
The Match whole word option is not available when Regular Expression is set.

Find normally operates on simple text strings. However, if Regular expression is set, you can
search for a regular or class expression instead of a text string. For example, the regular
expression \<Clk_ would find all strings starting with the characters Clk_.

When this option is set, you can access a full list of supported regular expressions by using the
button.

If you set Wrap search, the search repeats once all occurrences have been found. If unset, a
“Search string not found” message indicates when all occurrences have been visited.

If you set Search backwards the direction when you use the button is reversed.
Howe ve r, the button always searches backwards.

If there is any text selected in the active file, you can set Search in selection to limit the search
to the selected text.

The search is normally limited to visible text. However, you can set Search in hidden text to
search in hidden text. For example, when Outline mode is set. If the search string is found in a
hidden text block, it is automatically expanded.

You can also choose Set bookmark to automatically set a bookmark (with the class search)
when the search string is found.

Refer to Using Bookmarks for more information about bookmarks.

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 Using DesignPad
Looking for a Word

You can use the button, shortcut key or choose Find Next from the Search menu to
select the next occurrence of a text string using the last settings in the dialog box.

Similarly, you can use the button, + shortcut keys or choose Find Previous from the
Search menu to select the previous occurrence of a text string.

Note
HDL Designer Series preserves the settings you make in the Find, Goto, Replace dialog box
per session. That is to say, if you set any options and then close the dialog box or close
DesignPad, the same options will be set if you re-open the dialog box later. Yet, if you close the
entire HDL Designer Series session, the dialog box will restore its original default settings in
the following session.

Looking for a Word

You can move the cursor to the next occurrence of a word or string by placing the cursor in the
word or selecting the required string and using the following methods:
• button

• + shortcut keys

• Choose Look Word Next from the Search or popup menu

You can move the cursor to the previous occurrence of the current word or selected string by
using the button, + + shortcut keys or by choosing Look Word Previous from
the Search or popup menu.

Finding Text in Files

Use the following methods to display the Search In Files dialog box:
• button

• Choose Find in Files from the Search menu

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Using DesignPad
Replacing a Text String

You can specify the search string in the Search What field. Recently used strings are available
from a pulldown list.

You can search files that match a specified pattern. The following filters are available from a
pulldown list to search files using the extensions recognized by the supported language types:
VHDL *.vhd *.vhdl
Verilog *.v *.vlog
Tcl *.tcl *.tk *.itcl *.itk
C *.c *.h *.cpp *.hpp
XML *.xml *.htt *htl
All Files *.*

You can edit the file pattern by adding space separated file patterns. For example, you could add
.vlg and .verilog to the Verilog patterns or enter a more specific match such as *_register.vhd.

In the Start from Directory field, you can specify the directory to search in, or to start
searching from if you have set the Look in subfolders option. Recently used directories can be
selected from a pulldown list or you can use the folder button to browse for a different directory.

You can search for a simple text string or set the Regular expression option and enter the search
string as a regular expression.

You can also set the Match case option to search for string that match the case of the specified
simple search string.

You can specify the starting directory for the search and set Look in subfolders option to
search below the specified directory.

Replacing a Text String

Use the following methods to display the Replace tab of the Find, Replace, Goto dialog box:
• + shortcut keys

• Choose Replace from the Search menu

This tab provides similar facilities to the Find tab described in “Finding and Replacing Text” on
page 27 but with an additional entry box for you to specify the replacement text string.

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 Using DesignPad
Using Go To Commands

You can use the button to replace the selected string, the button to
replace the next occurrence of the search string or the button to replace all
occurrences.

Using Go To Commands
A number of Go To commands are available from the Search menu.

Go to a Line or Bookmark
You can go to a specified line or bookmark by using the + shortcut keys of choosing Go
To from the Search menu.

The Goto tab of the Find, Replace, Goto dialog box displays:

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Using DesignPad
Using Go To Commands

You can specify a required line number or enter + or - to specify a relative number of lines. For
example, +4 moves forward four lines. Alternatively, you can go to the next or previous
bookmark of a specified class by selecting the bookmark option and choosing one of the
following options from a dropdown list:
line Bookmark inserted on a
specified line
search Bookmark inserted by a
search operation
named Bookmark inserted with a
specified name
expand Bookmark at the start of an
expandable code block in
outline mode
collapse Bookmark at the start of an
collapsible code block in
outline mode
errorLine Bookmark inserted by an
error message
activeBp Bookmark representing an
active breakpoint
disabledBp Bookmark representing a
disabled breakpoint

Note
The expand, collapse, activeBp and disabledBp bookmarks are not listed when you generate
a bookmark report.

If you choose the named class, the dialog box allows you to choose from a dropdown list of
named bookmarks in the active file.

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 Using DesignPad
Using Go To Commands

Go to a Declaration
You can use the shortcut or choose Go To Declaration from the Search or popup menu to
go to the corresponding declaration when the cursor is over a signal, variable or port.

Go to a Code Block
You can choose to go to the Start ofBlock, End of Block, Next Block, or Previous Block by
choosing one of these options from the Go To Block cascade of the Search menu.

Go to a Matching Object
You can use the button, + shortcut keys or choose Go To Matching Object from the
Search or popup menu to find a matching object. For example, if you have selected a module
statement, this command finds the matching endmodule statement.

If you are using Verilog, this command finds the matching end statement:
begin <-> end
case <-> endcase
function <-> endfunction
module <-> endmodule
primitive <-> endprimitive
table <-> endtable
task <-> endtask
config <-> endconfig
generate <-> endgenerate

If you are using VHDL, this command finds the next end statement (which may be nested
within other end statements) after any of the following statements:
entity units
architecture record
configuration block
for process
package generate
procedure if
function case
component loop

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Using DesignPad
Using Bookmarks

Go to a Message
You can use the button, shortcut key or choose Go To Next Message from the Search
menu to go to the next parser message. For example, you can go to the next error line
highlighted after using the Check Syntax command.

Similarly, you can use the button, + shortcut keys or choose Go To Previous
Message from the Search menu to go to the previous message.

If you checked the Close dialog after jump option, the dialog box is automatically closed after
finding a line or bookmark. If the option is left unchecked, then the dialog box stays open.

Using Bookmarks
You can access commands for using bookmarks from the Bookmarks toolbar or from the
Bookmarks cascade of the Search menu.

Insert Bookmarks
You can insert a named bookmark at the current cursor position by using the shortcut or by
choosing Insert Named Bookmark from the menu. A dialog box displays prompting you to
enter a unique name for each bookmark on entry.

Note
Note that a default name is derived automatically by adding the line and column to the
default string named_.

This will insert a line bookmark (indicated by an icon) on the current line in the file.

You can clear a named bookmark by using the + shortcut or by choosing Clear Named
Bookmark from the menu. A dialog box displays prompting you to select which bookmark you
want to delete.

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 Using DesignPad
Using Bookmarks

You can insert a line bookmark by selecting a line and then using the button, the +
shortcut keys or choosing Toggle Line Bookmark from the Search or popup menu.

This will insert a line bookmark (indicated by an icon) on the current line in the file.

You can move the cursor to the next line bookmark by using the button, the shortcut
key or by selecting Next Bookmark from the menu.

You can move the cursor to the previous line bookmark by using the button, the +
shortcut keys or by selecting Previous Bookmark from the menu.

If bookmarks are enabled in your code browser preferences, the named and line bookmarks are
listed below a Bookmarks folder in the code browser.

You can also move between bookmarks by selecting the Line Bookmark or Named
Bookmark option as described in Scrolling Controls.

You can clear all of the current bookmarks by using the button, the + + shortcut
keys or by choosing Clear All Bookmarks from the menu.

Generate Bookmark Report

You can view all of the bookmarks which have been entered in a file by generating a bookmark
report showing the name and line number of each user-defined bookmark (line, named or
search).

Use the button, the + shortcut keys or choose Report from the Bookmark cascade
of the Search menu to display the Bookmark Report dialog box.

Optionally, specify a start and end line number in the file to scan for bookmarks in the report.
Press the button to display a list indicating the line number, column, class and
bookmark name found between the specified lines. Note that you can stop the generating the
report by pressing the Stop button.

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Using DesignPad
Using Bookmarks

You can go to the location of any bookmark shown in the report by double-clicking on its entry
in the dialog box. Also, you can select all bookmarks in the list by pressing the Select All
button. Note that the Delete button deletes the selected bookmarks.

Note
The bookmark report also lists any errorLine (indicated by an icon), warningLine
(indicated by an icon) or noteLine (indicated by an icon) bookmarks.

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 Using DesignPad
View Operations

View Operations
A number of commands for view operations are available from the View toolbar or View menu.
Showing Line Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Using the Report Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Highlighting Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Showing Whitespace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Using Language Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Displaying Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Using the Code Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Showing Line Numbers

You can use the following methods to toggle the display of line numbers:
• button

• Choose Show Line Numbers from the View menu

You can also hide the line numbers by choosing Hide Line Numbers from the popup menu
when the cursor is in the line numbers column.

Using the Report Pane

You can enable a report pane (which is used to display error messages when syntax checking is
performed) by setting the Enable Report Pane option in the View menu or from the popup
window in the report pane.
You can hide or show the report pane by setting the Show Report Pane option in the View
menu or from the popup window in the report pane.

You can save the report as a plain text file by choosing Save Report As or print the report by
choosing Print Report from the popup menu in the report pane.

Highlighting Syntax
You can use the following methods to toggle the highlighting of language keywords for the
language of the current file:
• button

• Choose Highlight Syntax from the View menu

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Using DesignPad
Showing Whitespace

Refer to Setting Preferences for information about setting the highlighting for each of the
supported languages.

Showing Whitespace
You can use the following methods to display the space or tab characters underlying
whitespace:
• button

• Choose Show Whitespace from the View menu

Using Language Templates

The language templates help you to quickly enter complex Verilog or VHDL language
constructs from a template. They are not intended to replace thorough knowledge of the
language but allow you to quickly enter syntactically correct and automatically formatted
sections of code.
You can use the button or choose Language Templates from the View menu to toggle the
display of the language templates window.

