Objects Column

The Objects column, in the Routing Strategy dialog, controls the objects in the design that the operation is performed on. You can edit the text in this column to describe the associated objects, or it can be generated automatically.

• To edit text in this column, select the relevant cell and press F2.
• If you double-click the cell, or point the cursor at the cell and click "...", the Select Objects Dialog is displayed. This dialog is displayed below.

In this dialog, you can select the objects that are operated on for the current task. The settings in this dialog are specified in the order that is shown in the image, and are described below for each numbered section.

Figure 1: Select Objects Dialog

 

1. Any named objects, or objects with different properties can be selected. For example, large components or BGA-style components, named signals or all power nets. Objects in the design can also be selected, based on their attributes. This is illustrated below.

Figure 2: Selecting Items Based on their Attributes

 

Objects can also be added, removed or toggled using wildcard text as shown below,

Figure 3: Wildcard Item Selection

 

You can also add pins on specific nets by clicking the Pins by Net button. For example, all power pins on a particular component.

2. The named items that you select are shown in the Objects in this Design section of the dialog. This is helpful when you select objects using their attributes, for example.

Figure 4: Selected Items

 

3. The selected items can then be extended using Extend section, shown below.

Figure 5: Extend Object Selection

 

For example, the following options can be selected:

1. Pins to Fan-outs: when you select pins, any close tracks and vias coming from the pins are also selected.
2. Pins to Nets: the whole signal (net) of a selected pin is also selected.
3. Nets to trunking: if you select nets that are within trunk-based objects such as differential pairs and busses, then the trunk-based objects are also selected.

4. Finally, you can filter the resulting items. This would allow you to select only connections that are shorter than a certain length, or only unfixed tracks, for example.

Figure 6: Filtering Items