{"id":694,"date":"2019-03-25T09:17:19","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T09:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/embedded-systems\/?p=694"},"modified":"2019-03-25T09:18:18","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T09:18:18","slug":"setting-up-quartus-to-run-modelsim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/embedded-systems\/2019\/03\/25\/setting-up-quartus-to-run-modelsim\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting up Quartus to run ModelSim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quartus uses ModelSim (Altera Edition) to perform simulation. ModelSim is even used for Vector Waveform files. ModelSim and Quartus are two entirely separate applications that loosely communicate with each other.<\/p>\n

You typically invoke ModelSim from Quartus via the Tools -> Run Simulation Tool -> RTL Simulation menu<\/p>\n

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Invoking ModelSim from within Quartus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, if you’ve every tried to run ModelSim without having set it up, you might have encountered the following error:<\/p>\n

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Error Dialog when trying to run ModelSim from Quartus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is indicating that Quartus does not know which version of ModelSim to run and where it resides on your disk. I am assuming you are using ModelSim ASE (Altera Starter Edition). There is also a licensed version that is not free.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The good news is that to resolve this is a one-off task. Open the Quartus Options dialog box by selecting the Tools -> Options menu<\/p>\n

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Accessing the Options Dialog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You should now see a dialog box similar to that below. Expand the general category and click EDA Tool Options<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Quartus Options Dialog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the Model-Sim Altera box, you need to add the path to the folder that contains ModelSim ASE. For Windows, the location of this is:<\/p>\n

[Quartus Root Folder]\\modelsim_ase\\win32aloem<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n