Tips and Tricks

A few tips and tricks for increasing your productivity.

Editing Source

Content assist	Content assist provides you with a list of suggested completions for partially entered text. In the PSS editor press `Ctrl+Space`.
Content assist for enumerated types	You can use content assist to speed up the access to enum items. Just press `Ctrl+Space`.
Code templates	Code templates are presented in content assist if applicable.To create your own templates use the Code Templates View or the DVT ‣ Code Templates preference page.
Matching brackets	To find a matching bracket place the cursor after the bracket and press `Ctrl+Shift+P` or choose Source ‣ Jump To Pair Bracket from the right click menu. You can also double click after the bracket - this selects the text between the two brackets.
Toggle comment	You can toggle comment on/off for the current line or the selected lines. Press `Ctrl+/` or from the right click menu in editor Source ‣ Toggle Comment.
Expand/Restore Selection	Press `Shift+Alt+Up` Arrow to incrementally expand the current selection. For example when the cursor is on a word, select the word. Press again to select the whole line. Then, each of the nested enclosing scopes is selected, for example the current action block, then the enclosing function, then the enclosing struct and so on. The same principle applies to nested enclosing parentheses, brackets and curly braces, as well as strings. Press `Shift+Alt+Down` Arrow to restore the previous selection step made with `Shift+Alt+Up` Arrow.
Format source	Use the Format Source action from the editor right click menu Source ‣ Format Source. The whole file is formatted or the current selection, if any.
One key indentation	If you press Tab once at the beginning of a line, it is automatically aligned to the enclosing context.Press twice to insert a tab.
Reminders (TODO markers)	When you tag a comment in e source code with TODO, a corresponding task is automatically created as a reminder. From the Tasks View, double click on the task takes you to the TODO in the code. Same for for FIXME (higher priority) and XXX (lower priority) markers.You can also add your own tags, see the Reminders (TODO Markers) section of the documentation.
Spell checking	You can enable spell-checking support in the PSS editor from the spelling preference page General ‣ Editors ‣ Text Editors ‣ Spelling preference page. Spelling errors are displayed in the PSS editor and corresponding Quick Fixes are available:
Folding	You can fold code sections to improve read-ability. This is how a folded file looks like: Folding actions (to expand or collapse) are available in the toolbar. You may also use the + or - signs on the left side of the editor. Use Collapse All Levels for folding to statement level. Use Show First Level for folding to struct member level. Use Expand All to fully expand the file. When you type on a folded line, it is automatically expanded. You may see the folded code in a tooltip if you move with the mouse over the + sign.
Folding custom areas	You can define custom folding areas using comments to indicate the start and the end of the area:
Maximize editor	Double-click on the editor tab to maximize editor to full window. Double-click again to restore.
Show line numbers	Check Show line numbers from the Opens the general text editor preference page General ‣ Editors ‣ Text Editors preference page
Local history	Whenever you edit a file, its previous contents are kept in the local history. Right click in the editor and choose Compare With/Replace With ‣ Local History….
Go to line	Press `Ctrl+L` shortcut or double click in the status bar to jump to a specific line.
Back/Forward navigation	You can navigate between editors in a browser like way using the Back/Forward Navigation Back/Forward Buttons.
Go to last edit location	Useful when you navigated around in the code, before proceeding with the source change. Click on Last Edit Location button in the toolbar to jump to the file where you were previously editing.
Inactive code highlight	The editor marks with a colored background the areas of code that are not active. See the Inactive Code Highlight documentation section.
Open file in more editors	To open multiple editors for the same file you should first open the file then use menu Window ‣ Editor ‣ Clone.
Split the editor view	To open multiple editors side by side follow these steps: open each file in its editor; if you wish to see the same file in a split view, use menu Window ‣ Editor ‣ Clone. if you wish to split horizontally, drag the title bar of the file you want to split and drop it over the horizontal scrollbar if you wish to split vertically, drag the title bar of the file you want to split and drop it over the vertical scrollbar
Column selection	You can switch to and from column (block) selection mode either by clicking on the Toggle Block Selection Mode button in the toolbar, or by using the `Shift+Alt+A` shortcut key.

Searching

Search for method, field, event etc.

To search for the declaration of a specific type, method, field etc.:

Press Ctrl+H to open the Search Dialog
Click on the PSS Search tab.
Type the name in the Search String (if you select in the editor before pressing Ctrl+H, the Search String is automatically set to the selection).
Select type or pool etc. and Declarations
Click Search.

Search for references

To search where a field, method, action etc. is used, hold Ctrl, hover it’s name and select Show Usages or right click on it’s name > Show > Usages or right click on it’s name > References > Project. The results are presented in the Search View. You can also search for references from the Search Dialog (Ctrl+H).

