Install Electric VLSI

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ElectricVLSI is a free software that runs with Java, which makes it a cross platform software.

Installation Directions

Place all the required files into the same folder to keep things organized. After following all directions you should have a folder with the contents similar to the figure below.

Figure 1 - Example

Files to Download

  • Download electricBinary-9.07.jar (Link) - Get the GNU Electric Binary Release version 9.07
  • Download electricSFS-9.07.jar (Link)

Files to Install

  • Download and install LTSpice XVII (Link)
  • Download and install Java3D 1.5.1 (Link)

Enable LTSpice Plugin

  • Follow the directions on this link using the directions for the new version of pspice. This will enable the use of LTSpice in Electric.

Enable 3D View Plugin

  • To include the 3D viewer feature, follow the steps on this link.
  • Then copy the contents from C:\Program Files\Java\Java3D\1.5.1\bin and C:\Program Files\Java\Java3D\1.5.1\lib\ext to the folder where you have electricBinary-9.07.jar
  • Add the 3 new jar files to the shortcut target name:
  • %programfiles%\Java\jre1.8.0_261\bin\java.exe -classpath “electricBinary-9.07.jar;electricSFS9.07.jar;j3dcore.jar;j3dutils.jar;vecmath.jar” com.sun.electric.Launcher

Command Keys

You can find and change the hot keys under "Preferences -> General -> Key Bindings" menu. However, below you can find a quick list of keys that we will be using the majority of the times.

General Commands

  • U - Undo
  • F - Fit Window
  • J - Rotate component
  • CTRL+I or Q - Edit component
  • Point A -> Left click and then Point B -> right click - Connect component
  • CTRL + Mouse Wheel - Zoom in and out
  • CTRL + Left click - Select different elements from a component

Schematic and Layout Error Check Commands

  • F5 - DRC check
  • L - NCC (schematic and layout validation)

Published by Goncalo