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User's Guide
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User's Guide
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User's Guide
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User's Guide
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of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. vii
User's Guide
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User's Guide
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of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. ix
User's Guide
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User's Guide
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of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xi
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Using This Guide
The ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) User's Guide contains detailed information and in-
structions on how to access and use EKM and EKM Mobile. If you are a first-time or novice user, you
should begin by reading the Getting Started With ANSYS EKM guide, which provides you with an intro-
duction to EKM as well as a general overview of installing, setting up, configuring, and using EKM.
• A glossary of terms
Because you can interact with an EKM repository using ANSYS Workbench, you will see references to
Workbench in the EKM User’s Guide. However, for details on how to save ANSYS Workbench projects
to an EKM repository and retrieve them from an active Workbench session, you should consult the
Workbench User Guide.
The EKM User’s Guide does not contain information about the installation or configuration of EKM. For
installation and setup instructions, refer to the EKM Installation Guide. If you want to configure or cus-
tomize an EKM server or workspace, refer to the EKM Administration Guide.
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Chapter 1: What is EKM?
When a company is spread across multiple sites, engineering tools that enable knowledge and processes
to be easily captured, analyzed, shared, reused, and archived can bring a significant advantage. As en-
terprise requirements become more complex and the amount of product, process, and resource inform-
ation generated for a CAE project grows, enterprises that are positioned to capture, manage, and reuse
their intellectual property will have a distinct advantage.
ANSYS EKM is a software system that enables you to manage the data and processes created through
design, simulation, and analysis activities. It facilitates the reuse of information and the capture of en-
gineering knowledge and best practices, which can help reduce your organization's development and
training costs and make better use of resources. These savings can ultimately reduce a product's time-
to-market.
EKM is tightly integrated with ANSYS simulation products, including ANSYS Workbench, Mechanical
APDL, Fluent, CFX, Polyflow, Maxwell, HFSS, Simplorer, and Ansoft Designer, and can also be integrated
with other third-party simulation products such as Abaqus and Nastran.
• Store files in a central location. Create a custom repository that users can access from anywhere.
• Manage access to files. Set up secure access to the repository and control permissions on individual files
and folders.
• Search and retrieve files. Search by keyword or by specific object properties to retrieve files of interest.
Save search queries for quick relaunch at any time.
• Analyze and compare data. Automatically extract key data from files upon upload, and view an auto-
generated Simulation Details Report. Create Comparison Reports that compare the properties of two or
more objects. Assemble project-related files such as plots, files, images, and reports into a Report Book that
can be downloaded in XML, HTML, Excel, Word, and PDF formats and used for presentation purposes.
• Track work. Define object lifecycles and control stage advancement through signoff processes. Set up version
control and use processes to document the actions performed and decisions made during a simulation
process to fulfill audit/regulatory requirements.
• Perform remote simulations. Run jobs in batch or interactive mode. Create job submission templates for
quick job setup.
• Manage jobs. View a job’s status, inputs and outputs, and job submission details. View detailed transcripts
and reports.
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What is EKM?
You can access an EKM server with the EKM web client (which opens by connecting via a supported
web browser) and ANSYS Workbench.
EKM has an advanced web-based repository that enables sharing of simulation documents and data
based on user credentials. It serves as a collaboration platform to enable distributed workgroups to
work on the same project. Extraction and report generation capabilities enable team members to display,
interpret, and analyze data efficiently.
EKM enables you to significantly enhance its standard features through simple, yet powerful, configur-
ation changes. Configuration features enable you to create custom applications and process templates
that describe your business process; these can be then managed and monitored from within EKM.
• Define external applications that can be launched by EKM either on the EKM server or on a job submission
system.
Figure 1.1: ANSYS EKM Features (p. 2) shows some of the main features of EKM. The full features of
the product are introduced in the following sections:
1.1. Data Management and the EKM Repository
1.2. Process Management
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Data Management and the EKM Repository
Data in a repository is organized in folders in the Data section. You can organize folders by project, by
team, by simulation, or in any other way that suits your organization's needs. Regardless of your system
configuration, an EKM repository allows transparent collaboration of users and groups in the same
Local Area Network (LAN), or across a Wide Area Network (WAN), through those shared folders.
You can transfer data between your local file system and an EKM repository in several different ways:
• You can use a web browser client to connect to an EKM server and upload and download files using the
web client. The web client allows uploads/downloads of single files or archive files only.
• You can use the EKM File Transfer Client to manage the transfer. EKM File Transfer Client is a powerful client
that lets you transfer multiple files and folders and large-sized files that are >2 GB to multiple EKM repository
connections.
For example, say that your company has two EKM servers installed and set up, one in the United
States on your LAN and one in India across a WAN. If you have an account on a workspace for both
servers, you can create connections to the shared repositories and transfer and manage data in those
repositories using EKM File Transfer Client.
