You can create a design checkpoint (DCP) file for a block design by setting the block
design as an Out-of-Context (OOC) module.
- Select the block design in the Sources window, right-click to open the menu,
shown in the following figure, and select the Generate Output Products command.
- In the Generate Output Products dialog box, enable the
Out-of-Context per Block Design option, as shown below. See Generating Output Products for more
information.
A square is placed next to the block design in the Sources window to indicate that the block design has been defined as an out-of-context (OOC) module. The Design Runs window also shows an Out-of-Context Module Run for the block design.
- When out-of-context synthesis run for the block design is
complete, a design checkpoint file (DCP) is created for the block design. The
DCP file also shows up in the Sources window, under the block design tree in the
IP Sources view. The DCP file is written to the following directory:
<project_name>/<project_name>.srcs/<sources_1>/<bd>/<block_design_name>DCPs let you take a snapshot of your design in its current state. The current netlist, constraints, and implementation results are stored in the DCP.
Using DCPs, you can:
- Restore your design if needed
- Perform design analysis
- Define constraints
- Proceed with the design flow
- When the out-of-context run for the block design is created, two
stub files are also created; one each for Verilog and VHDL. The stub file
includes the instantiation template which can be copied into the top-level
design to instantiate the black box of the block design. These files are written
to the following directory:
<project_name>/<project_name>.srcs/<sources_1>/<bd>/<block_design_name>