A tool cannot be selected
Lens shows no error code on screen for this message; E-TOOL-CANNOT-BE-SELECTED is this documentation's name for it. Quote it when you contact the Lens team.
What happened
You chose a tool flow from the Tool selector on the Timing Review tab, and Lens did not switch to it.
A dialog names the reason and offers a Build Manager, opened filtered to the tool you asked for. Your current context stays unchanged, and Lens does not fall back to the other tool's build.
Likely cause
The tool you asked for is not ready. The dialog names which of these four states it is in:
- The project was not set up for this tool.
- The tool is enabled but has no build yet.
- The tool has builds, but none is set active.
- The saved active build is missing, is for the wrong tool, or cannot be loaded.
The dialog's wording for each, with the recovery it suggests, is:
| State | What the dialog says | What it asks you to do |
|---|---|---|
| Not set up for this tool | This project was not configured for PrimeTime. | Add and configure a PT build before switching tools. |
| No build yet | PrimeTime is enabled for this project, but no PT build has been created. | Create or select a PT build. |
| No active build | No active PrimeTime build is set. | Select a PT build and set it active before switching. |
| Active build unusable | The saved active PrimeTime build is missing., or that its results have nowhere to go, or that its storage directory cannot be resolved | Select another PT build. or Re-create or re-select the PT build. |
The same sentences appear for Fusion Compiler, Tempus and Innovus with their own names. The Settings tab shows the same states as one-line headlines beside each tool: Not configured, Setup required — no build created, Setup required — no active build, Setup required — active build invalid, and Ready — followed by the build's name once the tool is usable.
When a project is created, you choose which tools it is set up for. A project set up for PrimeTime only reports Fusion Compiler as "not configured for this project", even if a Fusion Compiler build record exists.
Fix
Use the Build Manager that the dialog offers. You can also open it with Configure… on the Timing Review tab.
- Not set up for this tool: click + Create New Build, fill in that tool's inputs in the Configuration dialog and save. Saving a build for a tool the project was created without enables that tool for the project, and Lens tells you so in the confirmation (This also enabled PrimeTime for this project). There is no separate "add a tool" step.
- No build yet: click + Create New Build. It opens the Configuration dialog with a suggested build name. When you save, the new build becomes the active build for its tool; you do not need to set it active afterwards.
- No build set active: select the build in the list and click Set Active. A build belongs to one tool, so this sets only that tool's active build and leaves the other tools' active builds untouched. It works the same way for PrimeTime, Fusion Compiler, Tempus and Innovus.
- Active build unusable (missing, for the wrong tool, or cannot be loaded): select another build of that tool and click Set Active, which replaces the bad entry; or, if there is none, + Create New Build. Setting a build active for one tool never clears another tool's active build.
If the Fusion Compiler card was ticked when the project was created, the Fusion Compiler build seeded for it is not active at first. It reads Setup required — no active build until you choose its SETUP and HOLD report files with Modify and save.
If that does not work
If none of this helps, contact the Lens team through the channel you were given with your access to Lens, quote E-TOOL-CANNOT-BE-SELECTED, and include what the screen said.
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Updated 19 October 2026