Workflow Automation

Process Manager

Use the Process Manager to rapidly develop and deploy process automation applications for standard product engineering practices within the HyperWorks environment.

The Process Manager is a programmable task management software that guides you through pre-defined standard work processes.

Process Manager is comprised of the following components:

Process Manager
The Framework

Process Manager can be invoked from various HyperWorks products, such as HyperMesh, MotionView, HyperView and HyperGraph. Process Manager allows you to:

Read a process template
Create a process tree, and hosts various modules
Create a new process instance
Open an existing process instance
Save a current process instance
Replay a process instance

Process Manager can also be run in stand-alone mode by writing a simple script file or a batch file for Windows, as shown below. Be sure to modify the variables ALTAIR_HOME and DEF_TEMPLATE, so that they will suit your individual situation.

@echo on
if "%OS%" == "Windows_NT" setlocal

REM Please modify the following 2 lines
set ALTAIR_HOME=c:\Altair\hw10.0
set DEF_TEMPLATE=%ALTAIR_HOME%\demos\pmgr\simple\simple.pmt

set HWPM_HOME=%ALTAIR_HOME%\javaapps\WIN32\pmgr
set ALTAIR_JIDE_LIB="%HWPM_HOME%\lib\jide-action.jar;%HWPM_HOME%\lib\jide-components.jar;%HWPM_HOME%\lib\jide-designer.jar;%HWPM_HOME%\lib\jide-dialogs.jar;%HWPM_HOME%\lib\jide-dock.jar;%HWPM_HOME%\lib\jide-grids.jar"
set ALTAIR_MONARCH_LIB="%HWPM_HOME%\lib\mchart.jar;%HWPM_HOME%\lib\mgraph.jar"
set JRE_HOME=%ALTAIR_HOME%\hw\jre\WIN32\jre
set JRE_ARGS=-DHWPM_HOME=%HWPM_HOME% -DHWS_PATH=%ALTAIR_HOME%\hw\lib\win32 -Xms128m -Xmx512m
set ALTAIR_CLASSPATH=%HWPM_HOME%\bin\hwpm.jar;%ALTAIR_CLASSPATH%
set ALTAIR_CLASSNAME=com.altair.hwm.toolkit.frame.HWMAppFrameView

if "%LM_LICENSE_FILE%" == "" set LM_LICENSE_FILE=%ALTAIR_HOME%\security\altair_lic.dat
%JRE_HOME%\bin\java -Ddebug=true %JRE_ARGS% -Ddeftpl=%DEF_TEMPLATE% -classpath %ALTAIR_JIDE_LIB%;%ALTAIR_MONARCH_LIB%;%ALTAIR_CLASSPATH% %ALTAIR_CLASSNAME%

Stand-alone Process Manager is not to be confused with Process Manager running from within stand-alone HyperMesh. Stand-alone Process Manager will be used widely in processes that do not primarily use HyperWorks.

Process Studio is a process authoring tool that allows you to create a process template (.pmt) with customized controls for use in Process Manager. The user interface for each task in a process, also known as a HWPM Page, is created by dragging and dropping HWPM Controls and "stitching" them together. The process tree can also be created interactively, and each task can be associated with a HWPM Page. Each task can be associated with a Tcl module also, if an already programmed module exists. Programmers can add to the suite of available HWPM Controls by writing Java Beans.

The Framework includes a robust set of APIs that each of the modules mentioned above has the ability to access.

Open Process Manager From Within HyperView, MotionView or HyperGraph

Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Process Manager.

Load a Template

Select from the Load template drop-down menu.
Select Browse to search for a template, or select a template that is already listed in the drop-down.
Add a registry to search in by selecting Add to Registry from the drop-down menu.

Process Manager Toolbar

Toolbar Option	Action
New Process Instance	Creates a new file to save the current instance of the currently loaded instance.
Open Process Instance	Opens an existing process instance of the currently loaded instance.
Save Process Instance	Saves the current process instance.
Close Process Instance	Closes the current process instance.
Save As Process Instance	Saves the process instance in a name given by you.
Execute Process	Runs the process from the beginning.
Go	Runs the process from the current step.
Stop	Stops the running process.
Register Process Template	Adds or removes process templates in the registry.
Show Data Model Viewer	Allows you to view and edit data that is stored in the data model of the developed template.
Change Font Setting on Tree View	Allows you to edit the font setting on the tree view.
Message Log	Displays the Process Manager Message Log.
About Process	General Process Manager information.

To load a template, use the browse button on the top right corner of the Process Manager window. Alternately, a registered template can be loaded from the drop down beside the template browse button.

The toolbar icons, such as New, Open, Save, Close, Play and Stop, will not be enabled unless a template is loaded.

When you create a process instance, files with the following extension will be created in the instance directory:

.pmi: Process instance.

Other files relevant to Process Manager include:

.pmt: Process template (or process definition file). Created in the template directory by Process Studio.
.pmd: Stores Process Manager environment configuration. Created in the template directory by the Process Studio.
.pma: Stores your registered processes. Created in your home directory by the registration tool in Process Manager.
.pmp: Process Manager page exported by Process Studio.

Right-Click Menu Options

Once a template has been loaded, you will be able to add breakpoints and skip tasks using the right-click menu options.

BreakPoint: Breakpoints stop the process at the area of insertion allowing your input or review.
Skip: You also skip a task in the process by inserting a skip point at that task.
Help: This option displays information related to the highlighted task in the process tree.