Magic runs in two different configurations. For workstations with an integrated color display, one window of the screen is used to display text (commands and Magic's responses) and other windows are used for displaying layouts in color. In older systems using serial-line terminals, Magic uses two terminals: one for text and a separate color display for displaying layouts. In these systems you should run Magic from the text display.
Normally, Magic is run under a window system such as X11 (preferred) or Sun Tools. The command line switch "-d" can be used to tell Magic which kind of window system you are running, although Magic is pretty good at guessing. When using serial-line terminals, the "-d", "-g", and "-i" switches can be used, and the file ~cad/lib/displays should be created by the system administrator (see DISPLAYS(5) manual page).
| Man Page | Manual Pages |
| Magic Tutorial #1 | Getting Started |
| Magic Tutorial #2 | Basic Painting and Selection |
| Magic Tutorial #3 | Advanced Painting (Wiring and Plowing) |
| Magic Tutorial #4 | Cell Hierarchies |
| Magic Tutorial #5 | Multiple Windows |
| Magic Tutorial #6 | Design-Rule Checking |
| Magic Tutorial #7 | Netlists and Routing |
| Magic Tutorial #8 | Circuit Extraction |
| Magic Tutorial #9 | Format Conversion for CIF and Calma |
| Magic Tutorial #10 | The Interactive Router |
| Magic Tutorial #11 | Using RSIM with Magic |
| Magic Maintainer's Manual #1 | Hints for System Maintainers |
| Magic Maintainer's Manual #2 | The Technology File |
| Magic Maintainer's Manual #3 | Display Styles, Color Maps, and Glyphs |
| Magic Maintainer's Manual #4 | Using Magic Under X Windows |
| Magic Technology Manual #1 | NMOS |
| Magic Technology Manual #2 | SCMOS |