Programmer Window

Allows you to program or configure all Altera devices supported by the Quartus II software with files generated by the Compiler. Programmer has two panes that allow you to edit device settings and Programmer options. The top pane provides a device tree view of the devices in your device chain. The pane below that provides a device chain view of the devices in your chain. When you click on a device in the device chain view and open the shortcut menu, you can access the Edit menu, as well as view and edit properties of the selected device.

Automatically turned on if you are targeting a MAX II device, and is turned off for all other device families. When this option is turned on, it shows that you already enabled real-time ISP for background programming.

Opens the Hardware Setup dialog box in the Programmer, which allows you to add and remove hardware items from the Hardware list, add and remove JTAG servers from the JTAG Servers list, configure your local JTAG server, and specify a hardware setup for device programming and/or configuration.

Provides information about the currently selected hardware specified in the Hardware Setup dialog box.

Specifies the available programming modes (either JTAG, In-Socket Programming, Passive Serial, or Active Serial Programming).

Detects devices in a chain and automatically adds Altera-supported devices to the Device list in the Programmer in the order in which they exist in the device chain. The Quartus II software also recognizes non-Altera devices you define in the New Device dialog box and adds them to the Device list. Unknown devices in a device chain are listed as UNKNOWN_<JTAG IDCODE> in the Device list.

If there are devices in the Device list in the Programmer when you click Auto Detect, the Quartus II software compares the devices in the Device list with the devices in the chain. The Quartus II software then reorders the devices in the Device list, along with associated programming files in the File list, to match the device order in the chain. The Quartus II software inserts or removes devices in the Device list as needed to match the devices in the chain.

If there are devices in the Device list in the Programmer that contain an SFL or PFL IP block when you click Auto Detect, the Quartus II software automatically adds new flash devices to the list under the devices with an SFL or PFL IP block. You can then examine specific flash devices by turning on Examine in the Programmer.

Opens the Select Programming File dialog box, which allows you to add programming files to the programming list in the Programmer.

Replaces a selected programming file in the programming list in the Programmer window with a new programming file.

Opens a dialog box, which allows you to save the contents of the selected, examined device as a Programmer Object File (.pof).

Opens the Select Devices dialog box, which allows you to add devices to the programming list in the Programmer.

Lists the programming files next to their associated devices for the JTAG or Passive Serial chain, or lists a single programming file next to its associated device when you use In-Socket Programming mode or Active Serial Programming mode.

You can use I/O Pin State Files (.ips) only when you turn on ISP CLAMP. The IPS File list is in the programming list.

Lists the devices next to their associated programming files for the JTAG or Passive Serial chain, or lists a single device next to its associated programming file when you use In-Socket Programming mode or Active Serial Programming mode.

If the device you add to the Device list is incompatible with the associated programming file in the File list, the Quartus II software generates a message informing you that it is removing the incompatible file from the programming list. If this occurs, you then must add a compatible programming file to the File list.

Note: If an exclamation point appears after the device name, it indicates that the device is not recognized in the JTAG chain and cannot be used.

Displays the checksum values of programming files in a JTAG or Passive Serial chain, or displays the checksum value of a single programming file in Passive Serial mode.

When you add a programming file to a Chain Description File (.cdf), the Programmer automatically inserts the checksum value into the Checksum field in the Programmer window. You use the checksum value to compare a programming file with the data in a programmed device.

Note: Programmer has two different kinds of checksums. One kind is a CRC checksum for a whole .pof and the other is for data. The checksum for a whole .pof is not important for programming your device. You can view the properties of a .pof and verify whether or not the file has a CRC checksum.

Lists the JTAG user codes next to their associated programming files and devices for the JTAG or Passive Serial chain, or lists the JTAG user code for the single programming file and device when you are in In-Socket Programming mode.

Specifies the following optional tasks:

Program/Configure— Programs data loaded from one or more programming files or an examined device onto one or more blank (or erased) devices.
Verify— Verifies the contents of a programmed device against programming data loaded from a programming file or an examined device.
Blank-Check— Examines one or more devices to ensure that each is blank or completely erased.
Examine— Loads the programming data from a device into a temporary data buffer. You can examine only one device in a chain at a time. This option is mutually exclusive of all other options for that device and all other devices in the chain. When this option is turned on, all other device options are unavailable. You must save programming data from examined devices before you save the Chain Description File (.cdf). Save programming data for an examined device by selecting the device and clicking Save File in the Programmer.

You can examine a flash device in a JTAG chain if the device it is associated with contains an SFL or PFL IP block. If an SFL or PFL IP block is not detected, the File list in the Programmer displays a text message stating that the factory image will be loaded into the device and the Program/Configure option is automatically enabled.

Security Bit— Prevents a device from being examined and inadvertently reprogrammed. Only MAX 3000 and MAX 7000 devices use this option.
Erase— Erases content from MAX II devices.

Note: Except for Program/Configure, these options apply only to configuration devices, MAX 3000 devices, and MAX 7000 devices in JTAG mode and, except for Security Bit, to EPCS1, EPCS4, EPCS16, EPCS64, EPCS128, or EPCS256 serial configuration devices in Active Serial Programming mode. If you add an FPGA device to a JTAG chain, these options (except for Program/Configure) are unavailable. In Passive Serial mode, although all programming options disappear from the Programmer, clicking Start Programming on the Processing menu still configures devices and programs configuration devices. If you do not turn on programming options for a programming file, device, or configuration device in a JTAG chain, the Programmer bypasses that programming file, device, or configuration device when it performs the selected programming actions on the JTAG chain.

ISP Clamp—Allows you to use the Quartus II software to hold each I/O pin of a device to a static state when you program the device.

The programming sequence for these options is always as follows: Blank-Check (if selected), Program/Configure (if selected), and then Verify (if selected). If you select Program/Configure as one of the actions that is performed for configuration devices, MAX 3000 devices, or MAX 7000 devices in JTAG mode, the Programmer automatically erases the devices before starting the selected programming actions.