Virtuosity: Does Smart Software Need Help Assistants?

No, smart software doesn't need Help assistants. No one cares about Help assistants in smart software. 

What users of smart software, like Virtuoso, do care about is a Smart Help system—a Help system that gives more power in the hands of it's smart users! 

With Virtuoso scaling newer heights in innovation and customer delight each day, it was logical that the Virtuoso Help system got smarter too. And, if you haven't already noticed some of the cool enhancements made in this area (probably because Virtuoso itself is a lot more user-friendly now so you never needed to access the Help system, or because you have a very helpful Cadence local support representative working with you :-)—whatever the reason—here are some of our recent Help system enhancements that are worth a note.

New Help Menu with Keyword Search Support

Yes, you read me right. The Virtuoso Help menu now has an in-built keyword Search field that runs a search on the installed content. The Keyword search field literally allows you to look up a word while you are working on a design in one of the Virtuoso windows. If you haven't used the Search field already, you might be wasting a lot of your time trying to look for information that is just a click (or two) away!

The new Help menu also includes some very useful links to give you direct access to some of our very widely-searched content pages on the Cadence Support portal. We have also designed the Help menu in a manner that keeps the most relevant documents and links at the top. From giving you quick access to the locally installed content to adding links to useful information about available trainings and customer support contacts—the new Help menu is a reliable first point of contact, should you need any help with using Virtuoso. 

By the way, if I could, I would even rename the menu to the D.I.Y menu because isn't the Help menu eventually helping you—Do It all Yourself? 

Related Resource

• New Help Menu in Virtuoso (Video)

For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com.  

New Welcome Page in Cadence Help

Admittedly a little late, but, Cadence Help doesn't land you in the middle of nowhere anymore. What greets you now when you visit Cadence Help home is a thoughtfully-designed Welcome page that gives you access to some of the most relevant, important, and useful information pieces for a release. The Welcome page is updated for every base and ISR release to notify you about new products and features, videos, and other major software and content updates. 

The right panel of the Welcome page also collates a list of useful web links that point you to our content resources on Cadence Support and www.cadence.com.

Before I forget to mention, you can launch the Virtuoso Welcome page by choosing Virtuoso Documentation Library on the new Help menu. You might be wondering why would one ever want to deliberately launch a Welcome page, but, if you visit the page once, you will know what I mean!

Related Resource

• Help and Support Enhancements

For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com.

Enhanced Cadence Help Functionality

Not only has Cadence Help made content search and navigation a lot simple by introducing the Welcome page, over the last few years, Cadence Help has evolved and enhanced itself in all domains—performance, usability, customer experience, even improved help on using Cadence help!

If you don't check out these very powerful upgrades listed below that Cadence Help 2.3 is already supporting today, what is being planned for the upcoming 3.0 version is sure to amaze you!

• Improved search options
• In-built glossary support with visual cues on text
• Native video playback and control
• Phenomenal performance upgrade
• Customizable interface

Interested in learning more about these and many other upgrades introduced recently in Cadence Help, you might want to see the related resources listed below.

Related Resources

• Cadence Help 2.3: Release Highlights (Video)
• Cadence Help User Guide

For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com.

Enhanced Cadence Support Portal

Do you think there's anything else that Cadence could have improved to give you better access to its content? The only thing that I can think of is that Cadence could have improved its online support website. And, not to my surprise, we have revamped the website too.

With the new version launched around six months ago, Cadence Support—lovingly called COS by regulars—has undergone a huge makeover that has given the website a very chic, GenNext look. With features like a Getting Started section for starters, a Most Popular section to tell you which content is being viewed the most, a Google Search Appliance-powered search functionality, and a lot more, the all new Cadence Support portal is a must-visit for:

• Rapid Adoption Kits
• Videos
• Blogs
• Application notes
• Product information
• Training resources
• and a lot, lot more ... 

Like a piece of content that you just read on the portal, do remember to click Like. Didn't find exactly what you were looking for, or want to share a suggestion, do remember to click the new Feedback button and send us a quick note. Our knowledge managers and content contributors are very prompt with addressing any feedback that is received.

Related Resource

• What's New in Cadence Online Support (Video)

 For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com.

 About Virtuosity

Virtuosity has been our most viewed and admired blog series for a long time that has brought to fore some lesser known, yet very useful software and documentation improvements, and also shed light on some exciting new offerings in Virtuoso. We are now expanding the scope of this series by broadcasting the voice of different bloggers and experts, who would continue to preserve the legacy of Virtuosity, and try to give new dimensions to it by covering topics across the length and breadth of Virtuoso, and a lot more…Click Subscribe to visit the Subscription box at the top of the page in which you can submit your email address to receive notifications about our latest Virtuosity posts. Happy Reading!

Rishu Misri Jaggi