Your First Waveform

This tutorial walks you through viewing a waveform in NovyWave for the first time.

Prerequisites

• NovyWave installed (Installation Guide)
• A waveform file (.vcd, .fst, or .ghw)

If you don’t have a waveform file, create one with these tutorials:

• VHDL with GHDL
• Verilog with Icarus

Step 1: Launch NovyWave

Open NovyWave from your applications menu or terminal:

novywave

You’ll see three main panels:

• Files & Scopes (top-left)
• Variables (top-right)
• Selected Variables (bottom)

Step 2: Load Your Waveform

Click Load Files in the Files & Scopes panel header.

Navigate to your waveform file and select it. Click Load.

Your file appears in the Files & Scopes tree with its time span:

design.vcd (0-100ns)

Step 3: Explore the Hierarchy

Click the chevron (>) next to your file to expand it.

You’ll see the module hierarchy from your design:

design.vcd (0-100ns)
  └── TOP
      ├── clock_gen
      └── dut
          └── internal

Step 4: Select a Scope

Click the checkbox next to a scope (e.g., dut).

The Variables panel now shows all signals in that scope:

clk         Wire 1-bit
reset       Wire 1-bit
data_in     Wire 8-bit
data_out    Wire 8-bit

Step 5: Add Signals to View

Click on signals in the Variables panel to add them to the waveform view:

1. Click clk — it appears in Selected Variables
2. Click data_in — added below clk
3. Click data_out — added below data_in

Step 6: View the Waveforms

The Selected Variables panel now shows your signals:

• Name Column: Signal names with remove buttons
• Value Column: Current value at cursor position
• Wave Column: Visual waveform timeline

Step 7: Navigate the Timeline

See the Full Picture

Press R to reset and see the entire simulation time.

Zoom In

Press W repeatedly to zoom into an area of interest.

Move the Cursor

Click on the waveform to position the yellow cursor line. Watch the values update in the Value column.

Scan Through Time

Hold E to move the cursor forward through time. Hold Q to move backward.

Step 8: Find Signal Changes

Press Shift+E to jump to the next signal transition.

This is useful for finding specific events without scrolling through constant values.

Step 9: Change Value Format

Click the dropdown in the Value column (showing Hex, Bin, etc.) and select a different format:

• Bin — Binary (e.g., 10110100)
• Hex — Hexadecimal (e.g., 0xB4)
• UInt — Unsigned integer (e.g., 180)
• Int — Signed integer

Step 10: Save Your Workspace

NovyWave automatically saves:

• Which files you loaded
• Which signals you selected
• Your cursor position
• Panel sizes

Close and reopen NovyWave — your workspace is restored automatically.

What’s Next?

• Working with Multiple Files — Compare waveforms
• Keyboard Shortcuts — Navigate efficiently
• Timeline Navigation — Master zoom and pan

Troubleshooting

File tree is empty after loading? Check that the file loaded successfully and expand the file tree by clicking the chevron.

Variables panel shows “Select scope…”? Click the checkbox next to a scope in the file tree.

Waveform shows all “N/A”? Press R to reset the timeline view — the cursor may be outside the file’s time range.