DxDesigner Technical Overview
DxDesigner is a full-featured design creation tool. It incorporates an easy-to-use schematic capture tool with powerful addins that enable design navigation, part selection, attribute editing, and many other design creation and management functions.
The Project Navigator Tree addin provides a complete view of a hierarchical design. By selecting a leaf in the tree, the appropriate schematic and level of hierarchy is opened. The Project Navigator Contents window then displays either a flat or hierarchical dynamic part list that can be used for searching and navigating. It can also display all the nets and net equivalences in the design, so it is easy to locate and select either of these design objects.
Once selected, the attributes on nets or components can be easily edited using the Attribute Editor addin. Multiple components and nets, located anywhere in the design hierarchy, can have their attributes modified at the same time. A filter can be used to limit the attribute display to include only the attributes that are relevant for a certain type of design.
DxDataBook offers advanced component and hierarchical block selection. It connects to DMS, Mentor's Data Management System, or to any ODBC compatible database such as Oracle or Access. The data source contains parametric data on all the components that are available in the corporate library. DxDataBook can then search the component list and provide a table of all the parts that match the search criteria. For example, the designer can search for a 1K Ohm, 10%, ? Watt resistor, and he will be provided with a list of all the matching components. He can then place the component on his schematic, and all the desired parameters will be added from the data source to the component as attributes. In addition, the user can select existing parts on his schematic and verify that the attributes match the data in the data source. This is a good way to ensure that all the parts in a design have the correct part number and attribute data.
DxDataBook
DxDesigner can also produce a PDF format view of an entire design that is fully text-searchable. This allows for easy distribution of schematic data and can be used for publishing released documentation.
Variant designs are also supported in DxDesigner. DxVariantManager provides a spreadsheet-based addin for defining the components that make up the design variant. Parts can be either uninstalled or substituted for different parts. Entire hierarchical blocks may also be uninstalled. If a set of variants are defined for a block in a design, and the block is used on a new top-level schematic, the variants are automatically imported into the variant definition for the top-level design. A complete set of schematics are produced to document each variant. A bill-of-materials can be produced for each variant in HTML, Excel, or delimited text format, and a comparison can be done between each bill-of-materials that will highlight the differences.
View DxVariantManager Datasheet
DxVariantManager
DxDesigner also has a unique feature that allows the connections between components to be defined in a spreadsheet. The Connectivity Spreadsheet Editor displays all the components on a schematic sheet. It also shows the pins on the components and any nets that are connected to them. The designer can then add or delete nets simply by adding the net name to the appropriate cell in the spreadsheet. A small net stub and label are added to the graphical schematic. The Connectivity Spreadsheet Editor is especially useful for connecting high-pin-count devices or connectors. It can display the components and pins on the vertical axis, or it can display all the nets on the vertical axis when it is in "Net View". In Net View, the cell that is at the intersection of the net and the component contains the component pin name and number. The development of this tool shows how Mentor is pursuing new and innovative ways to improve the productivity of design capture. As pin counts on devices continue to grow, an interconnect editor such as this may become the most efficient way to enter and manage design data.
Connectivity Spreadsheet Editor
DxDesigner also contains a feature called Design Configurations. Design Configurations contain setup and configuration data that is used by many different tools and processes. By enabling or activating a design configuration, a variety of setup parameters can be controlled. For example, enabling the DxBoardLink configuration turns on unlimited text length for the PINSWAP attribute, allowing large sets of pin swapping data to be passed to layout. Other configurations may store the location of library or setup files, set DxDesigner schematic design modes, or enable downstream processes.
Design data management is also integrated into DxDesigner. DxDataManager provides global design sharing and design synchronization between all team members. It can check in and check out files, maintain a revision history, lock files, compare and merge text files, create design checkpoints, and roll back a design based on revision, date, or tag.
DxDataManager