Introduction

The Contextual Menu is a powerful feature in SCI-Compiler that provides quick access to commands and block insertion directly from the diagram canvas.

Accessing the Contextual Menu

Right-click on:

  • White space (empty diagram area) - General commands and block insertion
  • Blocks - Block-specific operations and properties

The menu content changes based on what you click on, providing context-sensitive options.

Contextual Menu on White Space

Right-clicking on empty diagram area displays the full contextual menu.

Contextual Menu Full

Figure 1: Full contextual menu with all available blocks

The contextual menu contains:

  1. Toolbar commands - Copy of common toolbar functions
  2. Block library - All virtual blocks organized by category
  3. Quick actions - Paste, undo, redo, etc.

Toolbar Commands Section

Quick access to editing tools:

Command Shortcut Function
Cut Ctrl+X Cut selected blocks/wires
Copy Ctrl+C Copy selected blocks/wires
Paste Ctrl+V Paste from clipboard
Delete Del Delete selected items
Undo Ctrl+Z Undo last action
Redo Ctrl+Y Redo undone action

Block Categories

All available blocks organized hierarchically:

Wire

  • Board Pin (Analog In, Digital I/O)
  • Misc (Constants, Clocks, Converters)
  • Binary Operations (Join, Split, Select)
  • Sub-design

Logic

  • Boolean Logic (AND, OR, XOR, NOT, etc.)
  • Sequential Logic (Flip-flops, Latches, Edge Detectors)
  • Timer Counters (Counters, Timers, Chronometers)
  • Comparator
  • Mux/Demux
  • Delay Memory (Delays, RAM, ROM, FIFO)

Signal Processing

  • State Machine
  • ALU (Add, Subtract, Multiply, etc.)
  • Timing (TDC, ToT, SCA)
  • DAQ (Oscilloscope, Spectrum, QDC, etc.)

Communication

  • Register (Read/Write)
  • Serial Bus (I2C, SPI, UART)

Board-Specific

  • Board-dependent blocks (varies by platform)

In-Place Block Insertion

Blocks are inserted “in-place” - near the cursor position where you right-clicked.

How It Works

  1. Right-click at desired location in diagram
  2. Navigate menu hierarchy to find block
  3. Click block name
  4. Block appears at cursor position

Advantages

  • Faster than toolbar → click → drag workflow
  • Precise placement - block appears exactly where needed
  • Less mouse movement - more efficient design
  • Context stays local - no need to look away to toolbar

Example Workflow

Adding a counter near existing trigger logic:

  1. Right-click next to trigger block
  2. Navigate: Logic → Timer Counters → Rising Edge Counter
  3. Block appears in-place
  4. Immediately connect to trigger output

Contextual Menu on Selected Block

Right-clicking on a selected block shows block-specific commands.

Block Contextual Menu

Figure 2: Contextual menu for selected block

Additional Commands

When a block is selected, extra menu items appear:

Command Function
Properties Edit block configuration (size, parameters, etc.)
Fan-out to Variables Create automatic connections with variable blocks
Help Open block documentation
Duplicate Copy block (some blocks have special duplication)
Delete Remove block from diagram

Editing Block Properties

Access block configuration directly from contextual menu.

Properties Command

Function: Opens the same configuration dialog as double-clicking the block.

Use cases:

  • Change memory size (RAM, ROM, FIFO)
  • Modify number of inputs (multiplexer, logic gates)
  • Adjust parameter values (threshold, delay, width)
  • Configure block-specific settings

Example - Changing multiplexer inputs:

  1. Right-click multiplexer block
  2. Select Properties
  3. Change “Number of inputs” from 2 to 4
  4. Click OK
  5. Block updates with 4 input pins

Automatic Fan-out to Variables

The Fan-out to Variables command creates variable blocks automatically for each output pin.

What Is Fan-out to Variables?

Creates a Variable block for each output pin of the selected block, with variable names matching the pin names.