Note
If the language Template window is not displayed, there may be a brief delay while the
templates are loaded.

Separate language templates are available for Verilog ‘95, VHDL (which supports VHDL ‘87,
VHDL ‘93, VHDL 2002 or VHDL 2008), SystemVerilog, and Verilog (which supports Verilog
2005). The appropriate language is automatically selected for an existing HDL file, or all
templates are available in an unsaved file with unknown language.

The language templates are displayed as a hierarchical tree which can be expanded or collapsed
by clicking on the or icons.

You can copy any template construct into the body of the active text file by double-clicking on
the required construct in the language templates window. The first editable field is

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 Using DesignPad
Using Language Templates

automatically highlighted ready for editing. For example, the following picture shows a module
statement added from the Verilog ‘95 template:

The following picture shows an ENTITY statement added from the VHDL ‘93 template:

Fields requiring user entry (such as an object name) are highlighted in yellow.

The new name is entered when you press the key and the cursor moves to the next
field. Note that the name may be used more than once in the same language construct. For
example, entity name is the first and also the last editable field in the ENTITY construct. Both
of these entries are automatically updated when you edit the first field.

Tip
You can also move between template fields by pressing the key or by choosing Next Field
or Previous Field from the Templates cascade of the Edit menu.

Fields highlighted in green or red can be expanded by double-clicking with the mouse
button, using the , choosing Expand from the popup menu or by choosing Expand
Field from the Templates cascade of the Edit menu.

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Using DesignPad
Displaying Toolbars

Some fields display a popup menu which allows you to insert additional template statements.
For example, you can choose from a list of types for the VHDL type or Verilog net_type fields.

Fields highlighted in green are replaced when they are expanded. For example, the VHDL ports
or Verilog list_of_ansi_ports field is expanded to display a new field which allows you to enter
a port name. Multiple port names can be entered by expanding the another_port_name field.
The template is completed by deleting the last unwanted entry field.

Fields highlighted in red support multiple lines. Expanding these fields inserts a new template
line before the highlighted field. For example, you can insert a module item declaration, module
instantiation, gate instantiation or block statements before the module_item field.

You can also enter a language construct by partially typing a keyword and using the Complete
Keyword command described in Completing Keywords, Symbols, and Signals.

For example, if a Verilog language template is active, you can use the button or
+ shortcut keys to complete the word mod by choosing module from the popup
menu to insert the actual keyword or ‘module’ to insert a module template.

Displaying Toolbars
You can display or hide toolbars using the Toolbars cascade of the View menu.
Refer to “DesignPad Toolbars and Controls” on page 53 for more information about the
available toolbars.

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 Using DesignPad
Using the Code Browser

Using the Code Browser

The code browser can be displayed or hidden by setting the Code Browser option in the View
menu or by choosing Hide Code Browser from the popup menu in the code browser.
The code browser represents the code structure in the active file as a hierarchical tree of
recognized code blocks.

Note
Refer to Code Browser Content for information about the code blocks recognized for each
language.

Bi-directional cross-referencing is supported between the code browser and the active file. If
you select an object in the code browser, the corresponding line or block of code is highlighted.
Similarly, the corresponding object is highlighted in the code browser when the cursor is in the
active file. The hierarchical tree is automatically expanded and the windows scrolled when
necessary.

You can collapse or expand the tree by clicking on the or icons or by pressing the right
mouse button and choosing Collapse, Collapse All, Expand or Expand All from the popup
menu.

You can choose to refresh the browser by choosing Refresh from the popup menu.

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Using DesignPad
Using the Code Browser

You can find a block of code by entering the name of the code block in the Find Block entry box
and using the button. For example, you can enter a signal name (or part of a signal name
such as _clk) to find the next signal or port declaration block which contains the specified name.

Note that recently entered strings can be accessed from a dropdown list.

You can set the HDL parser level to Full, Fast or None: Full parsing locates all ports and
declarations; Fast parsing displays instantiations only; None is the only option available for
non-HDL files and locates the top or bottom of the text file and any named or line bookmarks
only.

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 Using DesignPad
Document Operations

Document Operations
You can perform document commands from the Document Tools and Macros toolbars or from
the Document menu.
Setting the Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reporting Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Checking Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Sorting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Using Outline Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Using Column Select Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Comparing Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Setting the Language

The language is automatically set when you open a recognized file type or create a new file
using the design content creation wizard.
The supported languages normally include: Verilog ‘95, Verilog 2005, SystemVerilog, VHDL
‘87, VHDL ‘93, VHDL 2002, VHDL 2008, Cxx (C or C++), Macro, PSL, Tcl, and XML. If no
language is recognized, the default language is set to none. Refer to “Document Types” on
page 74 for information about adding support for additional languages.

You can set the language for an unrecognized file type or an untitled file by choosing one of the
supported languages from the Language cascade of the Document menu.

Reporting Statistics
You can report statistics about the number of commented and uncommented lines in the active
file by using the following methods:
• + shortcut keys

• Choose Report Statistics from the Document menu

The document statistics are reported on the status bar. For example:

Commented Lines: 2; Uncommented Lines: 40

Checking Syntax
You can check that the syntax used in the active document is correct for the currently selected
language by choosing Check Syntax from the Document menu.

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Using DesignPad
Sorting Text

When an error is detected, the line is highlighted and an errorLine bookmark icon is inserted
next to the line number for the line of code containing the error.

Error messages are displayed in the status bar and a full list of messages displays as a violations
report in a report pane below the main HDL text window:

The report pane can be enabled, hidden printed or saved as described in “Using the Report
Pane” on page 37.

Line numbers can be enabled or disabled as described in “Showing Line Numbers” on page 37.

You can navigate to the next or previous syntax error and its corresponding message in the
report pane by using the go to commands described in “Go to a Message” on page 34.

You can cross-reference from a message in the report pane to the error in the code by clicking
on the message or cross-reference to the message by clicking on an error line.

Sorting Text
You can sort the selected lines to display the Sort Selected Lines dialog box by using the
following methods:
• button

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 Using DesignPad
Using Outline Mode

• Choose Sort from the Document menu

If nothing is selected, the current buffer contents are sorted.

In the Sort by group box, you can enter your text file line numbers into the From and Length
entry boxes to enable you to sort selected lines within a specified range.

You can choose to sort lines in either ascending or descending order and you can sort them by
case sensitive, case insensitive or numeric comparisons.From the Then by group box, you can
use these columns to specify two additional sort levels below the primary sort.

Any duplicated lines of text found during sorting selected lines can be automatically deleted by
checking the Delete duplicate lines option.

Using Outline Mode

Outline mode can be used when you do not want to view all of the contents of a long text file.
When outline mode is set, each multi-line code block in the file is collapsed and represented by
hierarchical icons.

You can switch between normal and outline view mode by using the buttons at the bottom
of the DesignPad window or by setting Outline Mode in the Document menu.

You can expand all code blocks by choosing Expand All from the Document menu or collapse
all code blocks by choosing Collapse All. You can also expand individual code blocks by
clicking on the icons.

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Using DesignPad
Using Column Select Mode

For example, a combined VHDL entity and architecture file is collapsed in outline mode to
show only the entity and architecture declaration lines. You can expand the entity or
architecture and then expand lower level code blocks such as the port declarations.

Using Column Select Mode

When Column Select Mode is set in the Document menu, you can select a column of text
using the following method:
• Hold down the mouse button and drag the cursor vertically.

When this mode is unset, this action selects all text in the rows under the cursor.

Comparing Text Files

You can compare text files by using the following methods to display the Compare Files dialog
box:
• button

• Choose Compare Two Files from the Document menu

The active file is preselected as File 1 in the dialog box. You can use the buttons to browse
for an alternative file and for the file File2 you want to compare.

The files are compared when you press the button.

If there are any differences between the two selected files a split window displays in DesignPad
highlighting the regions which are different in each of the files. If there are no differences, a
message is issued stating that there are no differences between the two files.

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 Using DesignPad
Comparing Text Files

Regions of text which contain differences are highlighted in green with the lines which are
different shown in yellow.

The Total field shows the number of regions in the text file where differences are present. The
Current Region field indicates the current position in the file.

Note
A code block which contains several errors may be shown as one region.

You can navigate backwards and forwards through the regions with differences by using the
, , and buttons. The current region field changes as you move backwards
and forwards indicating your position in the file.

The following example shows differences between the VHDL generated from the top level view
in the UART example design and the corresponding source VHDL for the UART_TXT example:

You can merge the differences from the current region of File 1 in the top window into the
corresponding region of File 2 in the bottom window by using the button or merge
differences from File 2 into File 1 by using the button.

Each file can be saved individually using the or buttons.

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Using DesignPad
Using Macros

Using Macros
Macros can be used to record a sequence of key strokes or commands which perform an
operation which you can then repeat by playing back the macro.

Recording a Macro
You can define a macro by using the button, the + + shortcut keys or by setting
Record Macro in the Macros cascade of the Document menu.

All the subsequent key strokes are recorded until you repeat this command to stop the recording.

Note
You can include a command in a macro by including its keyboard shortcut in the key stroke
sequence.

The Save As dialog box for your operating system displays when you stop the recording for you
to save the keystroke sequence in a new macro file (with the default file extension .dpm) at any
specified writable location.

This location is saved in your preferences so that the macro files can be read the next time that
you invoke DesignPad.

The macro files contain a separate line for each key press and release action that was performed
while the macro was recorded.

Pausing a Macro
You can temporarily pause macro recording by using the button or by setting Pause Macro
in the menu. This can be useful if you want to perform keystrokes outside the macro. The macro
recording is resumed when you unset this command.

Replaying a Macro
You can repeat the key sequences defined in a stored macro by using the button, the +
shortcut keys or by choosing Playback Macro from the menu to choose from a list of available
macros in the Play Macro dialog box:

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 Using DesignPad
Using Macros

Deleting a Macro
You can delete any existing named macro by choosing Delete Macro from the Macros cascade
of the Document menu and selecting from a dropdown list of macro names in the Delete Macro
dialog box.

Loading a Macro
You can browse your window system for a predefined macro file by choosing Load Macro
from the menu.