• EKM File Transfer Client can also use caching when you upload/download files across a WAN. The transfer
from cache to EKM server can be done asynchronously, which means that once you have transferred the
files to the local cache service, you can sign out and disconnect your machine, and the time-consuming
process of transferring across a WAN will be managed by the cache service. You can sign in at any time to
monitor the progress and view any errors during the transfer. During download, the cache service is checked
to see whether the requested file exists within the cache. If the file is found locally and has not been modified
on the server, it is returned. This avoids the time-consuming process of downloading large files across a
slow WAN. Otherwise the file is downloaded and cached for future requests. All users in a LAN share the
same cache service. This means that any time a file is downloaded and cached for one user, it will also be
available for a download request by another user.
• In lieu of uploading to EKM, you can create links to remote files and folders that reside on external resources
such as file servers or shared file systems. This way, remote objects can remain in their original location and
a reference to the physical location is maintained in EKM, eliminating the need for data duplication. You
can use the Synchronize action in EKM to keep saved objects in an EKM repository up-to-date with their
source.
Basic file management operations, such as create, read, update, delete, and edit are provided by EKM.
The content of any object can be displayed with its permissions, properties, and dependencies. Upstream
and downstream dependencies are displayed by a graph and ancestors can be viewed as well. You can
create shortcuts to objects in a repository and EKM will ensure that referential integrity (such as permis-
sions, properties, and so on) is maintained.
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What is EKM?
• By placing the object under version control and managing it using EKM's configuration control system
• By getting or releasing exclusive control over the object. Version control allows branches to be managed
and provides an audit trail. Alerts can be set up for an object to notify a user by email when an alert condition
has been met such as when a file or folder has been modified.
Lifecycles are a sequential set of stages that an object such as a file or folder moves through during its
lifetime. Lifecycles are defined by object type and policies can be defined for each stage such as per-
missions and automatic deletion criteria. You can specify a signoff policy for a stage that requires that
the object be reviewed by an individual or committee before it can be promoted or demoted. Lifecycles
can be defined graphically using EKM Studio, EKM's built-in graphical editor, or written in XML outside
EKM. Once enabled, an object under lifecycle control can be easily monitored in the EKM user interface.
EKM supports a large number of built-in CAE data types, including ANSYS products, in-house codes,
and non-ANSYS tools. It also provides you with the capability to define new custom types and extend
existing types from the EKM user interface. Metadata is automatically extracted from supported CAE
file formats using built-in extractor programs. Additional properties can be extracted by defining a
custom extractor application.
You can perform keyword searches (full text searches) on common file formats such as TXT, DOC, PDF,
PPT, XML, HTML, and RTF. You can also run Advanced Searches on object properties using complex
search criteria. Queries can be saved for later execution or refinement.
Report generation features include automatically-generated reports that are created by EKM, or on-de-
mand reports that you initiate. When a supported CAE file format is uploaded or added to a repository,
EKM creates a simulation details report that extracts key data from the file such as model information
and simulation settings. A special report is generated when you add a Workbench project to EKM. You
can also create Comparison Reports that compare properties or property differences between two or
more objects. Finally, you can assemble files that are associated with an object or project such as plots,
files, images, and reports into a Report Book that can be downloaded in XML, HTML, Excel, Word, and
PDF formats and used for presentation purposes.
Once you have created a process template you can launch a process from it and then execute, manage,
and monitor the process on the Processes/Process Monitor page in EKM. In the process view you can
track decisions and actions that are made during the process for completed tasks. This can help in ful-
filling audit requirements that are needed for regulatory compliance.
For information on how to define process templates, refer to Defining Process Templates in EKM Studio.
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EKM Architecture
EKM stores only the metadata in the database. The file content is stored outside the database on a file
server or other storage location.
EKM can be run on a single-server or a cluster and is scalable from a single user to multiple users con-
nected in LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). Multiple EKM repositories can be
connected together to create an efficient system for sharing and transferring simulation files across a
WAN.
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What is EKM?
• Defining processes
• Defining external applications for extracting metadata, images, and simulation details for custom CAE sim-
ulation files formats
A plug-in mechanism provides a powerful method for extending the capabilities of the base EKM system.
Plug-ins can specify business rules, actions, and new user interfaces without altering the base system.
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Contacting Technical Support
• Display of session status and error log for interactive sessions in the Job Monitor
• A new Multi-line value option when defining custom dialog boxes, types, and process templates
For a full list of new features and improvements, see the EKM Release Notes.
If your support is provided by ANSYS, Inc. directly, Technical Support can be accessed quickly and effi-
ciently from the ANSYS Customer Portal at https://www1.ansys.com/customer/default.asp.