How It Works

  1. Right-click on a block with multiple outputs
  2. Select Fan-out to Variables
  3. SCI-Compiler creates:
    • One variable block per output pin
    • Variable name = output pin name
    • Automatic connection from pin to variable

Example

Block with outputs named:

  • trigger_out
  • energy_value
  • timestamp

After fan-out:

  • Variable block “trigger_out” connected to trigger_out pin
  • Variable block “energy_value” connected to energy_value pin
  • Variable block “timestamp” connected to timestamp pin

Benefits

  • Fast signal routing - No manual variable creation
  • Consistent naming - Variables match pin names
  • Clean diagrams - Named connection points
  • Easy debugging - Clear signal labels

When to Use

  • Signal branching - One output to multiple destinations
  • Long-distance connections - Avoid wire clutter
  • Documentation - Label important signals
  • Debugging - Track specific nets

Duplicate with Auto-Increment

Some blocks support special duplication with automatic name incrementing.

Supported Blocks

Blocks that support auto-increment duplication:

  • Registers (Read and Write)
  • Board I/O pins
  • Variables
  • Other named components

How It Works

Duplicate Dialog

Figure 3: Duplicate with auto-increment dialog

  1. Right-click on a register block (e.g., “counter_0”)
  2. Select Duplicate
  3. Dialog appears: “How many copies?”
  4. Enter number (e.g., 15)
  5. Click OK

Result

Duplicated Registers

Figure 4: Auto-incremented register blocks

SCI-Compiler creates multiple blocks with auto-incremented names:

  • counter_0 (original)
  • counter_1
  • counter_2
  • counter_3
  • …
  • counter_15

Auto-Increment Rules

Numeric suffix:

  • “register_0” → “register_1”, “register_2”, …
  • “channel_5” → “channel_6”, “channel_7”, …

No suffix:

  • “threshold” → “threshold_1”, “threshold_2”, …

Alphabetic suffix:

  • Not auto-incremented (manual naming required)

Layout

Blocks are placed:

  • Vertically stacked below original
  • Evenly spaced for clarity
  • Aligned for neat appearance

Use Cases

Multi-channel systems:

  • 16 channel counters for multi-detector array
  • 32 threshold registers for each ADC channel
  • 64 I/O pins for large connector banks

Array processing:

  • Identical processing blocks per channel
  • Uniform configuration registers
  • Parallel signal paths

Rapid prototyping:

  • Quickly expand design from 1 to N channels
  • Test scalability
  • Duplicate proven sub-circuits

Contextual Menu vs. Toolbar

Comparison of the two access methods:

Contextual Menu Advantages

✓ Faster access - Right-click at target location ✓ In-place insertion - Block appears where needed ✓ Less mouse movement - More ergonomic ✓ Context-sensitive - Different options per selection ✓ Block-specific actions - Fan-out, properties, help

Toolbar Advantages

✓ Always visible - Don’t need to remember categories ✓ Visual organization - Icons and groups ✓ Persistent reference - Can browse without committing ✓ Better for learning - Explore available blocks

Recommendation

  • Beginners: Start with toolbar to learn block categories
  • Experienced users: Use contextual menu for speed
  • Both: Combine based on task and preference

Best Practices

Efficient Block Placement

  1. Plan ahead - Right-click where block will go
  2. Use contextual menu - Faster than toolbar
  3. Connect immediately - Block is already positioned
  4. Repeat - Build design incrementally

Organizing Large Designs

  1. Use fan-out to variables - Label important signals
  2. Duplicate blocks - Multi-channel consistency
  3. Properties access - Quick parameter tweaks
  4. Help reference - Verify block behavior

Keyboard + Mouse Combo

Efficient workflow combining both:

  1. Right-click to insert block
  2. Alt+F to fan-out connection
  3. Right-click to insert next block
  4. Ctrl+D to duplicate
  5. Right-click → Properties to configure
  6. Ctrl+S to save

Common Workflows

Creating Multi-Channel Counter System

Goal: 16 rising edge counters with corresponding registers

  1. Add first counter from contextual menu
  2. Right-click counter → Duplicate → Enter 15
  3. Add first register block
  4. Configure register name “count_0”
  5. Right-click register → Duplicate → Enter 15
  6. Connect counter_0 → register_0
  7. Select connection wire
  8. Alt+R → Enter 15 → Auto-replicate connections

Result: 16 counters with 16 registers, all connected, in 30 seconds!

Routing Complex Signal Path

Goal: Output from one block to multiple destinations

  1. Right-click on source block
  2. Select Fan-out to Variables
  3. Variable blocks created at outputs
  4. Right-click on each variable
  5. Create connections to destination blocks
  6. Variables act as labeled junction points

Result: Clean diagram with named routing points instead of tangled wires.