Editing a Macro
You can edit an existing macro either by directly adding or removing keystrokes in the macro
file or by choosing Edit Macro from the menu to display the Edit Macros dialog box. The
following example shows the dialog box used to edit a simple macro which inserts the comment
string -- bookmark at the end of the current text line:

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Using DesignPad
Using Macros

The dialog box provides access to all the existing DesignPad commands assigned to toolbars
and menus. You can use any of these commands in your macro by expanding the category and
using the mouse button to drag the required command into the macro sequence list.

For example, expand the Bookmark category and drag the LineToggle command into the key
sequence shown above to create a macro which inserts a line bookmark and adds an end-of line
comment to the current text line.

Note
If your macro contains any commands which cannot be undone, an undo operation will
remove any undoable commands and edit strokes but leave non-undoable commands.

You can insert key strokes when Insert Mode is set or edit the existing key strokes when
EditMode is set.

In edit mode, you can use the button to remove a key stroke or command and use
the button when a key stroke is selected to display the Change Sequence dialog
box:

You can change the key sequence by typing the required new key stroke into the dialog box.

You can clear all key strokes and commands used in the current macro by using the
button or save the macro by using the button.

You can test the current macro by using the button. This button can be useful to
test the changes to a macro before they have been saved.

Refer to Customizing DesignPad for information about the available commands.

You can also open a macro file as a text view in DesignPad. When opened in this way, the
Macro language type is plug-in is enabled and syntax highlighting is available to identify the
macro elements. Refer to “Macro” on page 89 for information about the syntax highlighting
colors.

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 Using DesignPad
Window Controls

Window Controls
You can open a new DesignPad window by using the following methods:
• button

• Choose New Window from the Window menu

You can open several windows and use them simultaneously as separate text editors. When a
new window is opened a unique window number is shown before the filename in the title bar.
(The window number 0 is used when there is a single window.)

Note
You can set preferences to open new files as a separate top level window or as a tab within
the current window by selecting the Window category in the Preferences dialog box.

When you have more than one window open, you can activate the next window by using the
button, shortcut key or choosing ActivateNext Window from the Window menu.

Alternatively, you can activate the previous window by using the button, + shortcut
keys or choosing Activate Previous Window from the Window menu.

You can split the current window by using the button or choosing Split from the Window
menu. This feature can be useful for working on long text files where you need access to the top
and bottom of the file. To remove the split window, choose Remove Split from the Window
menu.

You can also make currently open windows active by choosing from a list of open windows in
the Window menu or by using the + shortcut keys (where n is the window number). For
example, + opens window number 2.

Note
The window number is shown before the current file pathname in the title bar.

You can close the active window by using the button, + shortcut keys or choosing
Close Window from the Window menu. You are prompted to save if there are any edits to the
file in the active window since it was last edited.

You can close all open windows by using the button or choosing Close All from the
Window menu.

You can also close all windows and exit from DesignPad by choosing Exit from the File menu.

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Using DesignPad
Window Controls

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 Appendix A
DesignPad Toolbars and Controls

DesignPad has 10 individual toolbars, a menu bar, a status bar and browser controls.
If not already displayed, the toolbars can be individually enabled or disabled from the Toolbars
cascade of the View menu.

Alternatively, you can choose Settings from the Toolbars cascade of the View menu to display
the Toolbars dialog box.

The dialog box allows you to enable or disable any of the toolbars. It also allows you to control
whether tooltips are displayed when you move the mouse cursor over a toolbar button.

Note
The Version Management toolbar is only available when DesignPad is integrated with HDS
and version management is enabled. You can enable version management by choosing
Version Management from the Options menu in the HDS Design Manager as described in the
“Version Management” chapter of the HDL Designer Series User Manual.

The toolbars can be customized by using the Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box which
can be accessed from the Options menu as described in “Customizing DesignPad” on page 61.

Standard Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Search Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Standard Toolbar

Edit Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Bookmarks Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
View Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Macros Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Document Tools Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Windows Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Version Management Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Tasks Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Scrolling Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Customizing DesignPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Keystroke Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Standard Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Standard toolbar:

Table A-1. Standard Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Create new Design File (Design Content Creation Wizard)
Open an existing file
Go to previous browser position
Go to next browser position
Open up
Open down
Save active file
Save all files

Print active file

Document and Visualize
Cut to clipboard
Copy to clipboard

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Search Toolbar

Table A-1. Standard Toolbar Commands (cont.)

Button Description
Append to clipboard
Paste from clipboard
Paste column from clipboard

Undo

Redo

Search Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Search toolbar:

Table A-2. Search Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Display the Find dialog box
Find next occurrence of search string specified in Find dialog box
Find previous occurrence of search string specified in Find dialog box
Find next occurrence matching the current word
Find previous occurrence matching the current word
Find a specified search string in files
Go to matching text
Go to next message
Go to previous message
Clear highlights in text

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Edit Toolbar

Edit Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Edit toolbar:

Table A-3. Edit Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Complete keyword
Comment selected text or current line
Uncomment current comment
Increase indent for selected text or current line
Decrease indent for selected text or current line
Automatic indent for selected text or all text

Make uppercase selected text or current word

Make lowercase selected text or current word

Bookmarks Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Bookmarks toolbar:

Table A-4. Bookmarks Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Toggle line bookmark
Go to next bookmark
Go to previous bookmark
Clear all bookmarks
Generate bookmark report

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
View Toolbar

View Toolbar
The following commands are available from the View toolbar:

Table A-5. View Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Show or hide line numbers
Show or hide highlight syntax
Show or hide whitespace
Show or hide language templates

Macros Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Macros toolbar:

Table A-6. Macros Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Toggle record macro
Pause record macro
Playback macro

Document Tools Toolbar

The following commands are available from the Document Tools toolbar:

Table A-7. Document Tools Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Run syntax checker
Sort buffer or selection
Convert to graphics
Visualize code
Trace to graphics
Compare two files

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Windows Toolbar

Windows Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Windows toolbar:

Table A-8. Windows Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Open new window
Close current window
Close all windows
Activate next window
Activate previous window
Split current window
Component Browser

Version Management Toolbar

The following commands are available from the Version Management toolbar:

Table A-9. Version Management Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Check in the selected objects
Check out writable copies of the selected objects
Check out (get) read-only copies of the selected objects
Change the lock for the selected objects
Tag the selected objects with a symbolic label
Synchronize the workspace with objects in the repository
Report version management status information
Report the revision control history
Compare the selected HDL file with a version in the repository

The Version Management toolbar is only available when DesignPad is integrated with HDS and
a version management interface is enabled in your HDS preferences. The buttons shown above

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Tasks Toolbar

are available when you are using the GNU Revision Control System (RCS). Additional buttons
may be available if a different version management interface is selected.

Refer to the HDL Designer Series User Manual for information about the version management
features.

Tasks Toolbar
The following commands are available from the Tasks toolbar:

Table A-10. Tasks Toolbar Commands

Button Description
Run the LeonardoSpectrum synthesis flow
Run the ModelSim simulation flow
Run the Precision Synthesis flow
Generate HDL from graphical views

Run the QuestaSim simulation flow

You can display a pulldown palette on the , , and buttons to operate

on a single design level, hierarchically through components (indicated by ) or hierarchically
through components from the design root (indicated by ). When you select one of these
options, it becomes the default operation for the button.

Note that the Tasks toolbar is only available when DesignPad is integrated with HDS. The task
buttons shown above are normally available by default. However, the tasks available from the
toolbar and menu can be changed using the HDS task manager and are automatically loaded
when DesignPad is invoked.

Refer to the HDL Designer Series User Manual for information about tasks.

Scrolling Controls
You can use the window scroll bars to move up or down in the current window.
You can also use the or buttons. These buttons scroll up or down to the next page by
default but you can choose alternative scrolling modes by pressing the mouse button over
the button on the scroll bar.

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Menu Bar

A popup menu allows you to set scrolling by page, line bookmark, named bookmark, template
field, code block or message:

Menu Bar
The following pulldown menus are provided in DesignPad when it is invoked from within a
HDL Designer Series product:

A short message describing the associated command displays in the status bar when the cursor
is moved over any pulldown menu item or toolbar button.

You can also enable or disable the display of tooltips by choosing Tooltips from the Toolbars
cascade of the View menu. When tooltips are enabled, the command name is shown in a tooltip
window under the button when the cursor is moved over a toolbar.

Many commands are also available in a context-sensitive popup menu which displays when you
press and release the right mouse button.

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Customizing DesignPad

Customizing DesignPad
DesignPad supports customizable commands, toolbars, menus, shortcut keys and a facility to
reference your own Tcl scripts defining extension functions.
You can invoke and customize each of these features by choosing Customize from the Options
menu to display the Customize dialog box.

Customizing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Customizing Menus and Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Customizing Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Customizing Commands
The following figure shows the Customize dialog box when it is first invoked. The Commands
tab appears by default showing the default settings for the first command selected in the
commands list.

The category and name of a built-in command cannot be changed although you can use the
button to create a new command with unspecified settings or the button to
create a new command with the same initial settings as the selected command.

New commands are created with a default category Custom and name Cmd1 but can be renamed
in a dialog box which displays when they are created. You can also use the and

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Customizing Commands

buttons to rename or delete a custom command. (You cannot delete or rename a

built-in command).

You can change any of the following command settings:

• Type is normally set to command but can be changed to popup, checkbutton or

radiobutton. popup is used to specify a submenu. checkbutton for a command in a menu
or toolbar which can be set on or off. radiobutton for a command in a menu which
selects one only of several choices.
• Label is the text displayed when the command is used in a menu.
• Bitmap is the name of the icon file used when the command is used in a toolbar. You
can browse for an alternative icon file (in GIF format) by clicking on the icon shown in
the dialog box.
• Help is the text shown in the status bar for a menu command or the tooltip text for a
toolbar command.
• Command identifies the namespace and definition of the command in the Tcl code.
• Shortcut is the shortcut text shown when the command is used in a menu.
• Menu identifies the submenu name for the popup command type.
The Label and Help fields for the built-in commands are references to the actual text strings
which are specified in a .msg file. Alternatively, the text can be entered directly into the dialog
box. Note that you can include the ampersand character before a letter which you want to use as
a mnemonic shortcut in a menu option.

