Five-Minute Tutorial: Save Time With The Right Mouse Button

How many times have you done this: you want to flip or rotate a cell in your design, so you select it and hit the Q key. The Attribute Editor form pops up, you choose the orientation you want in the Orientation drop-down box, then hit OK or Apply. I know I have done this countless times in my years of chip design.

What if I told you there was a faster, easier way? Well, there is - and it's hidden under the Right Mouse Button.

Position your cursor over the cell you want to rotate or flip (that's right - you don't even have to select it), and press the Right Mouse Button (hereafter referred to as RMB). You'll see a list of stuff you can do:



Notice the Rotate and Flip commands.

Another nice feature available via the RMB is cell swapping. For this one, select the two cells whose locations you'd like to swap. Then press the RMB, and you'll see that the Swap Instances option is no longer grayed out:



Isn't that much easier than grabbing one instance, moving it somewhere out of the way, then moving the other instance into its place, and then finally moving the original instance into the space vacated by the second instance? Absolutely.

I encourage you to check out the other shortcuts available by clicking the RMB, like Align and Edit Halo. What's available may depend on where your mouse is or what's selected. Remember the RMB for time-saving shortcuts to your design work!

Kari Summers