Chapter 3: HIERARCHY

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3-10: Copying Between Libraries

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In general, different libraries are completely separate collections of facets that do not relate. For example, two facets in different libraries can have the same name without being the same size or having the same content. Although a facet from one library can be used as an instance in another, this causes the two libraries to be linked together. It may be simpler to copy the facets from one library to another, thus allowing a single library to contain the entire design.

The Cross-Library Copy... command of the Facets menu provides a dialog for copying facets between libraries.

The left and right columns show the contents of two different libraries (and the pulldowns above each column let you select the two libraries that you want to use). When there is a facet with the same name in both libraries, the system compares modification dates to determine which is newer, The "Examine Contents" button compares the contents of facets whose dates are different and displays an indication of whether they are actually different or just out of date. The "Examine Contents Quietly" button does the same thing, but it does not explain which differences have been found. The "List differences" button shows all differences in the messages window.
Figure 3.5

By choosing a facet in the right-hand library and clicking "<< Copy", that facet is copied into the left-hand library. The "Copy >>" button does the reverse. If "Delete after copy" is checked, the buttons change to "<< Move" and "Move >>".

The system can be requested to copy additional facets that relate to the selected one. By checking "Copy subfacets", all subfacets of the copied facet are also transfered. By checking "Copy related views", all related views (icon, schematic, layout, etc.) are also transfered.

When there is a reference to an instance inside of a copied facet, and that instance already exists in the destination library, there are many ways to handle the transfer. For example, library "Frank" has facet "A" which has, inside of it, an instance of facet "B" ("B" is also in library "Frank"). You want to copy facet "A" to library "Tom", but there is already a facet called "B" in library "Tom". These things may happen:


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