Chapter 2: HyperMesh Process Automation Introduction
Chapter 2
HyperMesh Process Automation Introduction In this chapter we will discuss what HyperMesh automation is and the different levels of automation available within HyperMesh. We will also examine the HyperMesh Utility menu, the files that are associated with it, and how to run macros and scripts from it. Finally an example will be given and after which an exercise will be done.
What is a HyperMesh Macro A HyperMesh HyperMesh macro functions like a script script or command command file and and is used used to automate a HyperMesh process or execute a series of steps. The HyperMesh macro language is an extension of the HyperMesh command layer. The types of macros you can write vary from basic to advanced. Basic types are simple macros of HyperMesh commands that run a sequential HyperMesh command file. More advanced macros involve using the Tcl/Tk scripting language to add additional logic and user interaction such has entity selection. Even more advanced automation can be done using the Altair Process Manager. The Process Manager is a programmable personal workflow manager that guides users through a standard work process. The Process Manager will be addressed in a different class. Here the focus will be on creating simple HyperMesh macros and HyperMesh macros with Tcl/Tk. The HyperMesh Utility Menu commands provide the means to create an interface in the form of buttons and button groups. For each you specify the following characteristics: • • •
The macro page it is displayed on Its label Its location and size
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• •
Its help message The macro it calls, and any optional arguments
The macro command language is an interpreted language. This means each command executes in the order in which it appears in the macro file.
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While macros offer a great deal of flexibility, remember once a macro executes, there is no way to cancel the execution or reject the results. In addition, a macro may not be recursive (call itself).
The HyperMesh Utility Menu The Utility menu allows you to customize the standard interface to include function buttons, radio options, and text that have HyperMesh-supplied and userdefined macros associated with them. The Utility menu is located on a tab of the Tab area pane(s), and can be shown or hidden from within the View > Browsers > HyperMesh pull-down menu. The Utility menu includes several pages of its own, each dedicated to different tasks. Thus it presents groups of functionalities accessible from a set of pages contained by the Utility tab, although only one set of functions is displayed at a time. Each page is associated with a button at the bottom of the Utility menu; clicking one of these buttons accesses the page associated with it. A macro file (hm.mac) controls the display and available operations of the Utility Menu. Attributes that you can change include: The Utility menu page on which the operations appear. Text to be displayed on each control. Location and size of the menu. The help string to be displayed in the bubble as the mouse is hovered over the button. The macro to call when each control is used.
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When HyperMesh starts, it looks for a macro file named hm.mac in the current directory, HOME directory (UNIX only), or the application’s base directory. If it finds this file, HyperMesh runs it automatically to define the attributes and contents of the Utility Menu. The default hm.mac file sources the following additional macro files:
disppage.mac
Populates the Display page of the Utility Menu
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geommeshpage.mac globalpage.mac qamodelpage.mac userpage.mac
Populates the Geom/Mesh page of the Utility Menu Creates the button group that allows you to switch pages Populates the QA/Model page of the Utility Menu Populates the User page of the Utility Menu
A userpage.mac file may exist in the installation directory for HyperMesh or in the directory from which HyperMesh launches. When HyperMesh starts, it first looks for the userpage.mac file in the directory from which it launches and then in the installation directory. UNIX users also have the option of putting the userpage.mac file in their home directory. This file defines the attributes and contents of the User page of the Utility menu. By default, the Utility menu displays when HyperMesh starts, but display of the menu can be turned off by going to the View > Browsers > HyperMesh pull-down menu.
