Editing display preferences and GUI settings

You can use the Abaqus Scripting Interface to edit the abaqus_2018.gpr file, which includes settings that control many default display preferences and GUI settings in the Abaqus/CAE user interface. To enable editing of this file, you must import the caePrefsAccess module. This section describes the structure of the abaqus_2018.gpr file and provides an overview of customizing its settings; for more detailed information about the functions available in the caePrefsAccess module, see Abaqus/CAE Display Preferences commands.

Warning:

Editing the abaqus_2018.gpr file is for experienced users only. Do not use the functions in the caePrefsAccess module unless you are comfortable with the Abaqus Scripting Interface and understand the structure of the abaqus_2018.gpr file. In addition, you should not have Abaqus/CAE running when you make changes to the graphical preferences file.

You can retrieve the location of your abaqus_2018.gpr file using the getGuiPrefsFileName function. The file records default settings in two sections: display options reside in the sessionOptions section, and GUI settings reside in the guiPreferences section. Editing the options in one section does not have any effect on the options in the other section.

sessionOptions

The session options consist of the settings that you can save using the FileSave Display Options menu option. In Abaqus/CAE you can save these options in the current directory or in your home directory.

You can display and edit session options using the openSessionOptions function. 

> abaqus Python
...
>>> import caePrefsAccess 
>>> sessionOptions = caePrefsAccess.openSessionOptions()
>>> caePrefsAccess.printValuesList(sessionOptions)
...
sessionOptions['session.animationController.animationOptions']\
    ['frameCounter']:[type:bool] True
sessionOptions['session.animationController.animationOptions']\
    ['frameRate']:[type:int] 100
sessionOptions['session.aviOptions']['compressionMethod']:\
    [type:SymbolicConstant] CODEC
sessionOptions['session.aviOptions']['compressionQuality']:[type:int] 75
...

The following statement changes the frame rate to 50. You should confirm that the data type you specify matches the type of the existing value. 

>>> sessionOptions['session.animationController.animationOptions']\
       ['frameRate'] = 50

You can save the options you change to the original file by issuing the following command: 

>>> sessionOptions.save()
guiPreferences

The GUI preferences control many default behaviors in the Abaqus/CAE graphical interface, including size and location of the main window, size and location of the dialog boxes within Abaqus/CAE, and the number of recent files listed in the Start Session dialog box and in the File menu.

Abaqus/CAE saves guiPreferences settings to your home directory when you exit the application. A separate guiPreferences record is stored in the preferences file for each display you use, so you must specify the displayName you want to modify when you open the guiPreferences settings. You can obtain a list of the available displayName settings by calling the getDisplayNamesInGuiPreferences function, and you can edit these settings by using the openGuiPreferences function and specifying the displayName of the settings that you want to modify.

In the following example, the openGuiPreferences function is used to examine the X- and Y-location and the height and width of the following components of Abaqus/CAE:

  • Select Font dialog box

  • Abaqus/CAE main window

  • Adaptivity Plotter plug-in

  • Amplitude Plotter plug-in

  • Create Weld dialog box

  • Copy Annotation dialog box

The sample statements follow: 

> abaqus Python
...
>>> import caePrefsAccess 
>>> from caePrefsAccess import openGuiPreferences, CURRENT, HOME
>>> from caePrefsAccess import getGuiPrefsFileName, 
        getDisplayNamesInGuiPreferences 
>>> from caePrefsAccess import printValuesList 
>>> guiPrefsFileName = getGuiPrefsFileName()
>>> dispNames = getDisplayNamesInGuiPreferences(guiPrefsFileName)
>>> print dispNames 
['preludesim']
>>> displayName = dispNames[0]
>>> guiPrefs = openGuiPreferences(displayName)
>>> printValuesList(guiPrefs)
...
guiPreferences['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['AFXFontSelectorDialog text']:\
    [type:str] '617,298,281,350'
guiPreferences['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['AFXMainWindow']:[type:str] \
    '193,67,1036,831'
guiPreferences['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['AdaptivityPlotter']:[type:str] \
    '11,156,226,240'
guiPreferences['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['Amplitude Plotter']:[type:str] \
    '1105,189,312,290'
guiPreferences['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['CREATE_Weld']:[type:str] \
    '10,276,377,560'
guiPreferences['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['Copy MDB Annotation']:[type:str] \
    '122,273,160,79'

You can change the geometry of the Abaqus/CAE main window by issuing a command like the following: 

>>> guiPrefs['Abaqus/CAE']['Geometry']['AFXMainWindow'] = '193,67,800,600'

You can save the GUI preferences you change to the original file by issuing the following command: 

>>> guiPrefs.save()