This documentation is for Altair Engineering, Inc.'s visualization tool SpiceVision PRO. It is a netlist visualization tool for debugging, verification and documentation. A list of key features is below. Please start reading the Quickstart Guide.

Document Index

Document Description

Quickstart

This document describes the basic features of SpiceVision PRO and provides an overview of the most important GUI functions.

Installation Notes

These notes describe how to unpack and install the software (and the FlexNet based license mechanism) on UNIX or Windows platforms.

Changelog

This list documents the most important of changes and bug fixes between the releases.

Reference Manual

This manual describes the features and usage of the SpiceVision PRO GUI. Please note: all dialog windows provide a help button ("?") to display the appropriate section of this manual in a separate help window. The Read Spice chapter describes how to read Spice files. The Export Schematic chapter describes the schematic export features to schematic entry tools.

API Doc

The API documentation describes the SpiceVision PRO Tcl/Tk-based Application Programming Interface.

Tutorials

The Command Line Tools Tutorial demonstrates the usage of the command line tools.
The Symlib Tutorial explains how to use custom symbol shapes.
The Advanced Spice Tutorial discusses how to deal with various Spice specific features like: parasitic filter, bulk connections and merging parallel devices.
The Skill-Export Tutorial and the Skill-Inherited Connectivity Tutorial embrace the Skill export feature of SpiceVision PRO and how to load a created Skill file into the Cadence environment.
In addition the Automatic Skill-Inherited Connectivity Tutorial shows the Skill export feature of SpiceVision PRO with automatically generated properties.
The Analog Wave Tutorial describes how to handle Spice simulation results.
For using the Tcl API please read the API Tutorial.
The GUI Customization Tutorial describes how to perform common GUI customization tasks such as extending the main menu, extending the popup menu, and adding your own custom widgets.

Symutils

The Symbol Library Utilities (Symutils) documentation.

Platforms

This is a list of supported Operating Systems and Hardware Platforms.

Glossary

This glossary defines several terms (words and phrases) that are used within this documentation and on the GUI (graphical user interface) of SpiceVision PRO.

Third-Party Licenses

Licensing information about third-party software.

Key Features

  • Read Spice files (supported Spice dialects are spice2, spice3, pspice, hspice, cdl, spectre, calibre, ltspice and eldo)

  • Read parasitics coming from DSPF and SPEF

  • Generate easy-to-read schematics from circuit netlists

  • Incremental schematic navigation for big designs

  • Save/restore/exchange schematic fragments (Snapshot feature of the "Cone" window)

  • Binfile support to "compile" big designs

  • Drag & Drop between different views

  • Non-Parasitic view in Schematic and Cone windows (displays CMOS function only)

  • Edit device attributes (like W/L at cmos transistors), create Spice file with minimum differences

  • APIs: Full database API - and GUI API - both to extend SpiceVision PRO

Overview of the File Names

The main graphical user interface and main tool is SpiceVision PRO. It can be invoked using the executable name spicevisionpro (spicevisionpro.exe on Windows) and requires at least the following FlexNet features:

  • spicevision2pro

  • gv-spice2zdb

The following optional features might be present in your license file:

  • gv-spf

  • gv-skillexport

Batch Tools and Tcl Commands

The SpiceVision PRO download package also contains batch tools for command line compilation of design data. The FlexNet features required to run these tools are listed in the table below.

Another option to read design files are the Tcl commands either available on the Console window of SpiceVision PRO or from within a Userware script. Using the Tcl command in the Console window of SpiceVision PRO does not require a separate FlexNet feature. The parser is already licensed by the SpiceVision PRO master feature.

The SpiceVision PRO package also contains an interactive shell named zdbsh (= the 'ZDB Shell') that provides a method of running scripts in a GUI-less mode.

Batch Tool Name Required License Feature Tcl Command Brief Description

spice2zdb

gv-spice2zdb

zspice

Read SPICE files and create a ZDB binfile.

spef2zdb

gv-spf

zspef

Read SPEF files and create either a ZDB binfile or add parasitic information to an existing binfile.

dspf2zdb

gv-spf

zdspf

Read DSPF files and create either a ZDB binfile or add parasitic information to an existing binfile.

sym2zdb

-

-

Read Altair Engineering, Inc.'s symbol library format (.sym) and create a ZDB binlib.

zdb2sym

-

-

Open a ZDB binfile and write out a symbol library.