Before you can download a design to the target FPGA device, you must have the appropriate vendor tools installed on your computer. These tools are used to place and route the FPGA design for the target device. The FPGA vendor tools ARE NOT supplied with the system and must be sourced independently.

More information on the vendor tools can be found on the respective FPGA vendor's web site:

• Actel® Designeror Libero® IDE from www.actel.com. The software can be downloaded but does require a license. Check the website for licensing options.

• Altera® Quartus® II from www.altera.com. The Altera Quartus II Web Edition Software can be freely downloaded and does not require a license.

• Lattice® ispLever® from www.latticesemi.com. The ispLever Starter software can be downloaded but does require a license. Check the website for licensing options.

• Xilinx® ISE™ from www.xilinx.com. The Xilinx ISE WebPACKcan be freely downloaded and does not require a license.

Links to each vendor's downloadable tools can be found in the (Vendor Tools) area of the Altium website. This page can be accessed directly from within Altium Designer. With the Devices view active (View » Devices View), simply choose the Vendor Tool Support entry on the main Tools menu.
 

NOTE: ISE 11.1i does not support the Spartan 3AN 1400 device that ships on the NB3000. Xilinx have an update available that patches 11.1i WebPACK to 11.3i WebPACK to resolve the problem. Check the Vendor Tools) area of the Altium website to see the supported versions of the vendor software.