Graphical User Interface#

The graphical user interface can be access by launching OpenROAD with -gui or by opening it from the command-line with gui::show.

Commands#

Note

Parameters in square brackets [-param param] are optional.
Parameters without square brackets -param2 param2 are required.

Add Buttons to the Toolbar#

This command creates toolbar button with name set using the -text flag and accompanying logic in the -script flag.

Returns: name of the new button, either name or buttonX.

create_toolbar_button 
    [-name name]
    -text button_text
    -script tcl_script 
    [-echo]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-name`	The name of the button, used when deleting the button.
`-text`	The text to put on the button.
`-script`	The tcl script to evaluate when the button is pressed.
`-echo`	This indicate that the commands in the `tcl_script` should be echoed in the log.

Add items to the Menubar#

This command add items to the menubar. Returns: name of the new item, either name or actionX.

create_menu_item 
    [-name name]
    [-path menu_path]
    -text item_text
    -script tcl_script
    [-shortcut key_shortcut] 
    [-echo]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-name`	(optional) name of the item, used when deleting the item.
`-path`	(optional) Menu path to place the new item in (hierarchy is separated by /), defaults to “Custom Scripts”, but this can also be “Tools” or “New menu/New submenu”.
`-text`	The text to put on the item.
`-script`	The tcl script to evaluate when the button is pressed.
`-shortcut`	(optional) key shortcut to trigger this item.
`-echo`	(optional) indicate that the commands in the `tcl_script` should be echoed in the log.

Remove items from the Menubar#

To remove menu item:

gui::remove_menu_item 
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-name`	name of the item, used when deleting the item.

Save Clocktree Image#

This command saves the screenshot of clocktree given options to filename.

save_clocktree_image 
    filename
    -clock clock_name
    [-width width]
    [-height height]
    [-scene scene]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`filename`	path to save the image to.
`-clock`	name of the clock to save the clocktree for.
`-scene`	name of the timing scene to save the clocktree for, default to the first scene defined.
`-height`	height of the image in pixels, defaults to the height of the GUI widget.
`-width`	width of the image in pixels, defaults to the width of the GUI widget.

Save Timing Histogram Image#

This command saves the screenshot of timing histogram given options to filename.

save_histogram_image
    filename
    [-mode mode]
    [-width width]
    [-height height]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`filename`	path to save the image to.
`-mode`	chart mode to save, defaults to “setup”.
`-height`	height of the image in pixels, defaults to 500px.
`-width`	width of the image in pixels, defaults to 500px.

Generate animated images#

This command can be used to generate an animated gif.

When used with -start this command returns an integer key that can be used to distinguish files if multiple are generated. That key can be provided when using -add or -end. If only a single file is being used the key can be ignored.

save_animated_gif
    -start|-add|-end
    [-resolution microns_per_pixel]
    [-area {x0 y0 x1 y1}]
    [-width width]
    [-delay delay]
    [-key key]
    [filename]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-start`	start a new animation.
`-add`	add a new frame to the animation.
`-end`	terminate the animtion and save file.
`filename`	path to save the animation to.
`-area`	x0, y0 - first corner of the layout area (in microns) to be saved, default is to save what is visible on the screen unless called when gui is not active and then it selected the whole block. x1, y1 - second corner of the layout area (in microns) to be saved, default is to save what is visible on the screen unless called when gui is not active and then it selected the whole block.
`-resolution`	resolution in microns per pixel to use when saving the image, default will match what the GUI has selected.
`-width`	width of the output image in pixels, default will be computed from the resolution. Cannot be used with `-resolution`.
`-delay`	delay between frames in the GIF.
`-key`	used to distinguish multiple GIF files (returned by -add). Defaults to the most recent GIF.

