Use the Product Launcher when you want to run the Mechanical APDL program, run one of the auxiliary programs, or access a modifiable Mechanical APDL file.
You can access some launcher functionality directly from the Windows Start Menu. To access Mechanical APDL functionality, including the launcher, on Windows systems, select and select the appropriate option.
To activate the launcher on Linux systems, enter the following command:
launcher242
You can also place one of the following commands in your .login or .profile file:
.login file command:
launcher242 >& /dev/null &
.profile file command:
launcher242 > /dev/null 2> &1 &
Either command causes the launcher to appear automatically when you log onto the system.
Start Menu Options on Windows
To activate the launcher on Windows, choose
From the Start Menu, you can select other options in addition to the launcher:
Utilities, such as the ANS_ADMIN, CAD Configuration Manager, and Product Configuration utilities
Help
Applications, such as Mechanical APDL, Fluent, CFX, etc.
Client Licensing
Uninstall
You can run Mechanical APDL directly from the Start Menu. If you have not yet run the launcher, selected any products, or defined any profiles, the highest product that your site is licensed for will be run. If you have run the launcher, then running the product directly from the Start Menu will start the product with the last launcher configuration.
The Launcher Log File
The launcher creates a log file named launcher.242.log. This file contains the current launcher selections along with any error messages that may occur. If the file exists at the beginning of a launcher session, it is renamed launcher.242.old. Only one old copy is kept. On Linux systems, this file is written to your home directory. On Windows, it is written to the directory specified with the TEMP environment variable. If TEMP is not set, the file is written to the root directory of the value specified on the WINDIR environment variable. The log file is always written by default. You can turn off the log file via the menu, but we do not recommend doing so.
Launcher Tasks
Use the launcher to select product settings, such as the simulation environment, the specific license, and any add-on modules or analysis type you want to run. Based on your product selections, you can then specify file management, customization/preferences, and high performance computing setup options. Product settings and the options under each tab are explained below. You may not see all options, depending on your product selection.
The launcher tabs are:
You can also access launcher-specific functionality via the menu bar. The , , , , , and menus are explained in later sections.
In addition to the tabs and the menu bar options, the launcher also has additional buttons at the bottom.
launches the product you have selected with the settings specified on the various tabs.
cancels a batch run. For a batch run, the analysis must be nonlinear or full transient (linear or nonlinear), or use the PCG, ICCG, or JCG solver (linear or nonlinear solutions). The cancel run request is ignored for any other types of analyses. This option also creates a file in the working directory named Jobname.ABT. If you are running multiple jobs, be sure to specify a unique jobname for each job.
launches a batch run at a future time. When you click the Queue button, you will be prompted to enter a delayed start time and date. This option is only available on Linux systems.
launches the help file for the selected simulation environment.
In most places where you can specify path names, you can specify paths using drive letters or UNC paths. However, you may encounter places where UNC paths cannot be used. If you see a message indicating that UNC paths are not available, re-enter the path using drive letters.
Here you specify your simulation environment, license, and add-on modules. The simulation environment indicates which interface you want to use to run interactively or allows you to start an Ansys batch run.
Depending on which environment you select and what licenses are available at your site, the remaining product selection choices and the options under the remaining tabs will vary.
In the License field, select a license from the available types. Only those licenses that are valid for the simulation environment selected will be shown. All licenses will be shown, regardless of your license preference settings. (Use the "Show legacy licenses" check box to include legacy licenses in the list.)
This tab contains the information necessary to manage your files, such as location of your working directory and job name. The available options will differ depending on the simulation environment you selected.
If you selected the Ansys simulation environment, you can specify:
Sets the directory in which the Mechanical APDL run is executed. The program writes files that it generates to this directory. To change the working directory, type the new directory name in the Working Directory text box or press the button to display a file selection dialog box. On Windows, you must use an absolute path.
You can also specify the working directory by defining the ANSYS242_WORKING_DIRECTORY environment variable. If ANSYS242_WORKING_DIRECTORY is set, the launcher will use that setting as the default. However, any working directory that is specified via the launcher (such as a profile) overrides the ANSYS242_WORKING_DIRECTORY environment variable setting.
If you run Mechanical APDL as an administrator using a particular working directory, and then run as a non-administrator using the same directory, you may encounter permission problems with the .log file. Users with administrator privileges should not use the same working directory as non-administrator users.
Defines the base filename used for all files generated by the Mechanical APDL session. The initial job name defaults to file. You can change it to any alphanumeric string up to 32 characters long.
If you selected the Ansys Batch simulation environment, you can specify the above items as well as the following:
- Input File
Specifies the file of Mechanical APDL commands that you are submitting for batch execution. You can either type in the desired filename or click the button to display a file selection dialog box or click on to view the file in an editor. If you specify a relative path, it will be relative from the working directory as specified in the launcher.