The new settings are applied to the selected command when you click the button.

Note that you can use the button to reset all settings for the selected built-in command
to its default settings.

You can reference custom commands which define extensions to the standard features by
loading a user-written Tcl script in the Extensions tab.

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Customizing Menus and Toolbars

The Loaded scripts pane lists all currently loaded custom Tcl scripts. Any command defined in
a custom Tcl script can be referenced in the Settings section of the Commands tab when you are
creating a new command.

You can use the Add button to browse for a Tcl script containing custom command definitions
and add the selected script to the loaded scripts list. Tcl scripts should have one of the
extensions .tcl, .tk, .itcl or .itk.

You can use the Remove button to unload the selected custom Tcl script.

The Tcl script must contain a valid command namespace and definition. The following simple
example shows the built-in AcceptFileDrops command which allows DesignPad to accept file
drops from the Windows Explorer:

namespace eval ::HteAcceptFileDrops {

::HTE::Editor::DND::addMIMEType text/uri-list {
HTE::API::weakOpenFile [lindex $data 0]
} 50
}

Customizing Menus and Toolbars

Any of the commands defined in the Commands tab can be added to custom menus or toolbars
using the Menus and Toolbars tabs.
For example, the following picture shows the Menus tab being used to edit the Window menu:

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Customizing Menus and Toolbars

The All Menu field lists all currently available menus. Selecting a menu from the list, shows the
commands in the selected menu.

You can use the New button to create a new empty menu or the Copy button to create a new
menu with the same initial content as the selected menu.

New menus are created with a default name Menu1 but can be renamed in a dialog box which
displays when they are created. You can also use the Delete button to delete a custom menu.
(You cannot delete a built-in menu).

You can add or remove selected commands in the menus by using the <<Add or the Remove>>
buttons. You can add a special separator character by choosing separator from the Others
category.

You can move a command up or down the menu list by using the Up and Down buttons. Up
corresponds to left in the main menu bar; down corresponds to right in the main menu bar.

You can select the command category from a pulldown list. For example, choose File and all the
commands in the File category are shown in the Commands list.

Note
Note that the shortcut text and brief description shown in the status bar are defined in the
Commands tab. The shortcut key sequence is defined in the Shortcuts tab.

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Customizing Menus and Toolbars

You can customize toolbars in the same way using the Toolbars tab. For example, the
following picture shows the Toolbars tab being used to edit the Search toolbar:

You can use the New button to create a new empty toolbar or the Copy button to create a new
toolbar with the same initial content as the selected toolbar.

New toolbars are created with a default name Toolbar1 but can be renamed in a dialog box
which displays when they are created. You can also use the Delete button to delete a custom
toolbar. (You cannot delete a built-in toolbar).

You can add or remove commands in the toolbars by using the <<Add or Remove>> buttons.
You can add a special separator character by choosing separator from the Others category.

You can move the selected command up or down the toolbar list by using the Up or Down
buttons. Up corresponds to left in the horizontal toolbar; down corresponds to right in the
horizontal toolbar.

You can select the command category from a pulldown list. For example, choose File and all the
commands in the File category are shown in the Commands list. You can choose the Others
category to access a special toolbar separator character.

Note
Note that the tooltips and icons used for toolbar buttons are defined in the Commands tab.

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Customizing Shortcuts

Customizing Shortcuts
You can use the Shortcuts tab to modify or add shortcut key strokes to any of the commands
defined in the Commands tab.

The dialog box displays the current key shortcut or key shortcuts for the selected command.

In the Category field, you can select the command category from a pulldown list. The
Commands field will display a full list of commands for the selected category. Note that the
Current Keys field will display the current key shortcut (or shortcuts) defined for the selected
command.

You can add a new shortcut key by placing the mouse cursor in the Press new shortcut key field
and pressing the required key or sequence of keys. You can optionally enter a description for the
new shortcut.

The shortcut is added to the list of current key shortcuts for the selected command when you
click the Assign button. Also, you can remove the selected key sequence by using the Remove
button.

You can clear all the custom setting fields by using the Reset All button.

You can display a list of all currently defined shortcuts in a new text editor window by using the
List button.

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 DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Keystroke Modes

Note
Note that the shortcut can be shown next to the corresponding menu command by specifying
the required text string in the Shortcut field on the Commands tab.

Keystroke Modes
You can configure DesignPad to operate in vi or emacs emulation mode instead of the normal
DesignPad keystroke mode. When either of these modes is enabled, you can use most of the
standard keyboard commands recognized by the vi or emacs editor.
You can choose the keystroke mode by choosing Vi, Emacs or DesignPad from the Keystroke
Mode cascade of the Options menu.

If you use a vi or emacs keystroke which requires arguments (for example, /string to search for
the specified string), the arguments can be entered in an entry box which is provided above the
status bar at the bottom of the editor window.

Note
A list of standard DesignPad Keyboard Shortcuts can be viewed by choosing Shortcuts
from the Help menu. A list of vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes and Emacs Emulation Mode
Keystrokes can be accessed from a link at the bottom of the standard keystroke list.

Status Bar
The status bar provides information about the current status of the associated file which appears
in the main window. It typically displays information about the file and the current line and
column numbers.
The following example shows each section of the status bar:

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DesignPad Toolbars and Controls
Status Bar

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 Appendix B
Setting Preferences

You can set preferences for DesignPad by choosing Preferences from the Options menu to
display the Preferences dialog box. The dialog box displays the preference categories as a
hierarchical tree. You can select any of the categories to display the corresponding edit page.
Note
You can access information about the options on each page by using the button on the
dialog box.

General Text Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Editor Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
File Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Code Browser Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Window Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Document Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Preference File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

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Setting Preferences
General Text Settings

General Text Settings

The General Text Settings page allows you to set default fonts and colors:

You can also choose whether upper or lower case keywords are used in VHDL language
templates. This option is ignored in Verilog.

Editor Settings
The Editor page provides options to set the keystroke mode according to the required operating
mode. You can choose the to use the DesignPad, Vi or the Emacs operating mode.You can
further specify the Emacs Emulator delete key.You can also choose to enable soft-scroll.

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 Setting Preferences
File Settings

File Settings
The Files page provides options to control the number of entries in the recent files list, whether
to keep backup files and enable automatic saves. You can also set separate ISO8859 character
transmission encodings for read, save and print:

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Setting Preferences
Code Browser Settings

Table B-1. Files Settings

Field Description
Recent file list entries This feature allows you to change the number of files
which appear in the Recent Files cascade of the File menu.
You can choose between 1 to 20 files to be shown or
hidden by choosing the required number from the
pulldown list.
Keep backup files Backup files will be provided for all files which are saved
when this option is enabled. When the option is disabled
no backup files will be saved.
Enable auto saving When this check box is enabled you can automatically
save your files for any time between 1 to 60 minutes which
can be set from the pulldown list.
Encoding If you are producing and distributing files using different
sets of characters, you can use ISO8859 transmission
encodings which are agreed by both sender and
receiver.You can check any of the Custom Encoding
options for Read, Save and Print. These options enable
further choices from a pulldown list.

Code Browser Settings

The Code Browser Settings page allows you to enable auto expansion and choose whether to
highlight the whole line. You can also choose whether to show named and line bookmarks and
set the code browser background and foreground color:

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 Setting Preferences
Window Settings

Table B-2. Code Browser Settings

Field Description
Auto Expand When set, the code browser tree is automatically expanded.
Highlight Entire Line When set, the entire line of code is highlighted when
selected in the code browser.
Show Bookmarks in Code When set, any named or line bookmarks (but not error,
Browser warning or note bookmarks) are listed below a Bookmarks
folder in the code browser and can be used to navigate
through the bookmarks in the active file.
Colors You can use the popup palette to set the background color
for the code browser.

Window Settings
The Window Settings page provides options to control whether windows are opened in a new or
separate window and whether the window title is placed at the top or bottom:

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Setting Preferences
Document Types

Document Types
The Document Types page allows you to add or remove language plug-ins and enable language
parsing.
Language plug-ins are automatically loaded for VHDL ‘87, VHDL ‘93, VHDL 2002, VHDL
2008, Verilog ‘95, Verilog 2005, SystemVerilog, PSL, Cxx (C or C++), Tcl, XML and
DesignPad Macro document types.

You can use the button to display the Add Plug-ins dialog box which allows you to add
language types (where you can write independently and store in a separate directory). These
extra language type plug-ins can be added to the existing DesignPad by pressing the Load
button in the Add Plugins dialog box.

You can enter additional file extensions or remove a file extension by using the Set button to
update the list of extensions stored as preferences for the selected language type.

You can also enable parsing of the language types once they have been loaded by checking the
Enable Parsing check box.
The Re-parse during edits feature allows you to check valid HDL and set a delay between
parsing.
You can also choose Show progress bar to display progress during parsing.

You can also edit a list of file extensions that are recognized for each language. The following
extensions are set by default:
VHDL (‘87, ‘93, 2002 or 2008) vhdl, vhd, vho
Verilog (‘95 or 2005) vlg, sv, v, vo, verilog, svh
System Verilog vlg, sv, v, vo, verilog, svh
PSL psl
Cxx (C or C++) c, h, cpp, hpp
Tcl tcl, tk, itcl, itk
XML xml, htt, htl
Macro dpm
SPICE cir, ckt, cmd, lib, model, sp, spi

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 Setting Preferences
Document Types

If language parsing is enabled, the parser is automatically selected for the language which
corresponds to the file extension used by the active file. You can also choose whether to re-
parse during edits and optionally show a parser progress bar.

The Document Types category can be expanded to access a hierarchy of pages which can be
used to set additional preferences for each document type.

You can expand the Default document type to display pages which allow you to set default
printing, printer font (for Windows only), spacing and indent preferences. These options are
used when no specific preference has been set for the active language.

You can expand each language document type to set specific printing, printer font, spacing and
indent preferences for each language. When specified, these preferences override the default
document type preferences.

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Setting Preferences
Printing and Font Settings

The language document types also have additional preference pages for parsing, syntax
highlighting and code browser options.

