HyperWorks Desktop

Parameter Browser

Parameter Browser

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Parameter Browser

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The Parameter browser, which is used with Report Templates, lets you parameterize almost everything in a session file or report template and automate a variety of analysis processes in HyperWorks Desktop. The reality of automation is that it is not always desirable to re-apply automation scripts exactly as they were originally defined.  To remedy this, the Parameter browser includes a graphical user interface for defining parameters that can be changed when an automation script is executed.  After the parameters are defined, you can save the automation script and run it from the Report Templates panel.

The Parameter browser displays all windows and pages in the current session, including the attributes assigned to each entity.  Under each entity is a list of the entity's attributes.  Activating the checkbox next to any attribute includes the attribute as a parameter in the parameter table (located in the lower half of the browser), which is defined or kept in its default state when the process is re-run. To display the browser, click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Parameters.

parambrowser1

Parameter browser

hmtoggle_plus1greyFiltering Attributes

The entire session is shown in the Parameter browser, but you can simplify the list by using the filters at the top of the browser. To access the filters, right-click in the Parameter browser and select Show Filter:

parambrowserfilter

Filter options

Option

Description

Show

Allows you to select specific client type(s) to display. Check those you want to display in the browser; uncheck to hide.  Click OK to close the window.

parambrowser_show

Click select_all_iconto select all client types.

Click select_none_filter to deselects all client types.

Click reverse_selection_icon to reverse the current selection.

Matching

You can also select groups of entities based on a wildcard search. For example, if you type *collector and press <enter>, then all entity types ending with "collector" will be checked and display in the list.  You can fine-tune the search by selecting one of the following options from the optionsDropdown-24button:

•Match case only selects items that match the entered text exactly, including upper/lower case letters.
•Whole name only selects items whose entire name matches the specified text.  For example, typing pillar in the Matching: field when using the Whole name option will not locate a component named "CH-A-PILLAR-B-I-L".  To find such a component, you would need to run a wildcard search for something such as *pillar*.

Entity

Allows you to distinguish which types of entities to display. Select an option from the drop down menu to display only that entity type.  Select All to display all entities.

parambrowser_entity

Options include: Curves, Datum Lines, Headers/Footers, Math Expressions, Measures, Notes, Plot Colors, Results, Sections, Titles, Tracing, Tracking.

Filter filter-24

Activates a field for entering text to display only those items that contain that text.  For example, entering "*color" displays all attributes that specify colors.

Save save_icon

Saves the current session, with the parameters selected, as a report template automation script (*.tpl file).  This script can be run at any time from the Reports panel.

 
hmtoggle_plus1greyDefining Parameters

There are three types of parameters that can be defined:

1.Window parameters.
2.Value parameters.
3.Text modifying parameters.

You can select properties across different objects and applications if the property names are exact.  For example, a parameter can be shared by a property named “Text” on the Contour Legend Header and Note in HyperView.  Similarly, a parameter named “Color” can be shared by the Plot Legend and a Note in HyperGraph.

Window Parameters

By default, when you create a new session, the Parameter browser displays specific parameters for the various attributes that are listed.

windowparams

Parameters browser with the HyperGraph window parameters

The top directory under each window contain global window parameters not associated to any particular entity, for example, Plot Window Colors. For HyperGraph windows, the attributes that can be included as parameters in the automation script are:

•Background color
•Frame color
•GridLine color
•ZeroLine color

Selecting an attribute from the list, such as Background Color, creates an automation script parameter and displays it at the bottom of the browser.  The report parameter name and default attribute, the background color in this case, are displayed.  To change the color, for example, click the color box to display the color palette and select a new color.  To remove a parameter, you can either uncheck the box or right-click it in the table and select Remove from the context menu.

parambrowser2

Parameters browser after selecting a curve attribute to create an automation script parameter

Value Parameters

In the image below, other attributes for the curve are displayed, such as header, legend, and curve attributes.  Similar to window parameters, when you select an attribute from the upper portion of the browser, it becomes an automation script parameter and its default name and attribute value are displayed in the lower portion of the browser.  To change a parameter’s label, click its name under the Name column and enter a new label.  Similarly, to change the default value for the parameter, select the Default column cell and enter a new default.  The label is presented with the default when the script is loaded.

parambrowserheader

Parameter browser with Headers/Footers attributes selected

Text Modifying Parameters

Names, labels, and math expressions are supported with a variety of parameter styles, including prefixes, suffixes, search and replace, range of character substitution, and replacing entire blocks of text.

textparameters

Parameter Browser with the curve name, component and request attributes selected.
hmtoggle_plus1greyAdvanced Settings

After including a text parameter, click the ellipse, ellipse, to display the More Options dialog.  If the ellipse button is grayed out, that indicates that advanced settings are not available for a particular attribute.

reportparamdialog

More Options dialog

From this dialog, you can change the following report parameter attributes:

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the parameter, as listed in the Name column in the parameter table.

Value type

From this drop-down menu, you can select the following:

•value: Replaces the entire string value with an entered value when the script is run.
•prefix: Adds a prefix to a curve name.
•suffix: Adds a suffix to a curve name.
•search and replace: Searches and replaces values in the curve name.
•range: Replaces all characters within the selected range.

Default value

The default value which can be overwritten when the script is run.

Remove Parameter

Deletes the parameter.

Add Parameter

Adds another parameter to the same attribute.  It has a different default name, but the same default values as the original parameter in the dialog.  Click OK to close the advanced settings dialog and add the new parameter to the Parameter browser.

