Run Altair Simulation Products on Windows

The installation process creates an Altair group under All Programs on the Start menu for Windows 7 and under the Apps menu for Windows 10.

The default name of the group can be changed during installation. Most applications can be started using the following instructions.

Run an Altair Simulation Product

  1. From the Start menu, select All Programs.
    On Windows 10 you will need to go to the All Apps menu.
  2. Click Altair 2022.1, or the name defined during installation.
  3. Select the name of the program you want to run.

Run an Altair Simulation Product through ConnectMe

ConnectMe provides you with an alternative way to manage and launch installed Altair Simulation products, receive notifications of new product updates, download Altair Simulation products, and get access to most recent Altair news.

ConnectMe is installed by default with Altair HyperWorks Desktop and Solvers packages.

  1. Open ConnectMe.
    Option Description
    If ConnectMe was launched at startup From the system tray, click .

    Launch ConnectMe at startup by selecting the Launch ConnectMe at Startup checkbox located in the ConnectMe settings.
    If ConnectMe is not already running From the Start menu, select All Programs or the All Apps menu (Windows 10) and click Altair ConnectMe > ConnectMe.
  2. From the Start tab, invoke a product by clicking one of the following:
    The Start tab provides direct shortcuts to invoke all of the Altair Simulation products.
    • Product icon
    • Product name
    • Open button

Change the Default Working Directory on Windows

For Windows 7/10, the default working directory specified by an Altair Simulation application is %USERPROFILE%\Documents.

  1. Go to:
    • For Windows 7, click Start > All Programs > Altair 2022.1.
    • For Windows 10, click Start Menu Screen > All Apps > Altair 2022.1.
  2. Right-click the Altair Simulation application for which you want to set the working directory.
    On Windows 10 select Open file location then right-click on the shortcut of the Altair Simulation application you wish to change.
  3. From the menu, select Properties.
  4. Select the Shortcut tab.
  5. In the Start in text box, enter the explicit path name of the folder from which you want to run the Altair Simulation application.
  6. Click OK.
    Your user files are created in the directory specified in Step 5. For example, if you had selected HyperMesh, command<#>.tcl, and hmmenu.set would go to this directory.

Applications That Run in Batch Mode

The following table provides some examples of batch applications and their input file requirements. The details of how to run an application in batch mode can be found in the help of individual applications.

Application Script Name Required Input File
Radioss 1 Step hfsol.bat Use base name of .parm file
HyperMesh batch hmbatch.exe -cfilename.cmf or -tcl <tcl_filename>
HyperStudy hstbatch.exe <filename>.xml
MotionSolve motionsolve.bat filename.xml or filename.acf (ADAMS command file)
OptiStruct optistruct.bat File in Bulk format (.fem file)
BatchMesher hw-batchmesh CAD input file
Radioss radioss.bat File in Block or Engine format (.rad)

Launch a Batch Application

From the DOS prompt, enter an application script name followed by the command option.
For example, <local drive>:\<Altair_Home>\hwsolvers\scripts\optistruct.bat [option].
Note: See the help for more details and options for running in batch mode. Use the Index tab to locate Batch Mode in the HyperView, MotionView, and HyperGraph help, and the HyperStudy help. For OptiStruct, see Running OptiStruct.

HyperWorks/Client Cache Management

The HyperWorks server/client cache management system allows for GUI applications, such as HyperMesh and HyperWorks Desktop, to cache files onto a client’s machine for faster invoke times.

The cache is versioned and the client user should maintain the necessary files for new and old versions.

The cache is supported only for Windows server/client setups. The default behavior of a server/client HyperWorks setup does not cache any files.

On first invoke, the applications will check to see if the environment variable ALTAIR_CACHE_HOME is set. If so, the application will copy over all required files to the specified directory through a background process after the products initialize. There will not be any increase in invoke speed this first time. Once this is completed, subsequent invokes will use the variable to check and find the versioned files and use the files stored locally to the client instead of reading the files over the network.

The HyperWorks Cache Manager can be used by system administrators and users prior to initializing the application manually or to manage an existing cache. It is located in the ALTAIR_HOME\hw\bin\<platform> directory and is named hm_cachemgr.exe. The syntax of the cache manager is as follows: hw_cachemgr.exe -option ?-silent?.
-option
-query
Display a message if the cache is ready for use. Always returns zero.
-create
Create the cache if it is not being deleted. Returns zero if successful.
-delete
Delete the cache if it is not being used. Returns zero if successful.
-silent
Do not display messages.
In order to enable caching in a server/client setup, several criteria must be met:
  1. The client user is responsible for adding the ALTAIR_CACHE_HOME environment variable to enable this functionality.
  2. The client user must have write access to the ALTAIR_CACHE_HOME directory.
  3. The client user must have enough disk space available for the cache, which is approximately 120 MB to 150 MB of storage.
  4. The client user is responsible for deleting the cached files when no longer needed.

Logging of cache messages can also be enabled via the ALTAIR_CACHE_LOG environment variable.