- Title bar
-
The title bar indicates the release of
Abaqus/CAE
you are running and the name of the current model database.
- Menu
bar
-
The menu bar contains all the available menus; the menus give access to all
the functionality in the product. Different menus appear in the menu bar
depending on which module you selected from the context bar. For more
information, see
Components of the main menu bar.
- Toolbars
-
The toolbars provide quick access to items that are also available in the
menus. For more information, see
Components of the toolbars.
- Context
bar
-
Abaqus/CAE
is divided into a set of modules, where each module allows you to work on one
aspect of your model; the Module list in the context bar
allows you to move between these modules. Other items in the context bar are a
function of the module you are working in. For example, the context bar allows
you to retrieve an existing part while creating the geometry of the model or to
change the output database associated with the current viewport. Similarly, in
the
Mesh module
you can choose whether to display the assembly or a particular part. For more
information, see
The context bar.
- Model Tree
-
The
Model Tree
provides you with a graphical overview of your model and the objects that it
contains, such as parts, materials, steps, loads, and output requests. In
addition, the
Model Tree
provides a convenient, centralized tool for moving between modules and for
managing objects. If your model database contains more than one model, you can
use the
Model Tree
to move between models. When you become familiar with the
Model Tree,
you will find that you can quickly perform most of the actions that are found
in the main menu bar, the module toolboxes, and the various managers. For more
information, see
The Model Tree.
- Results Tree
-
The
Results Tree
provides you with a graphical overview of your output databases and other
session-specific data such as X–Y plots. If you have
more than one output database open in your session, you can use the
Results Tree
to move between output databases. When you become familiar with the
Results Tree,
you will find that you can quickly perform most of the actions in
the Visualization module
that are found in the main menu bar and the toolbox. For more information, see
The Results Tree.
- Toolbox
area
-
When you enter a module, the toolbox area displays tools in the toolbox that
are appropriate for that module. The toolbox allows quick access to many of the
module functions that are also available from the menu bar. For more
information, see
Understanding and using toolboxes and toolbars.
- Canvas and
drawing area
-
The canvas can be thought of as an infinite screen or bulletin board on
which you post viewports; for more information, see
Managing viewports on the canvas.
The drawing area is the visible portion of the canvas. You can display the
drawing area full screen using the menu; you can also
press F11 to toggle between full screen mode and normal mode.
- Viewport
-
Viewports are windows on the canvas in which
Abaqus/CAE
displays your model. For more information, see
Managing viewports on the canvas.
- Prompt
area
-
The prompt area displays instructions for you to follow during a procedure;
for example, it asks you to select the geometry as you create a set. In
the Visualization module
a set of buttons is displayed in the prompt area that allow you to move between
the steps and the frames of your analysis. For more information, see
Using the prompt area during procedures.
- Message
area
-
Abaqus/CAE
prints status information and warnings in the message area. To resize the
message area, drag the top edge; to see information that has scrolled out of
the message area, use the scroll bar on the right side. The message area is
displayed by default, but it uses the same space occupied by the command line
interface. If you have recently used the command line interface, you must click
in the bottom left corner of the main window to activate the message
area.
Note:
If new messages are added while the command line interface is active,
Abaqus/CAE
changes the background color surrounding the message area icon to red. When you
display the message area, the background reverts to its normal color.
- Command line
interface
-
You can use the command line interface to type Python commands and evaluate
mathematical expressions using the Python interpreter that is built into
Abaqus/CAE.
The interface includes primary (>>>
)
and secondary (...
) prompts to indicate when
you must indent commands to comply with Python syntax. For more information on
Python commands, see
The basics of Python.
The command line interface is hidden by default, but it uses the same space
occupied by the message area. Click
in the bottom left corner of the main window to switch from the
message area to the command line interface.