Magic-8.3 Command Reference

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## label

Place a label in the layout

### Usage:

> label string [position [layer]]

> > where string is the text of the label, position may be any valid direction in magic, and layer may be any valid layer in the technology.

> label string [font [size [rotation [offsetx offsety [position [layer]]]]]

> > where string is the text of the label, font is the name or number of a font, size is the integer size of the font, in standard distance units; rotation is the rotation (in degrees) of the font, offsetx and offsety are the distance of the printed text relative to the reference position (in quarter units of distance); position may be any valid direction in magic, and layer may be any valid layer in the technology. This usage is only available in magic version 8.0 and above. See the setlabel command for details on each of the label options. setlabel -default can be used to set default values for all of the optional properties when they are not present on the label command line.

### Summary:

> The label command places a label on the layout. The label is marked by a point, line, or rectangle, depending on the size of the cursor box. If the area under the cursor box contains exactly one type, the label will be "attached" to that type; that is, the label will name the network of the node containing that type. If the area under the cursor box contains multiple layers, one will be chosen for attachment to the label. If there are multiple network nodes under the cursor box, the result may not be what the user intended; in such cases, the user should specify which layer the label should be attached to, so that the appropriate network node will be labeled.

> The label text is placed to one side of the marker in the direction indicated by the position argument. For example, "label text north" will draw the label string "`text`" to the north (above) the marker.

> In versions of magic prior to 8.0, labels cannot be directly modified; modifications should be handled by first erasing the label with "erase label" and then redrawing. Versions 8.0 and higher use the setlabel command to modify selected labels.

> Versions of magic from 8.0.139 allow the layer name to have a dash ("-") in front (e.g., "-metal1") to indicate a "sticky label", that is, one that is attached to the specified layer type layer, and which cannot be reattached to another layer.

### Implementation Notes:

> label is implemented as a built-in command in magic.

### See Also:

> setlabel
> port

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Last updated: March 17, 2021 at 11:11am