How to Use Hierarchical Design Paths in the DVT Eclipse IDE

Overview

This video explains how to copy the hierarchical path to an instance or signal in your design, for example to use it in the simulator CLI or scripts.

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Details

Sometimes you need to quickly grab the full hierarchical path to an instance or signal in your design, for example to use it in the simulator CLI or scripts. A common use case is to add a specific signal to your Wave Viewer.

Copying the Hierarchical Path from the Editor

Place the editor cursor on a signal, right-click, and choose Edit > Copy Hierarchy Path. The full path from the design hierarchy top module up to the chosen signal is placed into the clipboard.

In case the current module is instantiated on multiple paths in the design hierarchy, the path shown in the breadcrumb navigation bar is used. Click the Select Instance button to change the breadcrumb path. You can also right-click on any instance listed in the breadcrumb to copy only a partial path.

The same functionality is available from the Design Hierarchy View context menu, both on instances and ports.

Changing the Path Separator Character

By default, the dot character is used as a separator. To change it, go to the Window > Preferences, and then on the DVT page, configure the Copy Hierarchy Path Segment Separator character.

Advanced Automation Using dvt_path_to_signal_under_cursor

For advanced automation, in DVT Generic Run Configurations, you can use the dvt_path_to_signal_under_cursor variable. In this example, the hierarchical path to the signal under the cursor is fed to a script that adds it to the Wave Viewer. On the Shortcuts tab, we've mapped this run configuration to a toolbar button. All we need to do now is click the signal and press the button.