Altera PowerPlay Early Power Estimator - Manual (Page 10)

2–4 Chapter 2: Setting Up Cyclone III PowerPlay Early Power Estimator 
Entering Information into the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator
PowerPlay Early Power Estimator User Guide for Cyclone III FPGAs © June 2009 Altera Corporation
Entering Information into the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator
You can either manually enter power information into the PowerPlay Early Power
Estimator, or load a PowerPlay Early Power Estimator file generated by the Quartus II
software, version 9.0 SP2 or later. You can also clear all the values currently in the
PowerPlay Early Power Estimator.
Clearing All Values
You can reset all the user-entered values in the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator by
clicking Reset.
1 In order to use the Reset EPE feature, you must enable macros for the spreadsheet. If
you have not enabled macros for the spreadsheet, you must manually reset all user-
entered values.
Manually Entering Information
You can manually enter values into the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator in the
appropriate section. White, unshaded cells are input cells and can be modified. Each
section contains a column that allows you to specify a module name based on your
design.
Importing a File
If you already have an existing design or a partially completed design, the PowerPlay
Early Power Estimator file generated by the Quartus II software contains the device
resource information. You can import the device resource information from the
Quartus II software power estimation file into the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator.
Importing a file saves your time and effort otherwise spent manually entering
information into the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator. You can also manually change
any of the values after importing a file.
To generate the power estimation file, first compile your design in the Quartus II
software. After compiling the design, click Generate PowerPlay Early Power
Estimator File
on the Project menu. The Quartus II software creates a power
estimation file with the name <revision name>_early_pwr.csv.
f For more information about generating the power estimation file in the Quartus II
software, refer to the
PowerPlay Power Analysis chapter in the Quartus II Handbook.
To import data into the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator, perform the following
steps:
1. Click Import Quartus II File in the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator.
2. Browse to a power estimation file generated from the Quartus II software and click
Open . The file is named <revision name>_early_pwr.csv.
3. Click OK in the confirmation window.
4. When the file is imported, click OK. Clicking OK acknowledges that the import is
complete. If there are any errors during the import, an .err file is generated with
details.