6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a representation of the template instance is stored to a the circuit design file stored in computer readable storage media, and wherein the representation includes an instance name, a template type identifier that specifies the template instance's type, and a design object identifier that specifies the design object.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a representation of the template instance is stored to a the circuit design file stored in computer readable storage media, and wherein the representation includes an instance name, a template type identifier that specifies the template instance's type, and a design object identifier that specifies the design object. 7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the design automation tool is stored in at least one tool file stored in computer readable storage media and wherein the design automation tool is provided by a design automation tool vendor and the template instance's type is stored in a template type plug-in file stored in computer readable storage media, wherein the at least one tool file, the template type plug-in file, and the circuit design file are separate files.