Select Objects#

This command selects object based on options. Returns: number of objects selected.

select 
    -type object_type
    [-name glob_pattern]
    [-filter attribute=value]
    [-case_insensitive]
    [-highlight group]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-type`	name of the object type. For example, `Inst` for instances, `Net` for nets, and `Marker` for database markers.
`-name`	(optional) filter selection by the specified name. For example, to only select clk nets `clk`. Use `-case_insensitive` to filter based on case insensitive instead of case sensitive.
`-filter`	(optional) filter selection based on the objects’ properties. `attribute` represents the property’s name and `value` the property’s value. In case the property holds a collection (e. g. BTerms in a Net) or a table (e. g. Layers in a Generate Via Rule) `value` can be any element within those. A special case exists for checking whether a collection is empty or not by using the value `CONNECTED`. This can be useful to select a specific group of elements (e. g. BTerms=CONNECTED will select only Nets connected to Input/Output Pins).
`-highlight`	(optional) add the selection to the specific highlighting group. Values can be 0 to 7.

Display Timing Cones#

This command displays timing cones for a pin given options.

display_timing_cone 
    pin
    [-fanin]
    [-fanout]
    [-off]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`pin`	name of the instance or block pin.
`-fanin`	(optional) display the fanin timing cone.
`-fanout`	(optional) display the fanout timing cone.
`-off`	(optional) remove the timing cone.

Focus Net#

This command limits the drawing to specified net.

focus_net 
    net
    [-remove]
    [-clear]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`pin`	name of the net.
`-remove`	(optional) removes the net from from the focus.
`-clear`	(optional) clears all nets from focus.

TCL functions#

Is GUI Enabled#

Determine is the GUI is active:

gui::enabled

Trigger GUI to Load Design#

Announce to the GUI that a design was loaded (note: this is only needed when the design was loaded through the odb API and not via read_def or read_db):

gui::design_created

Load Database Markers Result#

To select a marker category

gui::select_marker_category 
    category

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`category`	Database marker category.

Show GUI#

To open the GUI from the command-line (this command does not return until the GUI is closed):

gui::show 
    script
    interactive

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`script`	TCL script to evaluate in the GUI.
`interactive`	Boolean if true, the GUI should open in an interactive session (default), or if false that the GUI would execute the script and return to the terminal.

Set GUI Title#

To set the title of the main GUI window:

gui::set_title title

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`title`	window title to use for the main GUI window

Hide GUI#

To close the GUI and return to the command-line:

gui::hide

Minimize the GUI#

To minimize the GUI window to an icon:

gui::minimize

Unminimize the GUI#

To unminimize the GUI window from an icon:

gui::unminimize

Layout Fit#

To fit the whole layout in the window:

gui::fit

Zoom to a specific region#

To zoom in our out to a specific region:

gui::zoom_to 
    x0 y0 x1 y1

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`x0, y0, x1, y1`	first and second corner of the layout area in microns.

Zoom In#

To zoom in the layout:

gui::zoom_in 
    x y

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`x, y`	new center of layout in microns.

Zoom Out#

To zoom out the layout:

gui::zoom_out 
    x y

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`x, y`	new center of layout in microns.

Center At#

To move the layout to new area:

gui::center_at 
    x y

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`x, y`	new center of layout in microns.

Set Resolution#

To change the resolution to a specific value:

gui::set_resolution
    resolution

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`resolution`	database units per pixel.

Add a single net to selection#

To add a single net to the selected items:

gui::selection_add_net 
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the net to add.

Add multiple nets to selection#

To add several nets to the selected items using a regex:

gui::selection_add_nets 
    name_regex

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name_regex`	regular expression of the net names to add.

Add a single inst to selection#

To add a single instance to the selected items:

gui::selection_add_inst 
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the instance to add.

Add multiple insts to selection#

To add several instances to the selected items using a regex:

gui::selection_add_insts 
    name_regex

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name_regex`	regular expression of the instance names to add.

Select at point or area#

To add items at a specific point or in an area:

Example usage:

gui::select_at x y
gui::select_at x y append
gui::select_at x0 y0 x1 y1
gui::select_at x0 y0 x1 y1 append

gui::select_at 
    x0 y0 x1 y1
    [append]

Or

gui::select_at
    x y 
    [append]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`x, y`	point in the layout area in microns.
`x0, y0, x1, y1`	first and second corner of the layout area in microns.
`append`	if `true` (the default value) append the new selections to the current selection list, else replace the selection list with the new selections.

