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Drawing and editing

Canvas shortcuts work while the canvas has focus and no text field is active.

Select

Press S. You can select shapes, instances, edges, and dimension labels; what's selected determines which edits are available. Press Q to edit a selected dimension.

Rectangle

Pick a layer, press R, and click two opposite corners. The rect call the GUI writes uses initial values (x0i and so on), so you can drag the rectangle around until constraints pin it down.

Polygon

Pick a layer, press P, and click the vertices in order. Enter closes the polygon and writes it to the source; Esc discards it.

Each vertex is constrained independently. A vertex with one constrained axis can still be dragged along the other.

Path

Choose Path from the Tools menu or the tool strip, pick a layer, and click the centerline points. A path's points, width, and end extensions are all editable.

Dimension

Press D, click two compatible edges, then click where the label should go. Type a float such as 50. or a cell parameter such as width.

Dimensions also work on rectangles imported from GDS. If the technology file configures pin layers, imported pin labels become fields you can refer to.

Instance

Select the target scope in the hierarchy sidebar, press I, and type a cell invocation. Move the preview and click to place it. Placement stays active so you can drop more copies; press Esc to stop.

Reading the canvas

  • Solid edges are fixed by constraints.
  • Dashed edges have at least one coordinate that is still free.
  • Dragging a free coordinate updates its *i argument in the source.
  • If a hand-written constructor has no *i arguments, the first drag adds them.