- Output File
Specifies the file to which Mechanical APDL directs text output by the program. If you specify a relative path, it will be relative from the working directory as specified in the launcher. If the filename already exists in the working directory, it will be renamed to jobname.out.<
timestamp> when a new batch job is started. The timestamp is in the format YYYY-MM-DD@hh_mm_ss and reflects the date that the file was renamed, not the date the original file was created. You can choose to overwrite the output file rather than rename it by unchecking the item under the menu on the launcher.- Include input listing in output
Includes or excludes the input file listing at the beginning of the output file.
The Working directory and Jobname options include Update I/O path and Update I/O name toggles, respectively. If these toggles are checked, the directory path that appears in the Input file name and the name that appears in the Output file name text boxes will be updated automatically to match the specified Working directory and Jobname.
On Linux systems, if you wish to start your batch job at a later date, click the button. You will be prompted to enter a start date and time. To use this option, you must have permission to run the at command on Linux systems, meaning your user name must appear in the at.allow file. If that file does not exist, the at.deny file is checked to see if access should be denied. If neither file exists, only users with root access may use this feature. If at.deny is empty, global usage is permitted.
These files consist of one user name per line and can be modified only by the superuser. The location of the at.allow and at.deny files on Linux is in the /etc directory.
The settings under this tab allow you to specify detailed settings about your working environment, such as memory settings, parallel/distributed processing settings, custom executables, and additional parameters. The available options will differ depending on the simulation environment you selected on the first tab.
If you selected the Ansys or Ansys Batch simulation environment, you can specify:
Specifies the use of custom memory settings rather than using the default memory model. You must select custom memory settings in order to set the
-mor-dboptions. See Memory Management and Configuration in the Basic Analysis Guide for information about memory management.Specifies the initial allocation of memory requested for the Mechanical APDL run. It defaults to 2 GB (2048 MB). These values are sufficient for most modest-sized models. Enter a negative value to use a fixed workspace size throughout the run. This option is not valid unless is selected.
Note: If a config.ans file exists with its own work space specification (VIRT_MEM), the work space value specified on the launcher overrides the value specified in the config.ans file.
Specifies the portion (in megabytes) of total memory that the database will use for the initial allocation. It defaults to 1024 MB. These values are sufficient for most modest-sized models. Enter a negative value to use a fixed database size throughout the run. This option is not valid unless Use Custom Memory Settings is selected.
The launcher provides an option to start a custom Mechanical APDL executable.
If you run a custom executable from the Customization/Preferences tab of the launcher:
Enter the full pathname to the custom executable in the Ansys Custom Executable field. Executable names must be one of the following:
ansys.exe (Windows)
ansyscust.e (Linux)
See Running Your Custom Executable in the Programmer's Reference for more information.
You can use this option to set parameter values at start-up.
For example, you can set modeling parameters at program start-up using the format
-namevalue. For instance, -rad1 2.825 -rad2 5.675 -thick .25 defines three parameters: rad1=2.825, rad2=5.675, and thick=0.25. The parameter name must be at least two characters long. See the Ansys Parametric Design Language Guide for details about Mechanical APDL parameters.If a parameter with the same name is defined in the launcher and in the start.ans file and the start.ans file is read, the definition in the start.ans file overrides the definition specified in the launcher.
Specifies a translated language file. If you specify a language that does not have the associated translated files, the launcher defaults to US English. Ansys, Inc. does not provide translated files for all products. For information on the availability of translated language files, contact your sales representative.
Sets the graphics device. The GUI requires a terminal that supports graphics. For Linux systems, the graphics device can be X11 (default), X11c, or 3D. Choose 3D if you have a 3D graphics device; otherwise, use the default. For Windows systems, the graphics device can be WIN32 (default), WIN32c, or 3D. Not available with the batch simulation environment.
(Linux only) Directs the output of the Mechanical APDL program to the screen only, to an output file only, or to both. For systems that support two-way redirection of output, the default is to send output to both the screen and the output file (Jobname.out). If queuing is used, output will be directed to the output file only.
Indicates whether the start.ans file is read at start-up. You can include commands to be executed when the program starts up in the start.ans file. See Setting Preferences via the start.ans File for more information. Uncheck the box to not read the start.ans at start-up.
Use this tab to launch Mechanical APDL with the following high performance computing (HPC) capabilities: GPU accelerator capability, shared-memory parallel processing (SMP) with multiple CPU cores, distributed-memory parallel processing (DMP), or hybrid parallel processing with the proper MPI configuration.
To use the GPU accelerator capability, select a GPU device from the drop-down menu and specify the number of GPU accelerator devices. GPU acceleration can be used by itself or in conjunction with shared-memory processing or distributed-memory processing. To use GPU acceleration, you must have at least one supported GPU card and the proper HPC licensing. For more information, see GPU Accelerator Capability in the Parallel Processing Guide.
To activate shared-memory with multiple CPU cores, click and specify the number of cores. Shared-memory uses two cores by default. Additional HPC licenses are required to run with more than four cores. For more information, see Using Shared-Memory Ansys in the Parallel Processing Guide.