Select next item from selection#

To navigate through multiple selected items: Returns: current index of the selected item.

gui::select_next

Select previous item from selection#

To navigate through multiple selected items: Returns: current index of the selected item.

gui::select_previous 

Clear Selection#

To clear the current set of selected items:

gui::clear_selections

Get Selection Property#

To get the properties for the current selection in the Inspector:

gui::get_selection_property 
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the property. For example, `Type` for object type or `bbox` for the bounding box of the object.

Animate Selection#

To animate the current selection in the Inspector:

gui::selection_animate 
    [repeat]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`repeat`	indicate how many times the animation should repeat, default value is 0 repeats. If the value is 0, the animation will repeat indefinitely.

Highlight Net#

To highlight a net:

gui::highlight_net 
    name
    [highlight_group]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the net to highlight.
`highlight_group`	group to add the highlighted net to, defaults to `0`, valid groups are `0 - 7`.

Highlight Instance#

To highlight an instance:

gui::highlight_inst 
    name
    [highlight_group]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the instance to highlight.
`highlight_group`	group to add the highlighted instance to, defaults to `0`, valid groups are `0 - 7`.

Clear Highlight Groups#

To clear the highlight groups:

gui::clear_highlights
    [highlight_group]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`highlight_group`	group to clear, defaults to `0`, valid groups are `-1 - 7`. Use `-1` to clear all groups.

Add Ruler to Layout#

To add a ruler to the layout:

either press k and use the mouse to place it visually. To disable snapping for the ruler when adding, hold the Ctrl key, and to allow non-horizontal or vertical snapping when completing the ruler hold the Shift key.
or use the command:

Returns: name of the newly created ruler.

gui::add_ruler 
    x0 y0 x1 y1
    [label]
    [name]
    [euclidian]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`x0, y0, x1, y1`	first and second end point of the ruler in microns.
`label`	text label for the ruler.
`name`	name of the ruler.
`euclidian`	`1` for euclidian ruler, and `0` for regular ruler.

Delete a single ruler#

To remove a single ruler:

gui::delete_ruler 
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the ruler.

Clear All Rulers#

To remove all the rulers:

gui::clear_rulers

Add Label to Layout#

To add a label to the layout use the following command:

Returns: name of the newly created label.

add_label -position {x y}
          [-anchor anchor]
          [-color color]
          [-size size]
          [-name name]
          text

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-position`	point of the label in microns.
`-anchor`	anchor point for text, default is center.
`-color`	color to use for the label, default is white.
`size`	size of the label, default is determined by the default GUI font.
`name`	name of the label, one will be generated if not provided.
`text`	text for the label.

Delete a single label#

To remove a single label:

gui::delete_label
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of the label.

Clear All Labels#

To remove all the labels:

gui::clear_labels

Display help#

To display the help for a specific command or messasge.

gui::show_help
    cmd_msg

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`cmd_msg`	command or message ID.

Set Heatmap#

To control the settings in the heat maps:

The currently availble heat maps are:

Pin
Power
Routing
Placement
IRDrop
RUDY [1]

These options can also be modified in the GUI by double-clicking the underlined display control for the heat map.

gui::set_heatmap 
    name
    [option]
    [value]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	is the name of the heatmap.
`option`	is the name of the option to modify. If option is `rebuild` the map will be destroyed and rebuilt.
`value`	is the new value for the specified option. This is not used when rebuilding map.

Dump Heatmap to file#

To save the raw data from the heat maps ins a comma separated value (CSV) format:

gui::dump_heatmap 
    name 
    filename

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	is the name of the heatmap.
`filename`	path to the file to write the data to.

