On PC, when the application starts, it first reads the preference file in the installation directory, then the preference environment variable (HW_CONFIG_PATH).  On UNIX, the program first reads the preference file in the user’s home directory, then the current working directory.  Finally, on both PC and UNIX, the program looks for the user defined preference file.

Preference files may have any filename, but the program will only look for the .preferences.mvw file in the user’s home directory and the current working directory on UNIX.

The HyperWorks installation contains two preference files located under $ALTAIR_HOME/hw. They are:

Seven include preference files are contained in the installation. These include preference files must be included in a main preference file, as they cannot be used as independent preference files. The include preference files are located under $ALTAIR_HOME/hw/prefinc. They are:

The file preferences.mvw includes all include preference files, except preferences_study.mvw. The file preferences_hst.mvw includes preferences_plot.mvw and preferences_study.mvw.

HyperWorks also contains two user preference files and two register keys corresponding to each of them.

The preference file may also be customized using the Set Preference File option on the File menu.

When the application is started it checks for Templex statements in the preference file.  If any Templex statements are found, they are evaluated prior to executing the preference statements.

This order of processing provides the user with additional programming capabilities to automate the generation of preferences.  The mathematical, logical, and looping capabilities within Templex can be used to perform many operations such as setting default part attributes, getting environment variables, and performing string manipulations.

 

See also

Preference Files

Templex Reference