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Chapter 2: The EKM Environment
The features available in the EKM web application depend on the type of machine or device you are
accessing the server from. If you are accessing EKM from a desktop or laptop, you have access to the
full range of EKM features. From a tablet device such as an iPad or Android, however, some features
are not available. This chapter describes the various interface components of the EKM web application.
Actions that are not available on devices are noted, and differences in interface features are called out
when applicable.
The EKM web client is displayed in a browser window. Resizing the browser window resizes the EKM
application. The URL of the current view is displayed in the browser’s address bar. This makes it possible
to bookmark individual views for later retrieval. You can open additional browser tabs and windows
and have multiple EKM sessions running at the same time. See Making Simultaneous Connections (p. 34)
for more information. When navigating, you can use the browser’s back and forward buttons to go to
the previous or subsequent view in your navigation sequence.
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The EKM Environment
Note
The Webstart applications (the File Transfer Client and EKM Studio) require that your client
machine is running Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.7.0, update 60 or greater. The File
Transfer Client is a utility used to upload and download files (for example, see Uploading
Files Using the File Transfer Client (p. 88)). You use EKM Studio to define process templates
(see Launching EKM Studio (p. 351)).
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General Layout
The title bar at the top of the EKM window provides constant access to global features and settings.
From here you can navigate to different sections, display an application menu, switch to a different
workspace, access online help, edit your profile and settings, and sign out.
Content and features are grouped into five main sections: Home, Data, Jobs, Processes, and Adminis-
tration. You can access a section by selecting it from the main drop box in the top left corner of the
EKM window. See Navigating in EKM (p. 17) for more information.
By default, the Home/Dashboard page is displayed when you launch EKM, but you can specify a different
default page in your settings. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60) for details. The Administration
section is only visible to administrators, or users who are part of the admin group. For more information
about administrative features and settings, refer to the EKM Administration Guide.
The Applications panel provides quick access to various job launch applications, job templates, and
process templates. See Applications Panel (p. 23) for details.
The title bar identifies the workspace that you are currently signed into, and enables you to switch to
a different workspace if more than one is defined for your EKM server. See Connecting to a Different
Workspace (p. 33) for details.
The title bar also displays a help menu, as well as a user icon that you can customize to personalize
your workspace. The menu attached to the user icon provides access to your Profile, Settings, Connec-
tions, Recycle Bin, and Sign out options.
As you navigate from section to section, the view in the main window changes. Each section contains
its own action toolbar and different pages to further organize information. A breadcrumb trail shows
you where you are presently within EKM. Dialog boxes and wizards open in response to actions that
you invoke from the application.
For information about navigational aids in EKM, see Navigating in EKM (p. 17).
Note
If you have been assigned a Basic license, only the Data section will be available, and you
will not have access to Applications or the Recycle Bin. See Licensing and Access in the In-
stallation Guide for details.
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The EKM Environment
• Dashboard. Displays the information that is most important to you across data, jobs, and processes. By
default, the dashboard displays four gadgets: My Tasks, Job Monitor, Process Monitor, and Extraction
Monitor. These gadgets provide a live snapshot of things that are happening in EKM. You can customize
your dashboard by adding different types of gadgets. See Setting Up Your Dashboard (p. 41) for details.
• My Applications. Displays a list of applications, job templates, and process templates that you have saved
for private use. Clicking on an application launches that application. See Applications Panel (p. 23).
• My Queries. Displays a list of search queries that you have saved for private use. Clicking on a query re-ex-
ecutes the search. See Managing Queries and Search Results (p. 215).
• Recycle Bin. Displays a list of objects that you have deleted. Objects can be restored to their original location
if needed. See Accessing the Recycle Bin (p. 57).
Note
The Home section is not available if you have been assigned Basic access.
• My Data. Data saved here is private to you and is not visible to any other user.
• Shared Data. Data saved here can be viewed and shared by multiple users. The Shared Data page is displayed
by default when you navigate to the Data section. The actions that are available to you on the Shared Data
page depend on the access level that has been assigned to you. For example, if you have Analyst access
you can view and download objects, but if you have Shared access you can also upload, create, edit and
delete objects. See Licensing and Access in the Installation Guide for details. Restricted permissions may also
be placed on individual objects by their owners, or by members of the admin group.
If you are an admin user, a Sample Files folder will be visible in Shared Data. The Sample Files
folder is a remote folder that maps to the EKM_HOME/examples directory of the EKM server. It
contains sample files that you can use when customizing EKM. The figure below provides a snapshot
of the Sample Files folder.
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Main EKM Sections
Refer to the README.txt file for instructions on how to use the contents of the Sample Files folder.
