Setting a Custom Compile Order

ISE

During synthesis and simulation, the compile order of the source files is automatically determined based on the ISE® design hierarchy. The ISE software determines the design hierarchy by analyzing the source files that were added to the project, and displays this hierarchy in the Hierarchy pane of the Design panel. When you run synthesis or simulation, the ISE software provides a compile list to the synthesis and simulation tools based on this hierarchy.

You can override this automatic compile order using either of the following methods:

Manual Compile Order - bypasses all hierarchical parsing of files and displays the source files in a flat list rather than hierarchically. This method allows you to have full control over the compilation order.
Note When Manual Compile Order is enabled, the ISE software does not analyze the files to determine the hierarchy or module names. For designs with many source files, this method may make adding source files and processing the design faster.
Global Include Files - forces selected files to be compiled at the start of the compile order even when the design is processed in Automatic Compile Order mode. This method allows you to specify individual files to be compiled at the start of the compile order for hierarchy analysis and synthesis. Hierarchy and compile order are still automatically determined for remaining files in the project.

Note Files that appear outside the top module hierarchy in the Hierarchy pane of the Design panel are not automatically included in the compile order.

To Use Manual Compile Order

Select Project > Manual Compile Order.
Note By default, this menu command is deselected, and the compile order is set automatically.
In the Design panel, enter the name of the top module in the Top Module field.
Note If Manual Compile Order was initially disabled for the project, and then enabled, the Top Module field shows the name of the module initially identified as the top module, and the order of the files in the Hierarchy pane is based on the order determined by the ISE software.
In the Hierarchy pane of the Design panel, do the following:
- Drag and drop the files to rearrange their order.
  The compile order is determined by the order in which the files appear in the list. For example, the first source in the list is compiled first.
- Enable or disable checkboxes to add or remove files from the manual compile order. To enable or disable all the checkboxes, you can right-click and select Check All or Uncheck All.
  Only files with a check mark are compiled by synthesis or simulation. Files that are sent to implementation only, such as UCF files, do not have a check mark because they are not passed to synthesis or simulation for compilation.

Note Alternatively, you can use a custom compile file list to specify the Manual Compile Order, as described in Importing a Custom Compile File List.

To Include Global Files in Automatic Compile Order

To allow the software to determine the hierarchy and compile order automatically, deselect Project > Manual Compile Order.
In the Hierarchy pane of the Design panel, select a source file to include at the start of the compile order.
Select Source > Source Properties.
In the Design View Properties dialog box, enable the Include as Global File in Compile List option.
Click OK.

Note You can repeat these steps to include multiple source files at the start of the compile order. If you select multiple files, their relative compile order is based on the order they were added to the project. For example, the file that was added to the project most recently is compiled first.

When switching between the different compile modes, please note the following:

When you switch the project from Manual Compile Order mode to Automatic Compile Order mode, the design hierarchy is recalculated automatically. Any changes to the order that were made in Manual Compile Order are not taken into consideration in Automatic Compile Order mode.
When you switch the project from Automatic Compile Order mode to Manual Compile Order mode, the initial compile order is based on the order determined in Automatic Compile Order mode. You can then modify the compile order as needed. This is true even if the project previously used Manual Compile Order with a modified compile order. That is, the compile order in Manual Compile Order mode is not preserved from one use of this mode to the next.