To activate the distributed settings (for a DMP or hybrid parallel processing run), click . You then need to specify machine information using one of the following methods:
A local machine with multiple cores
Multiple machines, specifying the machines via the launcher
Multiple machines, specifying the machines via an existing MPI file
For DMP, specify the Number of Processes but do not change the Number of Threads per Process from its default value of 1. To activate hybrid parallel, specify both the number of processes as well as the number of threads per process to an integer larger than one. For more details, see the following sections of the Parallel Processing Guide:
For an overview discussion on the differences between SMP, DMP, and hybrid parallel, see Specifying Processes, Threads, and Cores in SMP, DMP, and Hybrid Parallel.
For more information on DMP, see Using Distributed-Memory Parallel (DMP) Processing.
For more information on hybrid parallel, see Using Hybrid Parallel Processing (SMP + DMP).
Distributed-memory parallel (DMP) processing uses two cores by default. Additional licenses are required to run with more than four cores. Even if DMP processing is available in the launcher, it might be blocked at the solver level due to licensing limitations once the run is started. For more information, see Using DMP Processing in the Parallel Processing Guide.
If you are on a Linux system, you can specify remote shell (rsh) instead of secure shell (ssh) (which is the default). You can also choose to use the working directory as specified on the File Management tab as the directory structure on the head compute node and all other compute nodes. If you select this option, all machines will require the identical directory structure matching the working directory specified on the launcher. This option will override any existing MPI_WORKDIR settings on the head compute or other compute nodes.
For detailed information on the HPC capabilities shown on this tab, see the Parallel Processing Guide.
You can find launcher-specific controls under several launcher menu options. The menu options are:
Use the menu to exit.
Use the menu to save a specific launcher configuration. The profile you are currently running is displayed in the launcher title bar. An asterisk (*) follows the profile name if you have changed any settings from what is saved.
Click to save the current launcher configurations. You can enter a name for this profile. The last run profile will automatically be set as the default unless you specify otherwise. If you want to set a subsequent profile as the default, you will need to check the Set as Default box when you define that profile.
Click to select the last run profile or one of your saved profiles.
Click to rename a profile, specify a different default profile, unset a default profile, or delete a profile.
On Linux, once you've run the launcher at least once and established a "last run" profile, you can quickly "run now" using the most recent launcher configuration by typing:
launcher242 -runae
runaewill launch the Mechanical APDL environment. You can launch the batch simulation environment using-runbatchinstead ofrunae.When you "run now, " you can also specify a particular profile using the
-profileoption:profilenamelauncher242 -runae -profile myprofile1
where
myprofile1is the name of a previously-defined profile. You can specify "default" as the profile name to launch the product using your default profile:launcher242 -runae -profile default
Use the menu to select or deselect the following options:
Close the launcher on run
Write out the launcher log file (launcher.242.log)
Show the hostname in the launcher title bar
Use detailed working directory browse dialog box
Pause at the end of a run (where applicable)
Specify your terminal emulator (Linux only)
Save existing output files from batch runs
Use 'nohup' to start batch runs with output sent To 'File Only' (Linux only)
Delete all settings/profiles
Reset Mechanical APDL GUI configuration (Windows only)
Use C Shell Scripts For Runs Submitted Through the Batch 'Queue' (Linux only)
If you choose to use the detailed working directory browse dialog box, it shows you what files are contained in each directory, allows you to create a new directory, and allows you to filter on file type. The standard browse dialog displays only the directories from which to choose.
By default, the launcher saves existing output files from batch runs. When a new file is created, the old one is renamed to jobname.out.<timestamp> when the batch job is started. The timestamp is in the format YYYY-MM-DD@hh_mm_ss and reflects the date that the file was renamed, not the date the original file was created. To overwrite the output file rather than renaming it, uncheck the item under the menu on the launcher.
Use the option to return the program GUI to its default configuration if you've rearranged the menus or toolbars. This option is especially useful if you've moved a GUI component out of your screen's viewable area.
The option is required only on some systems. On some systems, you may need to select this option to allow batch jobs to continue running after you log out of a session. Please refer to your system documentation to determine if your system automatically provides the ‘nohup’ capability. We do not recommend using this setting on systems that automatically set ‘nohup.’
The option deletes all profiles saved for this release and sets all menu settings back to the defaults. The launcher will also close automatically.
The option is necessary on some machines that require a C shell script rather than a Bourne shell script. For the machines that require C shell scripts, if a Bourne shell script is submitted, the run will fail (possibly with an "export: Command not found" message). If your machine requires Bourne shell scripts and you select this option (that is, your machine does NOT require C shell scripts), the run will fail. This option is only used when runs are submitted via the Queue option.
Use the menu to view the Mechanical APDL command line, to open a file in a text editor, or to access the following Mechanical APDL auxiliary program:
Results Tracker utility. See the NLHIST command for more information.
You can also run the utility or view the launcher log file from the menu.
Use the menu to access related web sites, such as the Ansys customer site and the Ansys Web site.
Use the menu to access more information. From this menu, you can access:
Launcher help for more detailed information on this launcher.
Site Information.
The About Launcher information.