Printing and Font Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Spacing and Indent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Parsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Syntax Highlighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Code Browser Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Printing and Font Settings

You can expand the Default or language document types to display pages which allow you to
setup printer headers and footers by entering text strings or internal variables.
You can use the button to enter any of the listed parameters into the Left, Center, or Right text
entry boxes before printing headers and footers:
Page number %(page)
Total number of pages %(pages)
Directory name %(d)
Filename %(f)
Pathname %(p)
User login name %(user)
User login group %(group)
Host machine name %(host)
Time (hour: minutes: seconds) %(time)
Date (day, month and year) %(date)
Year (4digit, for example 1999) %(year)
Year (2 digit, for example 99) %(yy)
Day (2 digit for example 06) %(dd)
Month (2 digit, for example 12) %(mm)
Day (short name, for example Mon) %(day)
Day (long name, for example: Monday) %(day_long)
Month(short name, for example Feb) %(month)
Month (long name, for example February) %(month_long)

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 Setting Preferences
Spacing and Indent

You can also choose to include line numbers and print with colors (if a color printer is
available). You can also specify the number of pages to print on each sheet of paper.

On Windows workstations, a separate page is available which allows you to set a separate
printer font and font size for headers and footers.

Spacing and Indent

The Spacing and Indent page allows you to set default and language options for tab width and
automatic indent. The language pages also have an option to automatically indent pasted text.

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Setting Preferences
Parsing

You can adjust the Tab width from between 1 to 20 points by selecting the up or down arrow at
the side of the text entry box. When you check the Replace tabs with spaces check box, you
can replace the standard tabs with spaces. (Note that you can display spaces by selecting Show
Whitespace from the View menu.)

Enabling Auto indent will automatically set a specified indent. The width of the indent can be
between 1 to 20 points by selecting the up or down arrow at the side of the text entry box.

You can also choose to set Auto outdent on backspace which when enabled will set a
backward indent by the specified amount shown in the Auto indent text entry box. (This option
is available for each document type but is not available in the default page.)

Parsing
The VHDL, Verilog and the SystemVerilog language types have an additional Parser page
which allows you to set the maximum file sizes for fast and full parsing:

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 Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Syntax Highlighting
You can set syntax highlighting preferences separately for each language.
For example the following picture shows the syntax highlighting page for PSL:

You can setup syntax highlighting separately for each document type. You can also use the
button to set the highlight colors used for each individual keyword.

C or C++
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the C or C++
language:
Table B-3. C and C++ Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’

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Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-3. C and C++ Syntax Highlighting (cont.)

Tag Description Background Foreground
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Code Block The braces }{ bounding a code block. white purple
Bound
Comment A comment line (preceded by // or text white green
enclosed between /* and */).
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Keyword All pre-defined C or C++ keywords. white red
Line A line continuation operator \. white light red
Continuation
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Operator Any C or C++ operator. white blue
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
Preprocessor Any preprocessor directives. white navy blue
Directives
String A string enclosed in double quotes. For white turquoise
example: ”mystring”
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.

PSL
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the Accellera
Property Specification Language (PSL):
Table B-4. PSL Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Base The name of an inherited verification unit. white light green
Verification
Unit

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 Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-4. PSL Syntax Highlighting (cont.)

Tag Description Background Foreground
Boolean Name of a boolean white sea blue
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Comment A comment line (preceded by // or text white green
enclosed between /* and */ in Verilog;
preceded by -- in VHDL).
Constant A constant name. white sea blue
Constructs Preprocessor constructs (%if,%for,%end white brown
etc.)
Declarations Named declaration keywords. white red
Design Module HDL design module under verification. white light blue
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
End Point Name of a user-defined end point. white brown
Function A boolean level built-in function. white dark blue
Integer An integer not inside a string white turquoise
Integer Type The name of an integer white dark purple
Keyword All pre-defined keywords. white red
Label Name of a label white dark blue
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Operator Any operator (such as |=>). white blue
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
Parentheses Parentheses, braces and square brackets. white blue
Preprocessor Any preprocessor directives (#define, white dark blue
Directives #include etc.).

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Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-4. PSL Syntax Highlighting (cont.)

Tag Description Background Foreground
Property The name of a user-defined property. white light blue
Sequence The name of a user-defined sequence. white purple
String A string enclosed in double quotes. For white turquoise
example:”mystring”
Struct Type The name of a structure. white dark red
System Verilog Supported System Verilog keywords. white red
Keyword
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.
Verification All verification layer directives (assert, white blue
Directive assume, restrict etc.).
Verification Name of a user-defined verification unit, white purple
Unit mode or property.
Verilog Supported Verilog keywords. white red
Keywords
VHDL Supported VHDL keywords. white red
Keywords

Tcl
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the tool
command language (Tcl):
Table B-5. Tcl Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Code block The brackets][ or braces }{ bounding a white purple
Bound code block.
Comment A comment line (preceded by #). white green
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Instruction Command line enclosed between brackets white violet
}{.
Keyword All pre-defined C or C++ keywords. white red

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 Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-5. Tcl Syntax Highlighting (cont.)

Tag Description Background Foreground
Line A line continuation operator \. white light red
Continuation
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Operator Any Tcl operator. white blue
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
String A string enclosed in double quotes. For white turquoise
example: ”mystring”
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.
Variable Any variable name. white saddle brown

VHDL’87, VHDL’93, VHDL 2002 or VHDL 2008

The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the
VHDL’87, VHDL’93, VHDL 2002 or VHDL 2008 language:
Table B-6. VHDL’87, VHDL’93, VHDL 2008 and VHDL 2008 Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Comment A comment line (preceded by --) white green
Constant A constant name defined by the white purple
CONSTANT keyword. For example:
CONSTANT MyConst
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Enum Literal The identifiers or literals of an white purple
enumeration type. For example:
type states is (StateA,StateB)

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Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-6. VHDL’87, VHDL’93, VHDL 2008 and VHDL 2008 Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Generic Name of a generic constant. For example: white dark blue
GENERIC (Tpd: time)
Identifier - An identifier in an association list. For white maroon
Assn List example:
clk => clk,
Identifier - An Identifier in a record. For example: white violet
Record TYPE switch_info IS RECORD
status : BINARY;
IDnumber : INTEGER;
END RECORD
Integer Any integer not inside a string. white turquoise
Keyword All pre-defined VHDL keywords. white red
Label Any label. white dark blue
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Mode The port mode (in, out, inout, buffer or white dark blue
linkage).
Operator Any operator (colon, assignment, white blue
comparison, slash etc.).
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
Parentheses Parentheses. white blue
Port The name of a port. white purple
Signal The name of a signal. white purple
String A string enclosed in double quotes. For white turquoise
example: ”mystring”
Type Name Type names. For example: white turquoise
std_logic_vector
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.

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 Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-6. VHDL’87, VHDL’93, VHDL 2008 and VHDL 2008 Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Variable A variable name defined by the white purple
VARIABLE keyword. For example:
Variable MyVar

The following additional PSL syntax highlighting tags are also supported when you are using
VHDL ‘87, VHDL ‘93, VHDL 2002 or VHDL 2008:
PSL Base Verification PSL Property PSL System Verilog
PSL Boolean PSL Sequence Keywords
PSL Constant PSL End Point PSL Verification Directive
PSL Constructs PSL Function PSL Verification Unit
PSL Declarations PSL Integer Type PSL Verilog Keywords
PSL Design Module PSL Parentheses PSL VHDL Keyword
PSL Preprocessor Directives PSL Struct Type

Verilog’95 or Verilog2005
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the
Verilog’95 or Verilog2005 language:
Table B-7. Verilog’95 and Verilog2005 Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Comment A comment line (preceded by // or text white green
enclosed between /* and */)
Compiler A conditional compilation directive white blue
Directives
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Function Name The name of a function. For example: white deep sky blue
function increment
Gate The name of a gate. For example: white light red
pullup gate_name(output)
Keyword All pre-defined VHDL keywords. white red
Macro Name The name of a macro white navy blue

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Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Table B-7. Verilog’95 and Verilog2005 Syntax Highlighting (cont.)

Tag Description Background Foreground
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Module The name of an instance of a module. white navy blue
Instance Name
Module Name The name of a module (defined using the white deep sky blue
module keyword). For example:
module Tester
Net The name of a net. For example: white purple
wire [7:0] data_out;
Operator Any operator (colon, assignment, white blue
comparison, slash etc.).
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
Parameter An identifier in a trireg statement. For white purple
example:
trireg small storeit
Port The name of a port. For example: white purple
input [7:0] data_out
Reg The name of a variable. For example: white purple
integer int_name
reg [25:0] clkdiv
String A string enclosed in double quotes. For white turquoise
example: ”mystring”
Task Name A task name (defined using the task white deep sky blue
keyword). For example:
task uart_write;
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.

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 Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

The following additional PSL syntax highlighting tags are also supported when you are using
Verilog ‘95 or Verilog 2005:
PSL Base Verification PSL Property PSL Parenthesis
PSL Boolean PSL Sequence PSL Struct Type
PSL Constant PSL End Point PSL System Verilog
PSL Constructs PSL Function Keywords
PSL Declarations PSL Integer PSL Verification Directive
PSL Design Module PSL Integer Type PSL Verification Unit
PSL Preprocessor Directives PSL Label PSL Verilog Keywords
PSL VHDL Keyword

XML
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the
eXtensible Markup Language (XML):
Table B-8. XML Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Comment A comment line (enclosed between <!-- white green
and -->).
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Keyword All pre-defined XML keywords. white red
Markup A markup delimiter. white navy blue
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.

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Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

SPICE
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the example
plug-in which supports analog circuit simulation using SPICE (Simulation Program with
Integrated Circuit Emphasis):
Table B-9. SPICE Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Commands A SPICE command white dark blue
Comment A comment line (enclosed between white green
#COM and #endcom).
Component Name of a component white light red
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Keyword All pre-defined SPICE keywords. white red
LHS Parameter left hand side parameter in an assignment white purple
statement
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Number A number white turquoise
Operator Any operator (colon, assignment, white blue
comparison, slash etc.)
Output An output variable white violet
Variable
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
Preprocessor A preprocessor directive white navy blue
Directive
String A string within double quotes white turquoise
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.

