Using the Electric VLSI Design System

Chapter IV: THE DISPLAY

| ## 9: Hardcopy |

To make a paper copy of the contents of the current window, use the Print command of the File menu. On UNIX, this command produces a temporary PostScript file, which is then spooled to the printer.

On the Macintosh, an image of the selected circuitry can be obtained with the Copy command of the Edit menu. This command copies the highlighted circuitry to the clipboard, which can then be pasted into most drawing applications and word processors.

As an alternative to printing, you can request PostScript or HPGL files. These files describe the circuitry graphically, and can be printed or inserted in other documents. To get PostScript, use the PostScript subcommand of the Export command of the File menu. To get HPGL, use the HPGL subcommand.

The Print Options... command of the File menu provides a number of options for generating print files. The default is to include the entire facet, but you can choose to print only the highlighted portion of the facet by selecting the appropriate button. Note that a precise section of a facet can be selected with the rectangle select button. For both PostScript and HPGL, the "Plot Date In Corner" option causes additional information to appear in the lower-right corner of the plot. For HPGL/2, you can specify the scale of the plot. |

There are two PostScript options: "Encapsulation" and "Color". "Color" enables color control in the file (without it, the PostScript is assumed to be for a Black&White printer). The "Encapsulated" checkbox causes the PostScript output to be insertable in other documents. For encapsulated PostScript, it is also possible to specify an scale that will be used.

PostScript allows you to specify the size of the page (choose "Printer" for devices that print onto single pieces of paper, and "Plotter" for devices that print onto continuous rolls of paper). The "Margin" field is the amount of white space to leave on the sides. All distances in the "Height", "Width", and "Margin" fields are in inches. You can also choose to rotate the image so that it fits better on the page.

For PostScript, it is possible to synchronize a facet to a disk file. Checking the "Synchronize to file" checkbox prompts you for a file, which is stored with the current facet. Whenever you write any PostScript, Electric checks all synchronized facets to see if they are newer than their associated disk file. If they are newer, the files are regenerated. Thus, you can specify PostScript files for many different facets in a library, and when PostScript is exported, all of the files will be properly updated to reflect the state of the design.

| Previous |  |  | Table of Contents |  | Next |