Command reference table

The following table provides a brief description of each ModelSim command. Command details, arguments and examples can be found at the page numbers given in the Command name column.

Command name	Action
.main clear	clears the Main window transcript
.wave.tree interrupt	halts the drawing of waves in the Wave window
.wave.tree zoomfull	zooms the Wave window from time zero to the current simulation time
.wave.tree zoomin	zooms in the Wave window by the specified factor
.wave.tree zoomlast	zooms the Wave window to the setting of the last zoom change
.wave.tree zoomout	zooms out the Wave window by the specified factor
.wave.tree zoomrange	zooms the Wave to the specified range
abort	halts the execution of a macro file interrupted by a breakpoint or error
add button	adds a user-defined button to the Main window button bar
add list	lists VHDL signals and variables, and Verilog nets and registers, and their values in the List window
add log	also known as the log command. See log
add_menu	adds a menu to the menu bar of the specified window, using the specified menu name
add_menucb	creates a checkbox within the specified menu of the specified window
add_menuitem	creates a menu item within the specified menu of the specified window
add_separator	adds a separator as the next item in the specified menu path in the specified window
add_submenu	creates a cascading submenu within the specified menu_path of the specified window
add wave	adds VHDL signals and variables, and Verilog nets and registers to the Wave window
alias	creates a new Tcl procedure that evaluates the specified commands
batch_mode	returns a 1 if ModelSim is operating in batch mode, otherwise returns a 0
bd	deletes a breakpoint
bookmark add wave	adds a bookmark to the specified Wave window
bookmark delete wave	deletes bookmarks from the specified Wave window
bookmark goto wave	zooms and scrolls a Wave window using the specified bookmark
bookmark list wave	displays a list of available bookmarks
bp	sets a breakpoint
cd	changes the ModelSim local directory to the specified directory
change	modifies the value of a VHDL variable or Verilog register variable
change_menu_cmd	changes the command to be executed for a specified menu item label, in the specified menu, in the specified window
check contention add	enables contention checking for the specified nodes
check contention config	writes checking messages to a file
check contention off	disables contention checking for the specified nodes
check float add	enables float checking for the specified nodes
check float config	writes checking messages to a file
check float off	disables float checking for the specified nodes
check stable off	disables stability checking
check stable on	enables stability checking on the entire design
checkpoint	saves the state of your simulation
compare add	compares signals in a reference design against signals in a test design
compare annotate	marks a compare difference as "ignore" or tags it with a text message
compare clock	defines a clock to be used with clocked-mode comparisons
compare configure	modifies options for compare signals or regions
compare continue	continues difference computation that had been suspended
compare delete	deletes a signal or region from the current comparison
compare end	closes the currently open comparison
compare info	lists the results of the comparison
compare list	lists all the compare signal and compare region commands currently in effect
compare options	sets defaults for options used in other compare commands
compare reload	reloads a comparison previously saved with the compare savediffs command
compare reset	clears the current compare differences
compare run	runs the comparison on selected signals
compare savediffs	saves comparison differences to a file that can be reloaded later
compare saverules	saves comparison setup information to a file that can be reloaded later
compare see	displays a comparison difference in the Wave window
compare start	starts a new dataset comparison
compare stop	halts active difference computation
compare update	updates the comparison differences
configure	invokes the List or Wave widget configure command for the current default List or Wave window
coverage clear	clears all coverage data obtained during previous run commands
coverage reload	seeds the coverage statistics with the output of a previous coverage report command
coverage report	produces a textual output of the coverage statistics that have been gathered up to this point
dataset alias	assigns an additional name to a dataset
dataset clear	clears the current simulation WLF file
dataset alias	closes a dataset
dataset info	reports information about the specified dataset
dataset list	lists the open dataset(s)
dataset open	opens a dataset and references it by a logical name
dataset rename	changes the logical name of an opened dataset
delete	removes HDL items from either the List or Wave window
describe	displays information about the specified HDL item
disablebp	turns off all existing breakpoints temporarily
disable_menu	disables the specified menu within the specified window
disable_menuitem	disables the specified menu item within the specified menu_path of the specified window