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 Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

Macro
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the Macro
plug-in which supports editing DesignPad macros:
Table B-10. Macro Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Character A character enclosed in single quotes. For white turquoise
example: ‘x’
Code Block Highlights the code chosen in the code light green black
browser.
Comment A comment line (enclosed between white green
#COM and #endcom).
Enclosed Block Any text enclosed between (),{} or []. pale yellow black
Keyword All pre-defined SPICE keywords. white red
Menu name DesignPad menu names. white purple
Message - Error messages. red black
Error
Message - Note Note messages. green black
Message - Warning messages. blue black
Warning
Misspelled Reserved for misspelled words when white black bold italic
Word spelling checker is available.
Modifiers Modifier key white red
Operator Any operator (colon, assignment, white blue
comparison, slash etc.)
Output An output variable white violet
Variable
Overlapping The overlapping part when error or yellow black
Messages warning messages overlap.
String A string within double quotes white turquoise
URL A unified resource locator anywhere in white blue italic
the text.

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Setting Preferences
Syntax Highlighting

SystemVerilog
The following table lists the default colors for the tags defined when you are using the
SystemVerilog language:
Table B-11. SystemVerilog Syntax Highlighting
Tag Description Background Foreground
Argument Argument for a sequence or property. white sea blue
Character Character within single quotes. white cyan
Clocking Identifier of a clocking statement. white light brown
Identifier
Comment Commented line (preceded by //) or a white green
commented paragraph (enclosed between
"/*" and "*/").
Compiler Compiler directive (eg 'define). white navy blue
Directives
Integer Integer not inside a string. white magenta
Enumerated Enumerated type declaration white magenta
Type
declaration
Function Name Name of a Function. white light blue
Gate Name of a Gate. white red
Interface Name Name of an interface. white orange
Keyword Verilog 2001 pre-defined keywords. white maroon
Macro Name Name of a Macro. white dark blue
Module Name of an Instance of a Module. white dark blue
Instance Name
Module Name Name of a Module. white purple
System Verilog System Verilog additional keywords. white blue
Keyword
Net Name of a Net. white dark magenta
Operator Any operator (colon, assignment, white blue
comparison, slash,...etc).
Package Name Name of a package. white dark magenta
Parameter Identifier in a "trireg" statement. white dark magenta
Port Name of a Port. white dark magenta
Program Name of a program. white cyan
Identifier

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 Setting Preferences
Code Browser Content

Table B-11. SystemVerilog Syntax Highlighting (cont.)

Tag Description Background Foreground
Property Name Name of a property. white light blue
Sequence Name of a sequence. white dark pink
Name
String String within double quotes. white grey
Struct or Union Name of a struct or union. white light blue
Task Name Name of a Task. white dark magenta
Variable Name of a Variable. white sea blue
Declaration

Code Browser Content

You can set which code blocks are displayed in the code browser. However, there are no code
browser preferences currently available for the XML document type.

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Setting Preferences
Code Browser Content

The following icons are used for code blocks in the C or C++ document type:
Table B-12. C and C++ Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Class Method
Function Namespace

The following icons are used for code blocks in the PSL document type:
Table B-13. PSL Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Default clock Verification directive
End point Verification mode

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 Setting Preferences
Code Browser Content

Table B-13. PSL Code Block Icons (cont.)

Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Property Verification property
Sequence Verification unit

The following icons are used for code blocks in the Tcl document type:
Table B-14. Tcl Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Procedure Namespace

The following icons are used for code blocks in the VHDL ‘87, VHDL’93, or VHDL 2002
document types:
Table B-15. VHDL’87, VHDL’93 and VHDL 2002 Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Architecture body Package body
Attribute Package header
Block statement Buffer port
Component declaration Input port
Configuration block Inout port
Configuration declaration Port map
Constant Output port
Entity declaration Procedure declaration
Function declaration Procedure body
Function body Process
Generate frame Signal
Generic declaration Subtype
Generic map Type
Instance Type Body

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Setting Preferences
Code Browser Content

The following icons are used for code blocks in the Verilog’95 document type:
Table B-16. Verilog’95 Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Always Parameter map
Function Input port
Gate instance Inout port
Initial Port map
Instance Output port
External instance Wire
Module Task
Parameter declaration

The following icons are used for code blocks in the Verilog2005 document type:
Table B-17. Verilog2005 Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Always Module
Function Parameter
Gate instance Parameter map
Generate statement Input port
Generate variable Inout port
Initial Port map
Instance Output port
External instance Wire
Local parameter Task

The following icons are used for code blocks in the SPICE document type:
Table B-18. SPICE Code Block Icons
Icon Code Block Icon Code Block
Sub-circuit Sub-circuit parameter
Sub-circuit node

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 Setting Preferences
Preference File

Preference File
Preference settings are saved in a dp_user directory at the same location as other HDL Designer
Series resource files.
These files are normally saved in the Profiles or Documents and Settings directory on Windows
workstations or in the home directory on UNIX and Linux workstations.

The preference file (dp_user_prefs) is written out in a versioned sub-directory when you exit
from the application from which DesignPad was invoked.

For example, the following sub-directory is created for version 2.43 preferences when
DesignPad is integrated with HDS:

Note
The directory containing the HDS resource files is named HDL Designer Series when it is
created in the Profiles or Documents and Settings directory on Windows workstations or
hdl_designer_series or when it is created elsewhere.

You can use the HDS_USER_HOME environment variable or -user_home command line
switch to specify an alternative location for the HDL Designer Series user resource files
directory. The DesignPad preferences are always written to a dp_user directory at the same
relative location shown above (provided that you have write permissions to this location).

Refer to the “Resource Files” section in the HDL Designer Series User Manual for more
information about reading and saving preference files.

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Setting Preferences
Preference File

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 Appendix C
Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

You can set DesignPad to emulate the keystrokes used in the Emacs Emulators by choosing
Emacs from the Keystroke Mode options in the Editor page of the Preferences dialog.
The following command keystrokes are supported in emacs emulation keystroke mode:
Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes
Keystrokes Function
a-z, A-Z, 0-9 Insert character
All symbols Insert character
Tab/Space Insert character
Return New line
Prior Scroll the current window down by one page
Next Scroll the current window up by one page
Home Goto the beginning of the current line
End Goto the end of the current line
Up, Down, Right and Left Move the insert point according to arrow direction
Ctrl / Undo
Ctrl-0 .. Ctrl-9 Digit argument
Ctrl-< Select from the insert point to the beginning of text
Ctrl-> Select from the insert point to the end of text
Ctrl-@ Save the insert point as a mark and start dragging selection
Ctrl-] Abort recursive edit
Ctrl-_ Undo
Ctrl-a Goto the beginning of the current line
Ctrl-c <Command prefix>
Ctrl-d Forward delete one character
Ctrl-e Goto the end of the current line
Ctrl-f Forward one character
Ctrl-i Indent
Ctrl-j Insert new line and delete indention

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Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Ctrl-k Kill the current line
Ctrl-l Recenter current window
Ctrl-m Insert a new line
Ctrl-n Move to the next line
Ctrl-o Open a line
Ctrl-p Move to the previous line
Ctrl-q Quoted insert (used for inserting Control characters in text)
Ctrl-r Incremental search backward
Ctrl-s Incremental search forward
Ctrl-t Transpose characters
Ctrl-u Universal argument
Ctrl-v Scroll the current window up
Ctrl-w Kill selection
Ctrl-y Yank
Ctrl-z Iconify the current frame
Ctrl-Down Move the insert point down by six lines
Ctrl-End Goto the end of text
Ctrl-Home Goto the beginning of text
Ctrl-Insert Copy to clipboard
Ctrl-g Quit some command
Ctrl-Left Go back to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl-Next Scroll the current window left
Ctrl-Prior Scroll the current window right
Ctrl-Right Go forward to the end of the next word
Ctrl-Space Save the insert point as a mark and start dragging selection
Ctrl-Tab Switch to the other tab
Ctrl-Up Move the insert point up by six lines
Meta-! Enter a shell command in the Command line
Meta-% Query replace
Meta-( Insert parentheses

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 Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Meta-) Move past the closing parentheses, insert a new line and
delete indention
Meta-/ Symbol completion
Meta-0.. Digit argument
..Meta-9
Meta-; Indent comment to preset location or insert comment at
preset location
Meta-< Goto the beginning of text
Meta-= Report the number of lines and characters selected
Meta-> Goto the end of text
Meta-@ Select the current word (from the insert point to the end of
word)
Meta-V Scroll the other window down
Meta-\ Delete whitespace
Meta-^ Delete indention for the current line
Meta-a Go backward to the beginning of the sentence
Meta-b Go backward to the beginning of the word
Meta-c Capitalize selection or the current word
Meta-d Kill the current word
Meta-e Go forward to the end of the sentence
Meta-f Go forward to the end of the next word
Meta-g Goto line
Meta-h Select the current paragraph
Meta-i Tab to tab stop
Meta-j Insert a new line and delete indention
Meta-k Kill the current sentence
Meta-l Down case selection or the current word
Meta-m Move the insert point right past the indention of the current
line
Meta-q Fill paragraph or selection
Meta-r Move the insert point to a certain line specified in argument

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Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Meta-t Transpose words
Meta-u Upper case selection or the current word
Meta-v Scroll the current window down
Meta-w Kill the current selection but without deleting it + a visual
effect of the killed region
Meta-y Yank pop
Meta-z Zap to character (kill all characters starting from the insert
point to a given character)
Meta-{ Go back to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Meta-} Go forward to the end of the next paragraph
Meta-~ Change state of current text to “not modified” (clear the
modified flag)
Meta-Backspace Kill the previous word
Meta-Delete Kill the previous word
Meta-Down Go forward to the end of the current paragraph
Meta-End Goto the end of the other text (the other pane for splited
windows)
Meta-Home Goto the beginning of the other text (the other pane for
splited windows)
Meta-Left Goto the beginning of the previous exp
Meta-Next Scroll the other window up
Meta-Prior Scroll the other window down
Meta-Right Goto the end of the next sexp
Meta-Space Convert all whitespaces around the insert point toone space
Control-Meta-0 Digit Argument
..Meta-9
Ctrl-Meta-@ Select the current sexp
Meta-Up Goto the beginning of the paragraph
Ctrl-Meta-/ Complete the symbol
Ctrl-Meta-\ Remove indention for selected range
Ctrl-Meta-a Goto the beginning of the defun
Ctrl-Meta-b Goto the beginning of the previous sexp

