Project Navigator Main Window

Following are the main areas of the Project Navigator, which are shown in the following figure:

Source Files

The first step in implementing your design for a Xilinx FPGA or CPLD is to assemble the design source files into a project. The Hierarchy pane in the Design panel shows the source files you create and add to your project. For information on creating projects and source files, see Creating a Project and Creating a Source File.

The Design View ("Sources for") area at the top of the Design panel allows you to view only those source files associated with the selected design phase (for example, Implementation). For details, see Using the Design Views. If your design uses partitions, the "Number of" drop-down list, Resources column, and Preserve column are also available. For details, see the Partitions Overview.

The Hierarchy pane in the Design panel shows the hierarchy of your design. You can collapse and expand the levels by clicking the plus (+) or minus (-) icons. Each source file appears next to an icon that shows its file type. The file you select determines the processes available in the Processes pane. You can double-click a source file to open it for editing in the Workspace. For information on the different file types, see Source File Types.

You can change the design properties, such as the device family to target, the top-level module type, the synthesis tool, the simulator, and the generated simulation language. For information, see Changing Design Properties.

Processes

The Processes pane in the Design panel allows you to run actions or “processes” on the source file you select in the Hierarchy pane. The processes change according to the source file you select in the Hierarchy pane. For information on running processes see, Running and Stopping Processes.

The Processes pane shows the available processes in a hierarchical view. You can collapse and expand the levels by clicking the plus (+) or minus (-) icons. Processes are arranged in the order of a typical design flow: project creation, design entry, constraints management, synthesis, implementation, and programming file creation.

Process Properties

Most processes have a set of properties associated with them. Properties control specific options, which correspond to command line options. When properties are available for a process, you can right-click while positioned over the process and select Process Properties from the popup menu.

When you select Process Properties, a Process Properties dialog box appears with standard properties that you can set. The Process Properties dialog box differs depending on the process you select.

After you become familiar with the standard properties, you can set additional, advanced properties in the Process Properties dialog box; however, setting these options is not recommended if you are just getting started with using the ISE® software. When you enable the advanced properties, both standard and advanced properties appear in the Process Properties dialog box. For more information, see Displaying Advanced Properties

Workspace

When you open a project source file or run certain processes that invoke other tools, the corresponding file or view appears in the Workspace. You can open multiple files or views at one time. Tabs at the bottom of the Workspace show the names for each file or view. Click a tab to bring it to the front.

To open a file or view in a window outside of the Project Navigator Workspace, use the Float Window toolbar button . To dock a floating window, use the Dock Window toolbar button . For more information, see Arranging Panels and Windows.

Transcript Window

The panels in the Transcript window shows output messages from the processes you run. When the Warning icon  or Error icon  appears next to a message, you can right-click the message and select Search for Answer Record to open the Xilinx website and show any related Answer Records. If a line number appears as part of the message, you can right-click the message and select Goto Source to open the source file with the appropriate line number highlighted.

For more information on the panels that appear in the Transcript window, see the following topics:

Toolbars

Toolbars provide convenient access to frequently used commands and are available from the Project Navigator main window as well as from some panels and Workspace windows. Click once on a toolbar button to execute a command. To see a short popup description of a toolbar button, hold the mouse pointer over the button for about two seconds. A longer description appears in the status bar at the bottom of the main window. For more information on the various toolbars, see Project Navigator Toolbars.

For Help on a toolbar button, click the Help toolbar button , and then click the toolbar button for which you want Help. For more information on getting Help, see Using Help.