Documenting Your Simulation Results

This chapter describes the fundamentals of using the ADS Electronic Notebook.

Creating Verification Documentation

The ADS Electronic Notebook enables you to create HTML documents using the designs and results within a project. The operations and features provided within the notebook enables you to:

• Automatically capture and update images from ADS schematics, layouts and data displays.
• Produce HTML formatted output of results which can be distributed easily without the necessity of ADS.
• Exercise the ability to import graphic images from external sources. This enables you to add documentation from other products.

To access the ADS Electronic Notebook Editor:

1. Choose Tools > Electronic Notebook. The ADS Electronic Notebook Editor appears.
2. Enter the Notebook Title, Engineer, Company and Copyright information in the Notebook Properties section of the dialog.

   Note You can return to and edit the Notebook Properties section of the dialog at any time by clicking the Notebook Properties button below the Page Operations section of the dialog.

3. Use the Browse button to select an existing Banner Image to be displayed at the top of your document. Click the View button to preview the image.

Adding a Page

The Electronic Notebook supports a variety of page types. Generally, a page consists of a beginning text area, an image and a bottom text area. The text area is HTML formatted. This means that the text in this area may make use of any of the standard HTML formatting commands. To add a new page:

1. Click the Add Page button. The New Notebook Page dialog box appears.
2. Select the appropriate Page Type from the list of options. For more information, refer to Page Types".
3. Click OK to continue or Cancel to abort the operation. If you clicked OK, the page is inserted below the currently selected page. It is not inserted into the selected page's folder. If this is desired, use the right arrow operation after the page is inserted.

Page Types

• Folders There are no explicit folder pages in the notebook. Any page can become a folder. This is accomplished by moving a page beneath the desired folder page and moving it to the right by using the right arrow button. Similarly, moving a page to the left takes it out of its folder.
• Description This places a blank page into the notebook. This page has only one text area. It is recommended that general descriptions of topic areas be placed on these pages.
• Schematic This places a schematic image on the page and has the standard two text areas.
• Layout This places a layout image on the page and has the standard two text areas.
• Data Display This places a data display image on the page and has the standard two text areas.
• Image This places an external image on the page and has the standard two text areas. The image can be a jpeg, gif, bmp or xwd image. The image is automatically converted to jpeg format during page generation so that complete portability is possible.

Notebook Operations

• Save Saves the current notebook data. The HTML data is not created when this data is saved.
• Generate Saves the current notebook data. The HTML data is then created and a web browser is opened up to view the resulting notebook.
• View Opens the current HTML notebook in a browser window. This command does not save the current configuration or generate new HTML data.
• Zip HTML Saves the current notebook HTML data in a zip file. A prompt appears requesting the location of the zip file.
• Quick Help Displays the on line help.
• Cancel Exits the ADS Electronic Notebook.

Page Operations

Page operations affect the order of the pages within the notebook. The notebook is based on a hierarchical structure. Each page can become a folder simply by having another page underneath it.

Page Movement

The following operations move the pages around within the notebook.

• Up Arrow Moves the selected page up. If the selected page is at the top of a list, it will be unable to move.
• Down Arrow Moves the selected page down. If the selected page is at the bottom of a list, it will be unable to move.
• Left Arrow Moves the selected page left. This will move the page out of the current list it's in and into the one above it. If the page is at the top level, it will be unable to move.
• Right Arrow Moves the selected page right. This moves the current page into the hierarchy of the page above it. If the page is already within the hierarchy of the preceding page, it will be unable to move.

Page Creation and Deletion

• Add Page This operation brings up a dialog which allows the addition of any of the default page types. The page is inserted below the currently selected page. It is not inserted into the selected page's folder. If this is desired, use the right arrow operation after the page is inserted.
• Delete Page This operation brings up a dialog confirming the deletion of the selected page. If a page has pages underneath it, a special dialog will confirm the deletion of the page and all its children.

Notebook Generation

Notebook generation consists of two parts, the HTML file creation and the image capture. The HTML generation for the notebook is done automatically whenever the notebook is generated using the Generate command.

The Save command does not generate the HTML, it only saves the notebook data, so that when the notebook is restarted it can be resumed from its last state.

The images which are used in the notebook are image captures taken directly from the screen. During this process, the notebook is iconized so that it will not get in the way of the image capture process. After all the images have been captured, it is maximized back to its last size. It is important to remember that this process is a direct screen capture and any windows placed on top of an ADS window during this process will be captured instead of the desired ADS image.

During the image capture process, each desired design or data display is opened and then resized appropriately for correct screen capture. Again, these designs do not open any faster than they normally would, so patience is required for large schematics and data display files.

During the image capture process, only those designs and data displays which have changed since the last image capture are captured. However, if the image should not be updated automatically, the check box on the desired page, Update Images Automatically, should be unchecked. If this box is unchecked, the image will not be recaptured when the design or data is updated.