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 Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Ctrl-Meta-d Go down in the parentheses hierarchy
Ctrl-Meta-e Goto the end of the defun
Ctrl-Meta-f Goto the end of the next sexp
Ctrl-Meta-h Select defun
Ctrl-Meta-j Insert a new line and delete indention
Ctrl-Meta-k Kill sexp
Ctrl-Meta-l Switch to the next tab
Ctrl-Meta-n Move forward to the end of next block (enclosed in
parentheses) in the same hierarchical level
Ctrl-Meta-o Split the current line
Ctrl-Meta-p Move backward to the beginning of the previous block
(enclosed in parentheses) in the same hierarchical level
Ctrl-Meta-r Incremental search backward (regular expression)
Ctrl-Meta-s Incremental search forward (regular expression)
Ctrl-Meta-t Transpose sexps
Ctrl-Meta-u Go up in the parentheses hierarchy
Ctrl-Meta-v Scroll up the other window
Ctrl-Meta-w Set a flag so that if next operation is a kill it will append
Ctrl-Meta-z Select from the insert point to the saved mark
Ctrl-Meta-Backspace Kill from the insert point to the beginning of the sexp
Ctrl-Meta-Delete Kill from the insert point to the beginning of the sexp
Ctrl-Meta-Space Select the current sexp
Ctrl-x ( Start recording macro
Ctrl-x ) Stop recording macro
Ctrl-x + Resize window and it's split so that they are balanced
Ctrl-x - Shrink window to fit it's contents (only applicable in case of
split windows)
Ctrl-x / Save current insert point to register
Ctrl-x 0 Delete the current tab
Ctrl-x 1 Delete all other tabs and leave current
Ctrl-x 2 Split the current window vertically

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Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Ctrl-x 4 <Command prefix>
Ctrl-x 5 <Command prefix>
Ctrl-x 6 Save window's configuration to register
Ctrl-x ; Set the comment column
Ctrl-x = Report info about current character (at the insert point)
Ctrl-x > Scroll the current window right
Ctrl-x [ Move the insert point up one page
Ctrl-x ] Move the insert point down one page
Ctrl-x ^ Enlarge the current window by the value in argument (only
applicable in case of split windows)
Ctrl-x a <Prefix command>
Ctrl-x d Open a new text file with contents = a certain directory
complete listing (does not work under windows)
Ctrl-x e Run last macro
Ctrl-x f Set fill column = argument
Ctrl-x g Insert the contents of a register in text
Ctrl-x h Select the whole text
Ctrl-x i Insert a file
Ctrl-x j Jump to the contents of a register
Ctrl-x l Count the number of lines in text
Ctrl-x n <Prefix command>
Ctrl-x o Switch to the other window
Ctrl-x r <Prefix command>
Ctrl-x s Prompt user to save opened (and edited) files
Ctrl-x < Scroll the current window left
Ctrl-x v <Prefix command>
Ctrl-x x Copy selection to a register
Ctrl-x Kill from the insert point to the beginning of the sentence
Ctrl-x Delete Kill from the insert point to the beginning of the sentence
Ctrl-x Tab Indent the current selection using hard tabs

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 Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Ctrl-x Ctrl-c Prompt user to save opened and edited files, then close
DesignPad
Ctrl-x Ctrl-d Open a new file containing a brief listing of the contents of
a certain directory (file will be readonly)
Ctrl-x Ctrl-f Find a file
Ctrl-x Ctrl-i Indent the current selection using hard tabs
Ctrl-x Ctrl-j Downcase the current selection or word
Ctrl-x Ctrl-o Delete the current blank line, delete the following blank
lines or convert all current blank line to a single one
Ctrl-x Ctrl-p Select the whole page
Ctrl-x Ctrl-q Toggle read-only
Ctrl-x Ctrl-r Find a file and open it as read-only
Ctrl-x u Undo
Ctrl-x Ctrl-t Transpose lines
Ctrl-x Ctrl-u Uppercase the current selection or word
Ctrl-x Ctrl-v Find a file in the current window and tab
Ctrl-x Ctrl-w Write file (Save as)
Ctrl-x Ctrl-x Swap the insert point with the saved mark
Ctrl-x Ctrl-z Iconify current frame
Ctrl-x 4 0 Kill the current window
Ctrl-x 4 d Open dired in another window
Ctrl-x 4 f Find a file in another window
Ctrl-x 4 r Find a file in another window and set status as read-only
Ctrl-x 4 Ctrl-j Perform a dired jump back but in another window
Ctrl-x 4 Ctrl-f Find a file in another window
Ctrl-x 5 0 Delete the current frame
Ctrl-x 5 Ctrl-f Find a file but in another frame
Ctrl-x Ctrl-s Save the current file
Ctrl-x 5 r Find a file in another frame and change it's status to read-
only
Ctrl-x 5 Ctrl-f Find a file but in another frame

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Emacs Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table C-1. Supported Keystrokes (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Ctrl-x 5 Ctrl-j Perform a dired jump back but in another frame
Ctrl-x r b Jump to a given bookmark
Ctrl-x r c Clear the current rectangle (a current rectangle has a corner
at the insert point and the opposite corner at the saved
mark)
Ctrl-x r g Insert the contents of a register in text
Ctrl-x r i Insert the contents of a register in text
Ctrl-x r j Jump to the contents of a register
Ctrl-x r k Kill the current rectangle
Ctrl-x r l Open the bookmarks report
Ctrl-x r m Set a bookmark at a given line's start
Ctrl-x 5 o Switch to other frame
Ctrl-x r o Open a rectangle with the same size as the current one
Ctrl-x r r Copy the contents of the current rectangle to register
Ctrl-x r s Copy the current selection to register
Ctrl-x r t Fill the current rectangle with a given string
Ctrl-x r w Save the window configuration to register
Ctrl-x r x Copy the current selection to register
Ctrl-x r y Yank rectangle (similar to paste in column)
Ctrl-x r Space Copy the insert point to register
Ctrl-x r Ctrl-@ Copy the insert point to register
Ctrl-x r Ctrl-Space Copy the insert point to register

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 Appendix D
Keyboard Shortcuts

Many of the DesignPad commands are also defined as shortcuts using standard character keys
or function keys which can be used as an alternative to the toolbar buttons.

Table D-1. Standard Character Keys for DesignPad Commands

Keys Function
Ctrl+N Create a new File
Ctrl+O Open an existing file
Ctrl+S Save the active file
Ctrl+Shift+S Save all open files
Ctrl+P Print the active window
Ctrl+Z or F14 Undo the last command
Ctrl+Y Redo the last undo command
Ctrl+X or F20 Move selection to the clipboard
Ctrl+C or F16 Copy selection to the clipboard
Ctrl+Shift+C Append selection to contents of clipboard
Ctrl+V or F18 Paste the contents of the clipboard
Ctrl+Shift+V Paste column
Ctrl+A Select all
F8 Select line
Ctrl+Shift+] Extend selection
Ctrl+K Comment selected line
Ctrl+Shift+K Remove comment
Ctrl+Shift+U Uppercase selected text
Ctrl+U Lowercase selected text
Ctrl+F or F19 Find a specified text string
F3 Find next occurrence of the search string
Shift+F3 Find previous occurrence of the search string
Ctrl+F3 Look for next word or selected string

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Table D-1. Standard Character Keys for DesignPad Commands (cont.)

Keys Function
Ctrl+Shift+F3 Look for previous word or selected string
Ctrl+H Replace a specified search string
Ctrl+G Go to line or bookmark
F12 Go to declaration
Ctrl+] Go to matching object
F4 Go to next message
Shift+F4 Go to previous message
Alt+F2 Toggle line bookmark
F2 Find next line bookmark
Shift+F2 Find previous line bookmark
Ctrl+Shift+F2 Clear all bookmarks
Alt+F2 Report bookmarks
F7 Insert named bookmark
Ctrl+F7 Delete named bookmark
Ctrl+Shift+R Record macro
Ctrl+R Play back macro
Ctrl+spacebar Complete keyword
Ctrl+I Complete symbol or signal
Ctrl+F1 Display document statistics on status line
Ctrl+F4 Close window
F6 Activate Next window
Shift+F6 Activate Previous window
Ctrl+Tab Expand current template field
Tab Next field in template
Shift+Tab Previous field in template
Ctrl+Shift+Tab Display template popup menu
Ctrl+Tab Open next window tab (if not in a template)
Tab Insert tab (if not in a template)
Insert Toggle text insert or overwrite mode
Ctrl+Q Complete template

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 Keyboard Shortcuts

You can access a list of the currently defined DesignPad command shortcuts by selecting
Customize from the Options menu and clicking the Shorcuts tab. Press the List button in the
Customize dialog box to open the list of shortcuts in a DesignPad window.
Table D-2. Standard Editing Keys
Keys Function
Home Go to start of line
End Go to end of line
Delete Delete selection or next character to the right
Backspace Delete selection or one character to the left
Ctrl+Backspace Delete one word to the left
Ctrl+Delete Delete one word to the right
Left arrow Move cursor one character to the left
Right arrow Move cursor one character to the right
Up arrow Move cursor one line up
Down arrow Move cursor one line down

Note that you can switch DesignPad to vi or Emacs emulation modes by choosing Vi/Emacs
from the Editor Page in the Preferences dialog.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

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 Appendix E
vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes

You can set DesignPad to emulate the keystrokes used in the UNIX vi (visual) editor by
choosing Vi from the Keystroke Mode cascade of the Options menu.
The following command keystrokes are supported in vi emulation keystroke mode:
Table E-1. vi emulation keystroke mode
Keystrokes Function
i Insert text before cursor
I Insert text before line
a Append after cursor
A Append after line
o Open new line below cursor
O Open new line above cursor
yy Copy (yank) current line
nyy Copy n lines
p Put copied text after line
P Put copied text before line
r Replace one character
R Replace many characters
cc Replace current line
cw Replace current word
C Replace from cursor to end of current line
Y Copy (yank) current line (same as yy)
h Move cursor one character left
j Move cursor one line down
k Move cursor up
l Move cursor right
Ctrl+d Scroll down half screen
Ctrl+f Scroll down one screen
Ctrl+u Scroll up half screen

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vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table E-1. vi emulation keystroke mode (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
Ctrl+b Scroll up one screen
ESC End text insertion
w Go to next word
W Go to next blank-delimited word
b Go to beginning of word
B Go to beginning of blank-delimited word
e Go to end of word
E Go to end of word
0 (zero) Go to beginning of line
$ Go to end of line
1G Go to beginning of file
G Go to end of file
nG Go to line n
x Delete character to right
X Delete character to left
dw Delete next word
ndw Delete next n words
D Delete to end of line
dd Delete line
ndd Delete n lines
u Undo last change
U Undo all changes on line
~ Toggle upper and lower case
Shift+zz Save and exit
J Join lines
* Search for the word under the cursor
/ Find the string typed after the /
n Find the next word matching a typed string
N Find the previous word matching a typed string
>> Add a tab character at beginning of current line

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 vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table E-1. vi emulation keystroke mode (cont.)