Clocktree Selection#

Select a clock in the clock viewer:

gui::select_clockviewer_clock
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	name of clock to select

GUI Display Controls#

Control the visible and selected elements in the layout:

gui::set_display_controls 
    name 
    [display_type] 
    [value]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	is the name of the control. For example, for the power nets option this would be `Signals/Power` or could be `Layers/*` to set the option for all the layers.
`display_type`	is either `visible`, `selectable`, `color`
`value`	is either `true` or `false` for `visible` or `selectable` or the name of the color

Check Display Controls#

To check the visibility or selectability of elements in the layout:

gui::check_display_controls 
    name 
    display_type 

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	is the name of the control. For example, for the power nets option this would be `Signals/Power` or could be `Layers/*` to set the option for all the layers.
`display_type`	is either `visible` or `selectable`

Save Display Controls#

When performing a batch operation changing the display controls settings, the following command can be used to save the current state of the display controls.

gui::save_display_controls

Restore Display Controls#

This command restores display controls.

gui::restore_display_controls

Input Dialog#

To request user input via the GUI: Returns: a string with the input, or empty string if canceled.

gui::input_dialog 
    title
    question

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`title`	is the title of the input message box.
`question`	is the text for the message box.

Pause script execution#

Pause the execution of the script:

gui::pause 
    [timeout]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`timeout`	is specified in milliseconds, if it is not provided the pause will last until the user presses the Continue button.

Show widget#

To open a specific layout widget:

gui::show_widget 
       name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	of the widget. For example, the display controls would be “Display Control”.

Hide widget#

To close a specific layout widget:

gui::hide_widget 
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	of the widget. For example, the display controls would be “Display Control”.

Select chart#

To select a specific chart in the charts widget:

gui::select_chart
    name

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`name`	of the chart. For example, “Endpoint Slack”.

Update timing report#

Update the paths in the Timing Report widget:

gui::update_timing_report

Show Worst Path#

Update the paths in the Timing Report widget and select the path with the worst slack:

gui::show_worst_path
    [-setup|-hold]

Options#

Switch Name	Description
`-setup`	Select the path with the worst setup slack (default).
`-hold`	Select the path with the worst hold slack.

Clear Timing Path#

Clear the selected timing path in the Timing Report widget:

gui::clear_timing_path

GUI Features#

Clock Insertion Latency in Timing Reports#

In the Data Path Details and Capture Path Details views, pins whose Liberty cell defines max_clock_tree_path / min_clock_tree_path timing groups display the internal clock latency inline:

To view this, run the MockArray example and look at reg2reg paths:

bazelisk run --//:platform=gui //test/orfs/mock-array:MockArray_4x4_base_synth gui_synth

License#

BSD 3-Clause License. See LICENSE file.

Graphical User Interface

Contents

Graphical User Interface#

Commands#

Add Buttons to the Toolbar#

Options#

Remove Toolbar Button#

Options#

Add items to the Menubar#

Options#

Remove items from the Menubar#

Options#

Save Clocktree Image#

Options#

Save Timing Histogram Image#

Options#

Generate animated images#

Options#

Select Objects#

Options#

Display Timing Cones#

Options#

Focus Net#

Options#

TCL functions#

Is GUI Enabled#

Trigger GUI to Load Design#

Load Database Markers Result#

Options#

Show GUI#

Options#

Set GUI Title#

Options#

Hide GUI#

Minimize the GUI#

Unminimize the GUI#

Layout Fit#

Zoom to a specific region#

Options#

Zoom In#

Options#

Zoom Out#

Options#

Center At#

Options#

Set Resolution#

Options#

Add a single net to selection#

Options#

Add multiple nets to selection#

Options#

Add a single inst to selection#

Options#

Add multiple insts to selection#

Options#

Select at point or area#

Options#

Select next item from selection#

Select previous item from selection#

Clear Selection#

Get Selection Property#

Options#

Animate Selection#

Options#

Highlight Net#

Options#

Highlight Instance#

Options#

Clear Highlight Groups#

Options#

Add Ruler to Layout#

Options#

Delete a single ruler#

Options#

Clear All Rulers#

Add Label to Layout#

Options#

Delete a single label#

Options#

Clear All Labels#