EE140/240A CADENCE EDITING SHORTCUTS Spring 2018
Introduction
Cadence Virtuoso is a powerful design tool, but navigating its many features can be difficult.
Many shortcuts exist, but that doesn’t really help you unless you are aware of them. The
purpose of this handout is to provide a quick summary of some of the most useful features and
commands in the schematic, symbol, and layout editors of Cadence Virtuoso. Here is a picture
of each editor – they are all structured the same way:
Drop-down menus Drop-down menus Drop-down menus
Icon toolbar Icon toolbar
Icon toolbar
Assistants
Assistants
Assistants
Schematic Editor Symbol Editor Layout Editor
For the most part, any command is accessible via the top set of drop-down menus. Quick
access to many common commands is provided through the icon toolbar directly under those.
Even quicker access is provided through a set of hot keys (bindkeys) that automatically trigger
an action. The Window drop-down menu allows you to choose which icons are present in the
toolbar (go to Window Toolbars), or to add more advanced tools to the left and right of the
editor (go to Window Assistants).
While many commands are similar between each editor, they are (unfortunately) not always
triggered by the same set of default hot keys, or even the same drop-down menu selection. On
the next few pages, we provide tables summarizing which hot keys, icons, and drop-down menu
selections can be used to trigger some of the most common commands. Many of these
commands can also be found in the drop-down menu that appears after right-clicking an object.
Note that pressing F3 while a command is enabled gives you a more detailed set of
options for each command. To disable a command, hit the ESC key.
Virtuoso preferences – hot keys, default display settings, etc. – can also be configured using the
.cdsinit file in your Cadence run directory and the .cdsenv file in your home directory. We will not
cover how to modify these files here, but if you would like to customize something specific, there
is a good chance someone online has tried something similar. (Some sample .cdsinit
customizations are given here.)
EE140/240A CADENCE EDITING SHORTCUTS Spring 2018
Summarized Virtuoso features
WORKING WITH OTHER INSTANCES
Function Hot key Icon Toolbar access Relevant editor
Place a schematic or layout instance (or Schematic,
i Create Instance
layout mosaic) Layout
Schematic,
Edit Properties Objects
Edit properties of selected object q Symbol
Edit Basic Properties Layout
Add Property Editor assistant to sidebar
Window Assistants Schematic,
(useful for editing properties of multiple - -
Property Editor Layout, Symbol
selected objects simultaneously)
Read-only: e
Schematic
Edit: Shift+e Edit Hierarchy
Descend into design of selected instance -
In-place: x Descend Edit/Read
Layout
Descend: Shift+x
Ctrl + e Schematic
Return to previous level of hierarchy - Edit Hierarchy Return
Shift + b Layout
Edit Hierarchy Print Tree Schematic
Display hierarchy of current design Shift + t -
Edit Hierarchy Tree Layout
DRAWING COMMANDS
Function Hot key Icon Toolbar access Relevant editor
Schematic,
Undo / Redo u / Shift + u Edit Undo/Redo
Symbol, Layout
Schematic,
Check and save design Shift + x File Check and Save
Symbol
Schematic,
Delete selected objects Delete Edit Delete
Symbol, Layout
Schematic,
Copy selected objects c Edit Copy
Symbol, Layout
Draw a wire w Create Wire (narrow) Schematic
Draw a path p Create Wiring Wire Layout
Draw a line - Create Shape Line Symbol
Schematic,
p
Add a pin Create Pin Symbol
- Layout
Create Wire Name Schematic
Add a label l
Create Label Symbol, Layout
Schematic,
Move instance, keeping wire connections m
Edit Stretch Symbol
Stretch shape s Layout
Schematic,
Move instance only (not maintaining wire Shift + m
Edit Move Symbol
connections)
m Layout
Rotate object (hot keys apply to objects Schematic,
r Edit Rotate
being moved; icon or menu applies to Symbol
selected objects) Shift + o Edit Rotate (select option) Layout
Edit Rotate (press F3 for Schematic,
Shift + r
Mirror object menu to mirror) Symbol
Ctrl + j Edit Flip (select option) Layout
EE140/240A CADENCE EDITING SHORTCUTS Spring 2018
Add labeled wire stubs to selected Create Wire Stubs and
Spacebar - Schematic
instance Names
Align selected group of objects (use Schematic,
Edit Align (select option)
menu or drop-down on icon to select - Symbol
alignment type) Edit Advanced Align Layout
Open ‘Create Via’ window o Create Via Layout
Create bus (many parallel paths) Ctrl + Shift + x Create Wiring Bus Layout
Draw a ruler k - Tools Create Measurement Layout
Clear all rulers Shift + k - Tools Clear All Measurements Layout
Toggle between Full / Partial select
mode (controls what happens when you Options Selection (Choose
- (click to ‘Partial’ / ‘Full’ from drop-down) Layout
click and drag a selection box over a
shape) toggle)
Toggle between grouping / ungrouping Options Selection (Select /
- Layout
vias stacked together deselect ‘Via Stack’)
Toggle between orthogonal / diagonal / Options Display Options
- Layout
any angle snap modes (modify Snap Modes)
Chop rectangle out of selected polygon Shift + c - Edit Basic Chop Layout
Create Group /
Group / ungroup selected layout objects - Layout
Edit Group Ungroup
Toggle gravity (snaps cursor to edges, Options Editor (Select /
g - Layout
centers of shapes) deselect ‘Gravity On’)
DISPLAY CONFIGURATION
Function Hot key Icon Toolbar access Relevant editor
Schematic,
Zoom to fit everything in visible area f View Zoom to fit
Layout, Symbol
Schematic,
[ or scroll
Zoom in View Zoom in Symbol
Ctl + z or scroll Layout
Schematic,
] or scroll
Zoom out View Zoom out Symbol
Shift + z or scroll Layout
z or right click Schematic,
Draw box to specify zoom area - View Zoom to area
and drag Symbol, Layout
Schematic,
Open ‘Display Options’ window (change o
- Options Display Symbol
snap settings, layout hierarchy visibility)
e Layout
Schematic,
Open ‘Display Editor’ window (toggle Shift + o
- Options Editor Symbol
display defaults, gravity)
Shift + e Layout
Toggle visibility of certain instance text View Hide/Show Instance Schematic,
- -
labels Labels, Notes, etc. Symbol
‘V’ (visible) or ‘S’ (selectable)
Toggle visibility, selectability of certain
- - checkbox in Layers Panel of Layout
drawing layers
Palette Assistant
Automatic design rule checking Options DRD Edit (Check
- Layout
(enforce / notify) ‘Enforce’ or ‘Notify’)