Keystrokes Function
<< Remove a tab character at beginning of current line
Ctrl+r Perform a macro (when in insertion mode) otherwise, it performs a Redo
operation
Ctrl+h Perform a Backspace (when in insertion mode)
m Set Marker
‘ Get Marker
Return Move to start of next line
- Move to start of last line
^ Move to start of line
% Move to companion of parenthesis
. Perform the last successful operation
: Perform the following command sequence
nx Delete n characters to right
ncw Replaces n words
n>> Insert n tabs at beginning of current line
n<< Remove n tabs at beginning of current line
Ctrl+Shift+r Record a macro (when in insertion mode)
H Move to start of line of top of the screen
L Move to start of line of bottom of the screen
e Move to end of word
(n)| Move to (n)th character of line
M Move to start of line of middle of the screen
Ctrl+e Scroll down by line
Ctrl+Y Scroll up by line
Note that vi assigns different user commands to lower case and uppercase characters. For
example, the I key on its own (lowercase i) inserts text before the cursor but when used with the
Shift key (uppercase I) inserts text before the first non-blank character in the line.

Some commands are assigned to double-keystrokes. For example, C key followed by W key
replaces the current word.

Some commands can include a numeric character (indicated by italic n in the table above). For
example, 5 key followed by D key and W key deletes the next five words.

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vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes

If you use a keystroke which requires arguments (such as /string to search for a specified string),
an entry box is opened in the status bar at the bottom of the editor window for you enter the
required arguments.

The : keystroke can be followed by a keystroke sequence. For example, :10,20> shifts lines 10
to 20 right by one tab; :2,100d deletes lines 2 to 100.

Ctrl+Shift+r starts recording a macro. The next Ctrl+Shift+r stops the recording and prompts for
a macro name.

Refer to the vi man pages on your UNIX workstation for more information about the vi editor.

The following commands are supported in vi emulation mode:

Table E-2. vi Emulation Mode Commands
Command Description
:co address and :copy address Copies the current line to address
:d and :del Deletes the current line
:e filename and :edit Opens a certain file to edit
:e! and :edit! Reverts to saved version
:m address and :move address Move current line to address
:n , :n! , :next and :next! Switch to next file
:q and :quit Quit DP unless there are files not saved
:q! and :quit! Forced quit (does not check if all files are saved)
:r filename and :read filename Insert file
:s/pattern/otherpattern/?g? Substitute in all lines
:w ?filename? and :write ?filename? Write to disk (does not overwrite)
:w! ?filename? and :write! Write to disk (will overwrite)
:wq and :x Save current buffer and exit
:n :0 and :$ Jump to line number n or 0 (first line) or $ (last
line)
:num1,num2co and :num1,num2copy Copy range of lines to address
:num1,num2d and :num1,num2del Delete range of lines
:num1,num2m and :num1,num2move Move range of lines to address
:num1,num2s/pattern/otherpattern/?g? Substitute in range of lines
:num1,num2> Shift right range of lines
:num1,num2< Shift left range of lines

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 vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes

Table E-2. vi Emulation Mode Commands (cont.)

Command Description
:set wrapscan Searches from the beginning of text when end of
text is encountered
:set nowrapscan Disables the wrapscan option (this is the default)
:set ignorecase Ignores the case of strings in all search commands
(/, ?, n and N)
:set noignorecase Disables the ignorecase option (this is the default)
set nonumber and set nonu Hide line numbers
set autowrite Set auto-save = 1
set noautowrite Set auto-save = 0
set autoindent and set ai Set auto-indent for current language = 1
set noautoindent and set noai Set auto-indent for current language = 0
/string and search next / Search for a string
?string and search prev ? Search backwards for a string
set number and set nu Show line numbers
? Backward search for string typed after ? (Note: the ? command transposes the actions
performed by the n and N commands).
Preceeding a : (colon) command with a % (percent) will apply that command to all lines in text.
Ex. :%d will delete all lines.

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vi Emulation Mode Keystrokes

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 Appendix F
Regular Expression Syntax

The Find dialog box supports the following regular expression syntax:

Regular Description
Expression
Syntax
. (period) Matches any single character. For example: h.t matches hat, hit, hot and
hut.
[] Matches any one of the characters in the brackets, or any of an ANSI range
of characters separated by a hyphen -. For example: h[aeiou][a-z] matches
hat, hip, hit, hop and hut; [A-Za-z] matches any single letter; x[0-9]
matches x0, x1, …, x9.
[^] Matches any characters except for those after the caret ^. For example:
h[^u]t matches hat, hit and hot but not hut.
^ Matches the start of a line (column 1).
$ Matches the end of a line (but not the line break character). Use this for
restricting matches to characters at the end of a line. For example: end$
only matches end when it is the last word on a line, and ^end only matches
end when it's the first word on a line.
\< Matches the start of a word. For example \<clk_ would find strings starting
with the characters clk_.
\> Matches the end of a word. For example _clk\> would find strings ending
with the characters _clk. You can combine the \< and \> operators (for
example: \<clk\>) to explicitly find the complete word clk. This is
equivalent to using the Match whole word option.
\b Matches the start or end of a word. This is equivalent to \< or \>. For
example: \bclk\b also finds the complete word clk.
\B Matches a string within a word. For example: data\Bbus\Bout finds the
string bus within the string databusout.
\w Matches any character that can be used in a word.
\W Matches any character that cannot be used in a word (for example space).
() Groups a tagged expression for use in replacement expressions. A regular
expression can have up to nine tagged expressions numbered by their
order in the regular expression. The corresponding replacement expression
is \x for x in the range 1 to 9. For example: If ([a-z]+\) ([a-z]+\) matches
way wrong, \2 \1 would replace it with wrong way.

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Regular Expression Syntax
Class Expressions

Regular Description
Expression
Syntax
* Matches zero or more of the preceding characters or expressions. For
example: ho*p matches hp, hop and hoop.
? Matches zero or one of the preceding characters or expressions. For
example: ho?p matches hp and hop but not hoop.
+ Matches one or more of the preceding characters or expressions. For
example: ho+p matches hop and hoop but not hp.
{count} Matches the specified number of the preceding characters or expressions.
For example: ho{2}p matches hoop but not hop.
{min} Matches at least the specified number of the preceding characters or
expressions. For example: ho{1}p matches hop and hoop but not hp.
{min,max} Matches between min and max of the preceding characters or expressions.
For example: ho{1,2}p matches hop and hoop but not hp or hooop.
| Matches either the expression to its left or its right. For example: hop|hoop
matches hop or hoop.
\ Escapes the special meaning of the above expressions so that they can be
matched as literal characters. Hence to match a literal \, you must use \\.
For example: \< matches the start of a word but \\< matches \<.
Some external tools may not recognize all the regular expressions used by the HDL Designer
Series tools. However, the expressions listed above are recognized by most UNIX systems. Any
tools that support the TCL scripting language (for example, ModelSim, Precision Synthesis and
LeonardoSpectrum) should always recognize the following subset:
. (period), ^, $, \, [], *, +, ?, |

Class Expressions
A class expression is a regular expression enclosed in square brackets […], that matches any
one of the elements contained in the brackets. The permitted elements of a class expression that
can be used in the Find dialog box are:

Simple These are single characters that match themselves. To match a right square
Characters bracket ], it must be the first character of the class expression, after any
initial ^ (see Negated Class Expressions). To match a hyphen, it must be
either the first or the last character of the class expression. For example:
[AaBb] matches upper or lower case A or B.
Negated Class If the first character of a class expression is ^, the expression matches any
Expressions character not in the class. For example [^AB^] matches any character
except A, B and the circumflex itself.

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 Regular Expression Syntax
Class Expressions

Range A range expression is two characters separated by a hyphen -. It matches

Expressions any of the characters in the ANSI sequence between the two characters.
For example: [A-Za-z0-9-] matches any upper or lower case letter or digit,
or the hyphen itself.
Character These can be used as an alternative way to represent classes of characters.
Class For example: [a-z0-9] is equivalent to [[:lower:][:digit:]]. (Note the extra
Operators pairs of brackets.) The defined classes are:[:alpha:] Any ANSI letter.
[:lower:] Any lowercase ANSI letter.
[:upper:] Any uppercase ANSI letter.
[:alnum:] Any digit or ANSI letter.
[:digit:] Any digit.
[:xdigit:] Any hexadecimal digit (0-9, a-f or A-F).
[:blank:] Space or tab.
[:space:] Space, tab, vertical tab, return, line feed, form feed.
[:cntrl:] Control characters (Del and ASCII codes less than space).
[:print:] Printable characters, including space.
[:graph:] Printable characters, excluding space.

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Regular Expression Syntax
Class Expressions

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