Pinout and Area Constraints Editor (PACE™) is an interactive graphical application that you can use as follows:
To view and edit location constraints for I/Os and global logic
To view and create area constraints for logic in your design
To determine resource requirements of your design
To determine resource layout of your target device
Use PACE during initial design entry, or after consolidation of a design into a netlist file. For initial design entry, PACE reads and writes VHDL and Verilog files, limited to I/O definitions. For consolidated netlists, PACE reads the NGD file. In both cases, PACE reads and writes user constraint files (UCFs).
PACE™ reads in the following files:
NGD
The Native Generic Design (NGD) file is the design file output from NGDBuild.
UCF
The User Constraints file (UCF) is an ASCII file specifying constraints on the logical design. These constraints affect the way the logical design is implemented in the target device.
LFP
The Logical Floorplan file (LFP) file associates a design file with a UCF file and contains grouping and color information applied to your design.
VHDL
The VHDL top-level file (VHD) represents the top-level module in the design with I/O ports. PACE understands only data about I/O pins in this file.
Verilog
The Verilog top-level file (V) represents the top-level module in the design with I/O ports. PACE understands only data about I/O pins in this file.
CSV
Excel Comma Separated Value (CSV) file is a comma-separated list file, which can be imported into PACE. This file may be used as a means of transferring I/O data to or from external tools. This file is not allowed on the command line.
PACE generates the following output files:
LFP
The Logical Floorplan File (LFP) file associates a design file with a UCF file and contains grouping and color information applied to your design.
UCF
PACE writes a UCF file. This allows the floorplan to become part of your design source archives. I/O and area constraints defined in PACE are saved in the UCF.
VHDL
You can save the top-level VHDL from PACE if you are creating a new design. Because PACE is not a full VHDL editor, only I/O data can be written into this file.
Verilog
You can save the top-level Verilog from PACE if you are creating a new design. Because PACE is not a full Verilog editor, only I/O data can be written into this file.
CSV
You can export a CSV file that contains all the design I/Os and their properties.