Undo

Removes the defined parameters for a block of text.  This is only available for range and search and replace.

 
hmtoggle_plus1greyContext Sensitive Menu

You can access the following options by right-clicking on any parameter in the parameter table, or in the white space within the browser.

parambrow_contextmenu

Option

Description

Collapse All

If you select Collapse All in the white space of the browser, this option collapses all items in the browser tree.  If you have a particular entity or folder selected in the browser and select Collapse All, then this option only collapses the items beneath the currently selected entity or folder.

Expand All

If you select Expand All in the white space of the browser, this option expands all items in the browser tree.  If you have a particular entity or folder selected in the browser and select Expand All, then this option only expands the items beneath the currently selected entity or folder.

Select All

For the entity type currently selected, this option selects all items of that type in the browser.

Select All in Page

For the entity type currently selected, this option selects all items of that type in the current page.

Select All in Window

For the entity type currently selected, this option selects all items of that type in the current window.

Show/Hide Filter

Displays or hides the filter options at the top of the browser.

 

The following context sensitive menu appears when you right-click on a automation script parameter at the bottom of the browser.

param_browser_ctx_menu2

Option

Description

Remove Parameter

Deletes the parameter.

Merge

If two or more parameters are selected, this option merges them into one automation script parameter.

Show in Tree

Highlights and displays the location of the selected parameter in the browser tree.

Note:If a parameter has been selected for multiple attributes, the Show in Tree option automatically highlights and displays the location of the selected parameter for each selected attribute.

More Options...

Displays the More Options dialog.

Click on the eraser button, erase, to remove all report parameters currently listed in the parameter table.

 
hmtoggle_plus1greyReport Template Limitations

The report templates are set up and applied in two different modes: authoring mode and review mode.

In authoring mode, you set up the layout of the windows and pages and parameterize the measures, curves, and so on, in the current session.  In the authoring mode, you can retrieve the parameters from a saved session and modify them.  New parameters can be added without losing any information.

The review mode applies the report templates on multiple iterations.  Once a report template is overlaid, appended, or replaced to an existing session, the association of the report parameters with the original object is lost.  All changes to the parameter definitions must be made in the original template before overlaying or appending with any session.

If there are multiple report templates, it is recommended to parameterize individual templates before combining all of them into one session.  In Overlay mode, the parameter table is cleared when a report template is overlaid with a session containing parameters.  In Append mode, the parameter table represents the last loaded template. In Replace mode, the parameter table represents the last loaded template.

If an object such as a note or a curve is copied and pasted to the same window or a different window, the parameter referring to any of the properties of this object is not associated with the copied object.  Similar behavior is expected when a window is copied and pasted to a different location.  The parameters from the source window are NOT applied to the copied location.

 

 

How do I...

hmtoggle_arrow1Use the Parameter Browser filter
1.Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Parameters. The Parameter browser is displayed.
2.Right-click in the browser and select Show Filter from the context sensitive menu.
3.Click the Filter icon, filter_icon. In the filter field, enter a word or phrase to display only those items that contain that text.

For example, entering *color displays all attributes that specify colors, such as BackgroundColor or GridlineColor.

4.The filtered attributes are displayed in the Parameter browser tree.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Create a parameter in the automation script from a page title
1.Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Parameters. The Parameter browser is displayed.
2.Right-click within the white space of the browser and select Expand All. The browser is expanded to show the entire contents of the session.
3.Activate the checkbox next to Title.
4.Click Save, saveicon, to save the script template.
5.From the Reports toolbar, select Open Report Panel button, report-24.
6.In the Page Title field, enter a new page title.
7.Select the Append radio button.
8.Click Apply. The session is recreated with the new page title.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Prefix all curves with an iteration identifier
1.Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Parameters. The Parameter browser is displayed.
2.Right-click within the white space of the browser and select Expand All. The browser is expanded to show the entire contents of the session.
3.Right-click on a curve and choose Select All from the context menu.
4.Activate the checkbox next to Name. A new row is added to the lower portion of the parameter table.
5.Click the ellipse button, ellipse, next to the default curve name. The More Options dialog is displayed.
6.In the Name field, enter Run ID:.
7.Change Value type to Prefix.
8.Change Default value to Run 1.
9.Click OK.
10.Click Save saveicon, to save the script template.
11.Click OK.
12.From the Reports toolbar, select Open Report Panel button, report-24.
13.In the Run ID field, enter Run 2.
14.Click Apply. The session is recreated and all curve names have Run 2 at the start of their name.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Change part of a curve's math expression
1.Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Parameters. The Parameter browser is displayed.
2.Right-click within the white space of the browser and select Expand All. The browser is expanded to show the entire contents of the session.
3.Under Y vector for a math curve, activate the checkbox next to Expression. A new row is added to the parameter table in the lower half of the browser.
4.Click the ellipse button, ellipse, next to the default math expression. The More Options dialog is displayed.
5.In the Name field in the parameter table, enter a description for the parameter.
6.Change Value type to Range.
7.Set the Default value.
8.In the Expression text box, highlight the default value.  You can highlight multiple occurrences of the default value.
9.Click OK.
10.Click Save saveicon, to save the script template.
11.From the Reports toolbar, select Open Report Panel button, report-24.
12.In the Expression field, change the default value.
13.Click Apply. The session is recreated using the new value in the math expression.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Resize the Parameter Browser

To resize the upper and lower portion of the browser:

•Click the horizontal line which separates the browser tree and the parameter table (notice the double arrow) and drag and release the mouse button once the upper and lower sections are the necessary size.

To resize the the width of the browser:

•Click the vertical line which separates the parameter browser from the graphic display area and drag and release the mouse button once the width is the necessary size.

 

 

See Also:

HyperWorks Desktop Standard Browsers