Often times cells in block designs need to arranged in a specific way to show control or data paths of a design. The pinning function in IP integrator provides designers with the ability to “lock” cells with respect to each other and to a particular coordinate on the block design.
To pin blocks on to a certain location on the canvas, just select one or multiple blocks on the canvas, click the Pin icon on the tool bar and select Pin from the context menu. The pinned blocks are shown with a Pin icon on the top right corner of the cell as shown below.
Regenerating the layout of the block design or regenerating an optimal routing will not affect the location of the pinned cells in question. External Ports can also be pinned using the same functionality. Pinning can also be done alternatively, by selecting one or multiple cells (or ports) on the block design canvas, right-clicking and selecting from the context menu . To unpin an object, select the cell/port on the block design and either by clicking on the Pin icon on the tool bar or right-clicking in the block design, select from the context menu.