Creating a Configuration

Constraints can be divided over a number of constraint files, and a project can include a number of different constraint files that are used to target the design to different implementations. To allow you to group constraint files and to move easily from one implementation to another, you define configurations.
 

1. To define a configuration, right-click on the project name in the Projects panel, and select Configuration Manager from the menu that appears.
    
   The Configuration Manager dialog lists all constraint files in the project down the left and all current configurations across the top. Constraint files are assigned to a configuration by enabling the appropriate checkbox. Figure 1 shows the Configuration Manager dialog with three constraint files listed on the left, the two default constraints and one created specifically for the FPGA project. Three configurations have been defined – two targeting the NanoBoard and one the project board.
    
   
   Figure 1. The configuration manager showing three configurations, each with one constraint file assigned.
    
2. Click the Configurations Add button at the bottom left to add a new configuration.
    
3. Enable the appropriate checkbox to allocate the constraint file to the configuration.

You are now ready to synthesize and place and route the design.