Modifying Existing Block

Goal: Change multiplexer from 2 to 8 inputs

  1. Right-click multiplexer
  2. Select Properties
  3. Change “Number of inputs” to 8
  4. Click OK
  5. Block updates with 8 input pins
  6. Connect additional input sources

Result: Block reconfigured without deletion and recreation.

Quick Documentation Lookup

Goal: Verify TDC block functionality

  1. Right-click TDC block
  2. Select Help
  3. Help panel displays TDC documentation
  4. Review input/output descriptions
  5. Verify parameter meanings

Result: Instant reference without leaving diagram.

Advanced Techniques

Rapid Prototyping Workflow

Build complete processing chain quickly:

  1. Right-click → Add Analog Input
2. Right-click → Add Baseline Restorer
3. Right-click → Add Leading Edge Trigger
4. Right-click → Add QDC
5. Right-click → Add Spectrum
6. Connect with Alt+F fan-out
7. Right-click each → Properties → Configure

Time: ~2 minutes for complete signal chain!

Template Replication

Create processing template and replicate:

  1. Design single channel processing
  2. Select all blocks (Ctrl+A or drag-select)
  3. Right-click → Copy
  4. Right-click → Paste (repeat N times)
  5. Adjust register names for each channel

Smart Variable Naming

Use fan-out for consistent naming:

  1. Design block outputs with descriptive names
  2. Right-click → Fan-out to Variables
  3. Variables inherit meaningful names
  4. Use variables as connection points
  5. Diagram becomes self-documenting

Contextual Menu Shortcuts

Some operations accessible via contextual menu have keyboard shortcuts:

Operation Contextual Menu Keyboard Shortcut
Cut Right-click → Cut Ctrl+X
Copy Right-click → Copy Ctrl+C
Paste Right-click → Paste Ctrl+V
Delete Right-click → Delete Del
Undo Right-click → Undo Ctrl+Z
Properties Right-click → Properties Double-click block
Help Right-click → Help Click block + view Help panel
Duplicate Right-click → Duplicate Ctrl+D

Tip: Learn shortcuts for frequent operations, use contextual menu for less common ones.

Troubleshooting

Contextual Menu Doesn’t Appear

Problem: Right-click does nothing or shows wrong menu

Solutions:

  • Ensure you’re clicking in Diagram tab (not Editor or Compiler Output)
  • Click on white space or block (not wire)
  • Check if another modal dialog is open
  • Restart SCI-Compiler if menu system is stuck

Block Not Available in Menu

Problem: Expected block missing from contextual menu

Solutions:

  • Verify block is supported for your board type
  • Check you’re in correct category (Logic vs. Signal Processing)
  • Update SCI-Compiler to latest version
  • Consult block compatibility documentation

Fan-out Creates Wrong Variable Names

Problem: Variable names don’t match expectations

Solutions:

  • Check block output pin names (used as variable names)
  • Rename variables manually after creation
  • Modify block pin names in VHDL wrapper (advanced)

Duplicate Doesn’t Auto-Increment

Problem: Duplicated blocks have same name

Solutions:

  • Check block type supports auto-increment (registers, I/O)
  • Manually rename first block with “_0” suffix
  • Use “Add Multi” from toolbar for registers instead

Properties Dialog Validation Fails

Problem: Can’t save changes in Properties dialog

Solutions:

  • Check all required fields are filled
  • Verify numeric values are in valid range
  • Ensure no duplicate names
  • Read error message for specific issue

Summary

The Contextual Menu is a powerful productivity tool in SCI-Compiler:

Feature Benefit
Right-click access Quick, context-sensitive commands
In-place insertion Faster block placement
Block properties Edit configuration without toolbar
Fan-out to variables Automatic labeled connection points
Auto-increment duplication Rapid multi-channel design
Integrated help Instant documentation lookup
Complete block library All blocks in one menu

Master the contextual menu to dramatically speed up your firmware design workflow!

Key takeaways:

  • Right-click on white space for block insertion
  • Right-click on blocks for properties and special actions
  • Use fan-out for clean signal routing
  • Duplicate with auto-increment for multi-channel systems
  • Combine with keyboard shortcuts for maximum efficiency