1. A method comprising the steps of: using a background process to install at least one system hook for message interception of integrated circuit chip layout display software at a location where information can be obtained for computing layout coordinates; intercepting a call message through said system hook; responsive to said call message, computing current layout coordinates based on information obtained via said at least one system hook from said integrated circuit chip layout display software; entering a representation of said current layout coordinates into tool control software configured to control a physical tool for analyzing integrated circuits; and controlling said physical tool for analyzing integrated circuits with said tool control software, based on said representation of said current layout coordinates, wherein one or more steps of said method are performed by one or more hardware devices.