do	executes commands contained in a macro file
down	searches for signal transitions or values in the specified List window
drivers	displays in the Main window the current value and scheduled future values for all the drivers of a specified VHDL signal or Verilog net
dumplog64	dumps the contents of the vsim.wlf file in a readable format
echo	displays a specified message in the Main window
edit	invokes the editor specified by the EDITOR environment variable
enablebp	turns on all breakpoints turned off by the disablebp command
enable_menu	enables a previously-disabled menu
enable_menuitem	enables a previously-disabled menu item
environment	displays or changes the current dataset and region/signal environment
examine	examines one or more HDL items, and displays current values (or the values at a specified previous time) in the Main window
exit	exits the simulator and the ModelSim application
find	displays the full pathnames of all HDL items in the design whose names match the name specification you provide
force	allows you to apply stimulus to VHDL signals and Verilog nets and registers, interactively
getactivecursortime	gets the time of the active cursor in the Wave window
getactivemarkertime	gets the time of the active marker in the List window
help	displays in the Main window a brief description and syntax for the specified command
history	lists the commands executed during the current session
lecho	takes one or more Tcl lists as arguments and pretty-prints them to the Main window
left	searches left (previous) for signal transitions or values in the specified Wave window
log	creates a wave log format (WLF) file containing simulation data for all HDL items whose names match the provided specifications
lshift	takes a Tcl list as argument and shifts it in-place one place to the left, eliminating the 0th element
lsublist	returns a sublist of the specified Tcl list that matches the specified Tcl glob pattern
macro_option	controls the speed and delay of macro (DO file) playback, plus the level of debugging feedback
modelsim	starts the ModelSim GUI without prompting you to load a design; valid only for Windows platforms
next	continues a search; see "search"
noforce	removes the effect of any active force commands on the selected HDL items
nolog	suspends writing of data to the WLF file for the specified signals
notepad	opens a simple text editor
noview	closes a window in the ModelSim GUI
nowhen	deactivates selected when commands
onbreak	specifies command(s) to be executed when running a macro that encounters a breakpoint in the source code
onElabError	specifies one or more commands to be executed when an error is encountered during elaboration
onerror	specifies one or more commands to be executed when a running macro encounters an error
pause	interrupts the execution of a macro
play	plays a sequence of keyboard and mouse actions, which were previously saved to a file with the record command
power add	specifies the signals or nets to track for power information
power report	writes out the power information for the specified signals or nets
power reset	resets power information to zero for the signals or nets specified with the power add command
printenv	echoes to the Main window the current names and values of all environment variables
profile clear	clears any data that has been gathered during previous run commands
profile interval	selects the frequency with which the profiler collects samples during a run command
profile off	discontinues runtime profiling
profile on	enables runtime analysis of where your simulation is spending its time
profile option	allows various profiling options to be changed
profile report	produces a textual output of the profiling statistics that have been gathered up to this point
project	performs common operations on new projects
property list	changes one or more properties of the specified signal, net or register in the List window
property wave	changes one or more properties of the specified signal, net or register in the Wave window
pwd	displays the current directory path in the Main window
quietly	turns off transcript echoing for the specified command
quit	exits the simulator
radix	specifies the default radix to be used
record	starts recording a replayable trace of all keyboard and mouse actions
report	displays the value of all simulator control variables, or the value of any simulator state variables relevant to the current simulation
restart	reloads the design elements and resets the simulation time to zero
restore	restores the state of a simulation that was saved with a checkpoint command during the current invocation of vsim
resume	resumes execution of a macro file after a pause command, or a breakpoint
right	searches right (next) for signal transitions or values in the specified Wave window
run	advances the simulation by the specified number of timesteps
search	searches the specified window for one or more items matching the specified pattern(s)
searchlog	searches one or more of the currently open logfiles for a specified condition
seetime	scrolls the List or Wave window to make the specified time visible
shift	shifts macro parameter values down one place
show	lists HDL items and subregions visible from the current environment
