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            TAKE A PEEK AT SOMETHING NEW!

Along with the new Motif-based GUI, Silicon Ensemble also has a new online help system integrated with the software.

For the 5.0 release, this new system is in its prototype stage, which means _you_, the user, can help us design the system that serves you best!

This new system was created in repsonse to internal and external customer feedback that OpenBook used in conjunction with the Cell3 interface did not provide easy and quick access to context-sensitive help.

The following sections describe what help is available and how to access it.


FORM HELP

You can access help for a particular form in two ways:

- Click on the HELP button at the bottom of the form.

- Select Form Help Index from the HELP pull-down menu located in the upper right corner of the Silicon Ensemble window. You will see a window displaying the names of all of the forms. Double click on the name of the form you want help for and second window appears containing the information.


COMMAND HELP

Select Command Help Index from the HELP pull-down menu located in the upper right corner of the Silicon Ensemble window. You will see a window displaying the names of all of the commands. Double click on the name of the command you want help for and second window appears containing the information.

Note: For those of you familiar with Cell3 Ensemble, the HELP and DESCRIBE commands will still work from the command prompt, but you may not get the same information provided by the Command Help Index.


RELATED TOPICS

At the bottom of the form help and command help window is a Related Topics field. In addition to related topics, this field displays:

- The related command if you are viewing form help.
- The related form if you are viewing command help.

To go to a related topic, double click on the topic.


VARIABLE HELP

Help on Silicon Ensemble environmental variables is available in a number of ways.

- Select the Edit Menu from the main menu bar and click 'Environment.'  This takes you to the Environmental Variables form (the one that goes from A To Z). Clicking on the Value for the variable makes text appear in the Description
window. The user can scroll through the text to read about the variable. The variable's value range appear beside 'Range.' The user can also use the 'Find' option on the form, if he/she knows the name of the variable they want. They just type the name in the space provided and the form will automatically scroll to that entry or the variables closest to the name of what was entered.

- Another way to get information on variables is by clicking the Variables button on a form.  Not all forms have a Variables button, however.  Users clicking the Variables button will get an Environment Variables form that contains variables relating only to that form.  It has the same qualities described previously.

Variables information is also contained in the Command Help Index. Most commands have an Environmental Variables section that contains variables relating only to that command.  


SILICON ENSEMBLE TUTORIAL

The Silicon Ensemble Tutorial is an OpenBook document you can access by selecting Silicon Ensemble Tutorial from the HELP pull-down menu located in the upper right corner of the Silicon Ensemble window.


SILICON ENSEMBLE REFERENCE

This OpenBook document contains all of the information presented in the Command Help files, plus additional information on Silicon Ensemble licenses, how to run ANSI interactive and batch sessions, term definitions, and a suggested design flow.

You can start OpenBook by typing the following at a system prompt:

  openbook &


TRADE-OFFS

This new help system has certain limitations, as it was designed to be used in conjunction with OpenBook rather than instead of OpenBook.

In providing quick access and context-sensitivity, this help system does not have print capability or multi-font formatting. However, the Silicon Ensemble Reference, which contains the same information, is printable through OpenBook. OpenBook also provides full-text searching both within the Silicon Ensemble Reference and throughout all of Cadence documentation.  


FEEDBACK

We would like to hear your comments, both negative and positive. Negatative comments will, of course, help us improve. Positive comments help us justify to others that this help system is worth improving.

Some things to think about are:

- How do you feel about the content? Too much, too little? 

- How do you like the accessibility of the information? (links, scroll bar, relation to form or command, the quickHelp interaction with OpenBook)

- In the Command Help Index, you'll notice several entries for VSIZE. 

-- The VSIZE entry contains all of the information for the VSIZE command. 

-- VSIZE-Description contains only a description of the VSIZE command.

-- VSIZE-Syntax contains only the VSIZE syntax.

-- VSIZE-Variables contains only information on VSIZE-related variables.

Would this type of organization help you find the specific information you want more quickly? For example, to find variable information in the complete VSIZE entry, you would have to scroll for a bit. Clicking on VSIZE-Variables enables you to reach the envar information immediately. Or is this a non-issue, as the scroll bar allows you to navigate quick enough?

Thank you for using Silicon Ensemble.

                       
+---------------------------------+    
|                                 |
|     TO SEND US YOUR COMMENTS,   |
|	       EMAIL:             |
|                                 |
|         seqh@cadence.com        |   
|                                 |     
+---------------------------------+  
                                
                                        
"
	<Type QHELP>
	<Header "Using Silicon Ensemble Help">
<beginAutoGen "** Do not edit from here to the endAutoGen tag **" >
	<Tag TopHelp
		<Toolname gsEnsemble>
		<Version 5.0>
		<Title "Form and Command Help">
	>
	<Tag Tutorial
		<Toolname gsEnsemble>
		<Version 5.0>
		<Title "Silicon Ensemble Tutorial">
	>
	<Tag SilEnsembleReference
		<Toolname gsEnsemble>
		<Version 5.0>
		<Title "Silicon Ensemble Reference Manual">
	>
<endAutoGen >
>