HyperMesh Utility Menu Commands HyperMesh macro commands reside in the default hm.mac file. When you open this file, you will see that it defines the Utility menu contents in order by page. To change a macro on a given page, find that page in the hm.mac file and the macro name that you wish to modify. Attributes you can change on a macro page include: Buttons to display on that macro page The location and size of the buttons appearing on a macro page The label for each button The help string displayed in the bubble as the mouse is hovered over the button. The macro called by each button, with optional arguments to pass • • • •
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HyperMesh macros consist of valid command file or templex commands, and are enclosed by the *beginmacro(macroname) and *endmacro() commands. Macros may accept data passed to them using the arguments $1, $2, etc. Each argument specifies where the values should be substituted. The *callmacro() command allows you to call a macro from within another one, which allows you to create groups of standard reusable macros. The following skeleton shows the format of a macro:
*beginmacro(macroname) macro command statements go here *endmacro() HyperWorks 12.0
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In the next Chapter we will go over HyperMesh macros in more detail. Here we will focus on how to add a button to the Utility menu. To activate the macro from HyperMesh, you must create a button on the Utility menu to invoke the macro. Use the *createbutton() command to define the button and its characteristics. The syntax for this command is:
*createbutton(page, name, row, column, width, COLOR, helpString, macroName [ , arg1 …]) Where: Indicates the page number on which the button is to appear (values 1 through n; initially there are 5). The text to display on the button. Enclose the text with quotes (“ “). name: The row in which to place the button (values –1, 1 - n). The number row: of rows visible depends upon the graphics resolution setting of your hardware. A 0 indicates the next available position, and –1 indicates to skip a row. The column where the button starts (values 0 - 10 ). column: The width of the button ( max 10). width: The color of the button. The available button colors are: RED, COLOR: BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, BUTTON, GREY, YELLOW and MAGENTA. The color name must appear in capital letters. helpString: The string to be displayed in the bubble as the mouse is hovered over the button. Enclose text of string in quotes (“ “). macroName: The name of the macro to call when the button is selected. Enclose text of string in quotes (“ “). A list of one or more optional arguments passed to the macro. You arg1 : may have as many arguments as your computer’s memory will allow page:
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Row 1 Column 0 Figure: Row and Column Designations
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Below are two examples on how to create a button. The first example illustrates the button calls needed for a user-created HyperMesh macro:
*createbutton(5, “Create force”, -1, 0, 10, GREEN, “Create force on selected nodes”, “createForce_macro”)
The end of a command is a hard return (press the ENTER key). In your text editor, type each command until you get to the end of it, then press ENTER.
The second example shows the button calls for a user created Tcl script using the “EvalTcl” command:
*createbutton(5, “Create force”, -1, 0, 10, GREEN, “Create force on selected nodes”, “EvalTcl”, “create_force.tcl”) For each example, 5 refers to the Userpage, “Create force” is the text on the button, -1 refers to the row position, 0 is the column number, 10 is the column width, GREEN is the color of the button, and “Create force on selected nodes” is the help string. For the HyperMesh macro example, “ createForce_macro” is the name of the macro to be evaluated. In the Tcl script example, “EvalTcl” needs to be entered before “ create_force.tcl” which is the name of the Tcl file. Notice that the full path for create_force.tcl isn’t given. A full path can be specified if the file isn’t located in one of the predefined paths that HyperMesh searches to find scripts. These paths include installation paths as well as the working directory. Users can add additional search paths using the TCL_INCLUDE environment variable. Relative paths can also be used from these search paths. The only commands used in this example are the menu macro commands, which called an existing tcl procedure. We have yet to use the macro command to create our own procedures, tasks or actions.
Online Help The Online Help for HyperMesh can be accessed by either typing “h” on your keyboard or by going to Help in the menu bar and selecting HyperWorks Desktop. Within the HyperWorks 12.0 Welcome Page there is a HyperWorks Reference Guides Section. Selecting HyperMesh opens the HyperMesh Reference Guide in a new tab. If you expand HyperMesh Reference Guide in HyperWorks 12.0
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the navigation area you will find another book named Scripts. This contains all the commands and functions used in HyperMesh.
Figure: Reference Guide in HyperMesh and BatchMesher Online Help
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Practical Exercises Exercise 2a Description Add a button to the User Page on the Utility Menu that executes the macro modeltour.tcl. This macro is located in the installation under hm\scripts, so a path is not needed. The name of the button should be “Model Tour”. The help string should be “Explore HyperMesh Session”. The color and location are up to you. HyperMesh commands used
*createbutton() TCL/TK commands used none Hints
On Windows, the working directory is located in the My Documents folder. Create a new text file called userpage.mac in this location and add the appropriate commands to make the button evaluate the tcl file.
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