Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Design Compilation

ID 683236
Date 12/04/2023
Public
Document Table of Contents

2.10.1. Full Compilation Flow with Temporary Optimization Mode

You can run a full compilation flow that temporarily overrides the compiler optimization mode set in the Quartus settings file (.qsf) for your design. The optimization mode set for your project in your settings file does not change and remains the default compilation strategy for your project.

Overriding the compiler optimization mode set in your project can be helpful when your project has long compile times and you want to quickly produce a bitstream for on-chip testing.

To run a full compilation with a temporary optimization mode, select a compilation mode from the Processing > Start Optimization Mode Compilation menu in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition GUI.

The following temporary optimization mode compilation flows are available in the Start Optimization Mode Compilation menu:
  • Start Aggressive Compile Time Optimization Mode Compilation

    In this optimization mode, the Compiler reduces its performance optimization efforts and performs minimal reporting to provide a shorter compilation time.

  • Start Fast Functional Test Optimization Mode Compilation

    In this optimization mode, the Compiler minimizes its setup-timing optimization efforts to provide an even shorter compilation time.

The selected optimization mode is enabled only for the duration of the compilation. After the compilation completes, Intel® Quartus® Prime returns to the compilation optimization strategy that is set in the project settings.

Tip: You can customize the Intel® Quartus® Prime Processing toolbar to include buttons for any of these temporary optimization mode compilations.
Important: With these optimization modes, the clocks in the resulting compilation might not meet setup. You might need to slow down the clocks on your design, such as by using PLL ECOs post-compile, before generating the bitstream.