Space Management
Due to the large size of Xilinx Foundation projects, you probably will not be able to keep more than your active project in it's complete form without exceeding
your disk quota. (Projects can be as large a 7 MB or larger!!)
The data saved when a project is implemented is quite large (several MB). Thus, you may want to go to the "versions" tab in the project manager and delete any
versions of the project listed there before logging out (or check your quota first, to be sure your are not over).
Also, you should at least zip your old projects - a 7+MB project can zip down to 1.5MB. However, it is not necessary to keep all the file for a project. You can
easily re-constitute the whole thing if you keep these files (I recommend zipping them into an archive, using the name of the project so that you remember it):
*.vhd - your VHDL files
*.sch - your schematic diagrams
*.asf, *.asx - your state machines
*.ucf - your constraints file (for pin assignments)
To recreate your project, start a new project with the same name as the old one (you need to delete the old project directory (but not
the files listed above!!!), so Foundation can make the "new" directory). Now, copy all the above files into the new project directory. Next, open the schematic. It
will tell you that symbols are missing, and ask you if you want to continue. Say yes, until you finally get the schematic open, with gray outlines of all
your symbols. Now, use the Hierarchy Push/Pop tool
and double click one of the grayed-out symbols. When it's editor opens, the VHDL or state machine (as
appropriate) will all be there - simply create the macro, and the symbol in the schematic will return to normal (as the schematic is re-loading, it will ask you
about missing symbols again, unless you have already fixed them all). Close that editor, and repeat for the other missing symbols until your design is back in
it's original state. Voila! Your project is back!
PS: if you forgot the original name of the project, or want to change it, just make sure you follow these guidelines (proj denotes your project name):
- the ucf file should be called proj.ucf
- the schematic file should be called proj1.sch (you
may also have proj2.sch, proj3.sch... but these were probably created by
accident and should be safe to delete - BUT MAKE SURE FIRST!)
- the directory that the project is in is called .../proj
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