Common customizations on Windows platforms

The following procedures explain how to specify some commonly desired settings on Windows platforms:

This task shows you how to:

The following procedures explain how to specify some commonly desired settings on Windows platforms:

Change the “start-in” location for any Abaqus shortcut

  1. Use Windows Explorer to go to the directory where the Abaqus shortcuts are located. The shortcuts contained in this directory affect all users on the computer and may require special permission to change.
  2. Click mouse button 3 on the shortcut (Abaqus CAE, Abaqus Command, or Abaqus Viewer) for which you wish to change the start-in location, and select Properties; then click the Shortcut tab.
  3. In the text box labeled Start in:, set the full path to the directory you wish to use as the default location for saving the files created by that Abaqus product.

Stop Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer windows from being erased when a dialog box is moved

Context:

Menu items may vary depending upon your Windows operating system. For Windows 7 operating systems:

  1. Select StartControl Panel.
  2. Type Effects in the search box and press Return.
  3. Select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
  4. In the Visual Effects tab of the Performance Options dialog box, toggle off Show window contents while dragging.
  5. Click OK to save your settings and to close the Performance Options dialog box.

Change the colors and fonts used in Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer

Context:

You can change the colors and fonts displayed in Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer by applying a new color scheme to your session. Color schemes determine the colors and text settings that Windows uses to display each component in an application, such as its menus, dialog boxes, and title bar. For example, when the Windows Standard color scheme is selected, Windows displays white text in Tahoma font against a blue background in the title bar; and displays black text in Tahoma font on a white background in application menus.

You can also customize a color scheme by editing the color or text settings for any individual item in the color scheme. This customization enables you to change more specific settings, like increasing the text size in the title bar without changing the text size in other areas of the application.

Changes to the color and font settings affect all applications, not just Abaqus programs. Menu items may vary depending upon your Windows operating system. For Windows 7 operating systems:

  1. Select StartControl Panel, and type Display in the search box.
  2. If desired, choose a new font size.
  3. Select Personalization.
  4. Choose a preset Theme from the list.
  5. If desired, change the color or font settings for individual items in the selected color scheme:
    1. Type Window in the search box. Select Change window colors and metrics in the Personalization area of the search results.

      The Window Color and Appearance dialog box appears.

    2. Select the Item for which you want to change color and font display.

      The dialog box displays the current color and, if applicable, the font settings for the selected item. Windows excludes font settings for items that do not display text, like the active window border.

    3. Choose a new item color from the Color 1 list. For items like the active title bar that allow a gradient between two colors, you can also adjust the second color in the gradient by choosing a new color from the Color 2 list.
    4. Adjust the text settings for the selected item from the options at the bottom of the dialog box. You can choose a new Font from the list, click the Size arrows to increase or decrease text size, choose a new text Color from the list, and toggle the bold or italic formatting for the text in this item.
    5. Repeat the previous two steps to change color and text display for other individual items in a color scheme.
    6. Click OK to close the Window Color and Appearance dialog box.
  6. Click OK to save your settings and to close the Display Properties dialog box.

Change the default fonts used in Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer

By default, Windows renders text in the Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer viewport windows by referring to the fonts available in your system fonts directory. You can override this default behavior and use other fonts for your session by adding the parameter hks_font_path to your Abaqus environment file. Set this parameter to multiple, comma-delimited values if you want to set up multiple font directories for your session.

Display Chinese characters in Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer

Context:

You can enable a localized Chinese version of Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer. This localized version displays Chinese characters for text in menus, dialog boxes, the Model and Results Trees, and the message area; text in the viewport is not localized.

Menu items may vary depending upon your Windows operating system. For Windows 7 operating systems:

  1. Set the regional language settings for Windows to enable Chinese characters:
    1. Select StartControl Panel.
    2. To install the Chinese language, select Install or uninstall display languages and follow the prompts.
  2. Set the system environment variable ABAQUS_USE_LOCALIZATION=1.

    • To set the variable for a single session, enter the following command in a command prompt: 

      set ABAQUS_USE_LOCALIZATION=1

      You must run Abaqus/CAE or Abaqus/Viewer from the same command prompt.

    • To set the environment variable permanently, save it in the Windows system properties. Environment variables can be saved using the Advanced tabbed page of the System Properties dialog box.