simstats (CR-187)	reports performance-related statistics about active simulations
splitio	operates on a VHDL inout or out port to create a new signal having the same name as the port suffixed with "__o"
status	lists all currently interrupted macros
step	steps to the next HDL statement
stop	stops simulation in batch files; used with the when command
tb	displays a stack trace for the current process in the Main window
toggle add	enables collection of toggle statistics for the specified nodes
toggle report	displays to the screen a list of all nodes that have not transitioned to both 0 and 1 at least once
toggle reset	resets the toggle counts to zero for the specified nodes
transcribe	displays a command in the Main window, then executes the command
transcript	controls echoing of commands executed in a macro file; also works at top level in batch mode
TreeUpdate (CR-566)	updates all waveforms when you invoke a DO file that was saved via the File > Save Format (Wave window) command
tssi2mti	converts a vector file in Fluence Technology (formerly TSSI) Standard Events Format into a sequence of force and run commands
up	searches for signal transitions or values in the specified List window
vcd add	adds the specified items to the VCD file
vcd checkpoint	dumps the current values of all VCD variables to the VCD file
vcd comment	inserts the specified comment in the VCD file
vcd dumpports	creates a VCD file that captures port driver data
vcd dumpportsall	creates a checkpoint in the VCD file that shows the current value of all selected ports
vcd dumpportsflush	flushes the VCD buffer to the VCD file
vcd dumpportslimit	specifies the maximum size of the VCD file
vcd dumpportsoff	turns off VCD dumping and records all dumped port values as x
vcd dumpportson	turns on VCD dumping and records the current value of all selected ports
vcd files	specifies the filename and state mapping for the VCD file created by a vcd add command
vcd flush	flushes the contents of the VCD file buffer to the VCD file
vcd limit	specifies the maximum size of the VCD file
vcd off	turns off VCD dumping and records all VCD variable values as x
vcd on	turns on VCD dumping and records the current values of all VCD variables
vcd2wlf	translates VCD files into WLF files
vcom	compiles VHDL design units
vdel	deletes a design unit from a specified library
vdir	lists the contents of a design library
vgencomp	writes a Verilog module's equivalent VHDL component declaration to standard output
view	opens a ModelSim window and brings it to the front of the display
virtual count	counts the number of currently defined virtuals that were not read in using a macro file
virtual define	prints the definition of the virtual signal or function in the form of a command that can be used to re-create the object
virtual delete	removes the matching virtuals
virtual describe	prints a complete description of the data type of one or more virtual signals
virtual expand	produces a list of all the non-virtual objects contained in the virtual signal(s)
virtual function	creates a new signal that consists of logical operations on existing signals and simulation time
virtual hide	sets a flag in the specified real or virtual signals so that the signals do not appear in the Signals window
virtual log	causes the sim-mode dependent signals of the specified virtual signals to be logged by the kernel
virtual nohide	resets the flag set by a virtual hide command
virtual nolog	stops the logging of the specified virtual signals
virtual region	creates a new user-defined design hierarchy region
virtual save	saves the definitions of virtuals to a file
virtual show	lists the full path names of all the virtuals explicitly defined
virtual signal	creates a new signal that consists of concatenations of signals and subelements
virtual type	creates a new enumerated type
vlib	creates a design library
vlog	compiles Verilog design units
vmake	creates a makefile that can be used to reconstruct the specified library
vmap	defines a mapping between a logical library name and a directory by modifying the modelsim.ini file
vsim	loads a new design into the simulator
vsim<info>	returns information about the current vsim executable
vsource	specifies an alternative file to use for the current source file
when	instructs ModelSim to perform actions when the specified conditions are met
where	displays information about the system environment
wlf2log	translates a ModelSim WLF file(vsim.wlf) to a QuickSim II logfile
write format	records the names and display options in a file of the HDL items currently being displayed in the List or Wave window
write list	records the contents of the most recently opened or specified List window in a list output file
write preferences	saves the current GUI preference settings to a Tcl preference file
write report	prints a summary of the design being simulated
write transcript	writes the contents of the Main window transcript to the specified file
write tssi	records the contents of the default or specified List window in a "TSSI format" file
write wave	records the contents of the most currently opened or specified Wave window in PostScript format

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