Case and stages

Case

When a study is created, an empty case is automatically added. The case represents a particular Aster study case within the application.

Content of the case is filled in by means of various editing operations. In addition to the Current Case which always represents a case being edited by the user, there can be other types of cases:

• Run cases: these are cases which contain results of Code_Aster calculations,
• Backup cases: backup copies of the Current Case.

For more details about features related to the cases, refer to the Case Management chapter.

Stages

A case is composed of stages representing the different phases of the Aster calculation.

Graphical mode and text mode of the stages

The stages can be managed either in graphical or in text mode.

The graphical mode is used to manage the stages by filling them via input panels in the application’s interface.

The text mode lets the user entering Aster commands. This mode can be used, for instance, to apply features of Code_Aster.

The stages in graphical mode are represented in the Data Settings tab by the icon, and those in text mode by the icon.

Important

By default the stages are created in graphical mode.

It is possible to change the mode of a stage via the context menu or Operations menu.

Warning

A warning message is displayed if the application cannot convert a stage from text mode to graphical mode.

Add stage

To add a stage, perform any of below listed actions:

• Click on the Add stage icon of the toolbar,
• Use Operations > Add Stage menu,
• Use Add Stage context menu on the case in the Data Settings tab,
• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N.

It is possible to rename the stage by selecting it in the Data Settings tab and then using the Rename context menu, or by pressing the keyboard shortcut F2.

Import stage

It is possible to import an Aster command file as a case stage.

For this you can either:

• Click the Add stage from file icon of the toolbar,
• Use the Operations > Add Stage from File menu,
• Use Add Stage from File context menu on the case in the Data Settings tab,
• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I.

Important

The application parses the command file and creates a stage in the graphical mode from the contents of the file. If the file contains commands that cannot be interpreted by the application, the stage will be created in text mode with the contents of the file.

Also, it is possible to import Aster command file as a stage in text mode, i.e. without its automatic conversion to the graphical mode. This can be done by:

• Using the Operations > Add Text Stage from File menu,
• Using Add Text Stage from File context menu on the case in the Data Settings tab.

Import stage from template

It is possible to create a stage by importing Aster command file from the predefined template. The template command files can be created by the user in the ~/.config/salome/asterstudy_templates directory. These files appear as items in:

• Operations > Add Stage from Template and Operations > Add Text Stage from Template main menus,
• Add Stage from Template and Add Text Stage from Template sub-menus in the case’s context menu in Data Settings tab.

Export stage

Similarly, it is possible to export a stage to an Aster command file:

• Click the Export command file icon of the toolbar,
• Use the Operation > Export Command File menu,
• Use the Export Command File context menu on the stage in the Data Settings tab,
• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+E.

If the stage is in graphical mode, the command file is generated from the commands defined in the stage; if the stage is in text mode, the content of the stage is directly exported to the file.

Rename stage

Stages are added to a study with the default name. To rename a stage, select it in the Data Settings tab and then:

• Use Edit > Rename main menu,
• Use Rename context menu item,
• Press F2 key.

Delete stage

A stage can be removed from the case by using the corresponding toolbar button, menu, or keyboard shortcut (Del).

Warning

Deleting of a stage will automatically remove all stages which follow it.

Search

It is possible to search the study tree. To do this, select the Data Settings tab and press Ctrl+F, use Find context menu or Edit > Find main menu.

The search box appears at the bottom of the study tree.

It is possible to search on the following criteria:

• Command: search by Aster command names.

  • Example: if the user types DEF, items created by commands like DEFI_MATERIAU are highlighted.

• Concept: search by the names of existing concepts.

  • Example: if the user types MAT, the item corresponding to the command MATE = AFFE_MATERIAU (...) is highlighted.

• Keyword: search by the keywords of the commands.

  • Example: COMMAND (GROUP_MA=ALPHA) is highlighted, if user types GROUP.

• Group: search on the names of groups of mesh nodes or elements.

  • Example: COMMAND (GROUP_MA=BETA) is highlighted, if the user types BET.

Important

In Concept mode, the search tool finds concepts recursively, i.e. if one concept refers to another one which name suits the search criterion, this first concept is also included into the search result.

• Example: if the user types MESH, the item corresponding to the command MODEL = AFFE_MODELE(MAILLAGE=MESH) is also highlihted, in addition to the MESH item itself.

The nodes of the study corresponding to the search criterion entered by the user are then highlighted in yellow background, and it is possible to navigate between them by clicking < (previous result) and > (next result) buttons or pressing F3, Shift+F3 shortcuts.

The search is case insensitive and is performed on the words containing the value entered by the user.

Search in the study tree