Code Navigation

Tooltips	When you position the mouse over a type, field, etc., a tooltip will pop-up showing information about the corresponding declaration.
Hyperlinks	If you place the mouse over a type, field etc. and press the `Ctrl` key, a hyperlink will be presented. Click on the hyperlink to jump to definition. You can also jump to a definition if you put the cursor on the relevant name and press `F3`.
Inheritance tree	You can view the inheritance tree and all the members of a struct by placing the mouse over it and pressing the `F4` key. See also Type Hierarchy View.
Components tree	You can use the Verification Hierarchy View to browse the tree of sub-components by placing the mouse over a top component and pressing `Shift+F6`.
Scope	Your current scope (for example the method or struct you are editing) is always presented in the status bar.
Quick Types	You can quickly open a specific type definition, just press `Ctrl+Shift+T`. The Quick Types View will pop-up and you can enter any regular expression to locate a type. Select and press `Enter` or click to jump to its definition.
Quick Outline	Press `Ctrl+O` to open the Quick Outline View. It presents an overview of your file. You can enter any regular expression to locate a place to jump in the current file.
Quick Layers	Press `Ctrl+Shift+O` with the cursor positioned on the name to quickly see extensions.
Quickly jump to a layer of a field’s type	Press `Ctrl+Shift+O` twice with the cursor positioned on the field name (first time shows the field layers, second time the layers of the type of the field). Then you can use the filter to jump to the desired layer.
Quick Compile Order	You can quickly open a compiled file. Just press `Ctrl+I`. The Quick Compile Order View will pop-up and you can enter any regular expression to locate a file. Select and press Enter or click to open the file.
Quick Hierarchy	Position the cursor on the struct name and press `Ctrl+T` to see the Quick Type Hierarchy View.
Layers	You can view all the extensions (layers) of composite and enumerated types. Place the cursor on the name and press `Shift+F3` or right click and choose Show ‣ Layers from the menu. See Layers View.
Types	You can view all types (enums, structs) in the project (including each struct fields, methods etc.) in the Types View. Open the view from menu Window ‣ Show View ‣ Other… ‣ DVT ‣ Types.
Coverage	You can browse all the coverage definitions in the project using the Coverage View. Open the view from menu Window ‣ Show View ‣ Other… ‣ DVT ‣ Coverage.
Compile Order	You can see the compile order of the files in your project in the Compile Order View. Open the view from menu Window ‣ Show View ‣ Other… ‣ DVT ‣ Compile Order.
Outline	You can see the summary contents of the current file in the Outline View. Open the view from menu Window ‣ Show View ‣ Other… ‣ General ‣ Outline.
Mark occurrences	When working in the PSS editor, turn on Mark Occurrences in the toolbar or press `Alt+Shift+O`.
Bookmarks	Similar with a web browser, you can add bookmarks in your code without altering the code. Right click on the left vertical bar of the editor and choose Add Bookmark… Specify a meaningful name: You can jump to bookmarks from Bookmarks View. Open the view from menu Window ‣ Show View ‣ Other… ‣ General ‣ Bookmarks.

Miscellaneous

All shortcuts	Press `Ctrl+Shift+L` to see all shortcuts.
Project Properties	Select the project in the Project Explorer View, right click and choose Properties. Or from menu Project ‣ Properties.
Project Templates	A project template is a parameterized directory tree. Both in the file contents (.pss, ,.sh - practically any file) and in the file or directory names you can use parameters. Combined with TODO markers, you can use a project template as a customized wizard. For more details see Project Templates.
System Variables	See: Build Configurations
Generic launch (make, scripts etc.)	See: Run Configurations
Create dialogs for scripts & flows	You can create Custom Dialogs for your own scripts: Follow the wizard from menu New ‣ Example ‣ DVT ‣ DVT Custom Dialog, then create a run configuration with the command echo `${dvt_dialog_prompt:customdialog.swtxml}` and run it.
Open terminal	You can open a fully working command-line terminal inside of DVT: In the Project Explorer View right-click on the desired location and select Open Terminal Here
Mapping Linux to Windows (/proj/ to Z:\proj\)	Linux directories can be mapped to Windows drives in order to access them from Windows. For example /home/simi is mapped to Z:\. This has an impact on paths configured for a DVT project, for example INCDIRs etc. The paths are set using Linux conventions, however Eclipse runs in Windows and the DVT builder needs to know about the mapping in order to compile the files. To specify the mapping, set the system variable `%DVT_CROSSPLATFORM_MAP%` before invoking Eclipse. You can add multiple mappings separated by “;” e.g.: /projects/=p:\;/home/lars/=Z:\lars\
Recover from abnormal inconsistencies	In the event of a disfunction (missing results in search, types in type browsing, hyperlinks, tooltips etc.) please manually trigger a rebuild .
Add a new file extension to compile list extensions	Go to Window ‣ Preferences ‣ General ‣ Content Types, select a category from the list (for example PSS Source File) then click on Add and then on Apply and Close.
Share workspace settings	Export all Workspace/ Eclipse customization: Go to File ‣ Export ‣ General ‣ Preferences Make sure Export all is selected Select a file where the preferences should be exported. Now you can share this file with your team. When it is imported into another instance of Eclipse (by using File ‣ Import ‣ General ‣ Preferences), the configuration (all options available in Window ‣ Preferences) is replaced by the imported one. Note You should restart Eclipse for the changes to be enforced (File ‣ Restart).
Using System Varibles in Linked Resources	You can use System Variables in the path of linked resources. For example `${DVT_ENV-SYSTEM_VARIABLE_NAME}/work` is equivalent to `$SYSTEM_VARIABLE_NAME/work` in a console.
Waive problems reported by DVT	You can use Compile Waivers to promote, demote or disable the problems reported by DVT. To quickly create a new waiver, in the Problems View right click on any problem reported by DVT and waive it. DVT proposes some default values for the waiver description, path and message. You can easily change them to fine-tune the waiver. To quickly start up a new waivers file click on the Edit waivers button in the Problems View. The .dvt/waivers.xml is created with a default content and opened. You can easily create your own waivers from the default generated ones. In the waivers editor you can use autocomplete for tags, attributes and attribute values.
Open a file in DVT from the terminal	You can use the Command Line Interface like this: `$> dvt_cli.sh -workspace ~/dvt_workspace openFile $(readlink -f my/file.sv)` The command can be shortened by defining this alias in your ~/.cshrc: alias dvtopen 'dvt_cli.sh -workspace ~/dvt_workspace openFile `readlink -f \!*`' or by defining this function in your ~/.bashrc: `dvtopen () { dvt_cli.sh -workspace ~/dvt_workspace openFile $(readlink -f $1); }` Then the command gets much shorter: `$> dvtopen my/file.sv`