• Starred. Displays only those files and folders that you have starred. See Starred Data (p. 120) for details.
• Recent. Displays a list of files and folders that you have recently selected. This enables you to quickly access
those files without having to look for them.
• Extraction Monitor. Enables you to monitor the extraction of metadata and simulation details from files.
See Monitoring Data Extraction (p. 104) for details.
As you navigate through pages and folders in the Data section, the breadcrumb displays the path that
you have taken to get to the current object. You can use the breadcrumb to navigate to other folders
in the sequence, or to other objects in those folders. See Using the Breadcrumb (p. 18) for details. If
you would like to view the hierarchy of pages in the Data section, you can display a tree when needed
(see Displaying the Tree (p. 18)).
The Data section also includes both basic and advanced search features for locating specific files or
types of data. See Searching a Repository (p. 195) for more information.
For information about uploading and downloading data, see Transferring Files (p. 79). For information
about managing files and folders, see Managing Repository Data (p. 117).
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The EKM Environment
The Jobs section has a single Job Monitor page for monitoring the status of jobs, and various actions
relating to jobs such as Start Job and Execute.
Note
The Jobs section is not available if you have been assigned Basic access.
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Main EKM Sections
• Process Monitor. Displays a list of processes that have been started and their status (for example, Active,
Cancelled or Complete). Clicking on a process name opens the process in the file list window so that you
can monitor its tasks, view details, and so on.
• My Tasks. Displays a list of tasks that have been assigned to you, and their status. Clicking on a task opens
the task in the file list window, enabling you to perform the necessary actions to complete it.
For more information about process management, see Starting and Managing Processes (p. 427).
Note
The Processes section is not available if you have been assigned Basic access.
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The EKM Environment
• Workspace Configuration. Used by the user designated as the Root User to configure a workspace. See
Restricted Configuration in the EKM Administration Guide for details.
• Scripting. Used by admin users to record a journal file, run a script, or open a command window. See Scripts
and Journals in the EKM Administration Guide for more details.
• Export Workspace. Used by admin members to export an entire workspace to another EKM server, or to
another location on the same server. The exported workspace can then be imported when creating a new
workspace. See Transferring a Workspace Between EKM Servers in the EKM Administration Guide for details.
• Create Usage Report. Used by administrators to create reports of EKM use by each user. See Gathering
Usage Statistics in the EKM Administration Guide for details.
• Configuration. Contains settings relating to the current workspace: Custom Types, Lifecycles, Scripts,
Units.xml, and WorkspaceConfig.xml.
• Shared Applications. Contains applications that are available to all users, such as Start Batch Job and Start
Interactive Job.
• Servers. Contains definitions for the Job Submission Server, Data Extraction Queue, and Job Submission
Queues.
• Groups. Contains defined user groups. EKM has two predefined groups: admin and all. More can be created.
• Queries. Contains a list of search queries that have been saved as shared queries.
• Remote File Servers. Contains connections to files and folders that are hosted on a remote server.
• Logs. Displays a list of log files that contain details of object transactions.
Refer to the EKM Administration Guide for details on how to perform administrative tasks in EKM.
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Navigating in EKM
• A drop box on the title bar to navigate to EKM’s main sections (see Navigating to Different Sections and
Pages (p. 17))
• A horizontal bar to navigate to different pages within a section (see Navigating to Different Sections and
Pages (p. 17))
• A tree view in the Data section (see Displaying the Tree (p. 18))
• A search box in which you can enter or paste the path to an object (see Using the Search Box to Navigate
to an Object (p. 19))
• Tabs at the bottom of a view to display different types of information about an object (see View Win-
dow (p. 20))
When navigating, you can also use the browser’s back button to go to the previous view in your navig-
ation sequence.
Every main section in EKM has its own set of pages to organize data. These are presented in a horizontal
bar just below the title bar:
Clicking on a page displays the content of that page in the main view window.
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The EKM Environment
When you navigate to a different section (Home, Data, Jobs, and so on), EKM remembers the last view
displayed in the current section and will display this view again when you navigate back to this section.
Clicking a folder in the breadcrumb trail opens that folder in the main window. Clicking on the arrow
to the right of a folder displays the folder’s contents in a pop-up window, enabling you to navigate to
a different object.
To display the tree, click the tree icon on the action toolbar.
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Navigating in EKM
• To expand or collapse a folder, click the arrow to the left of its name.
When you select a folder in the tree, its contents (files and folders) are displayed in the view window
on the right. You can invoke actions on the folder by right-clicking on it and making selections from
the pop-up context menu. You can also use the dynamic toolbar above the file list window to invoke
actions on the currently selected folder.
For information about formatting when searching by path, see Searching for an Object by its Path (p. 209).
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The EKM Environment
Note
The size shown for a Workbench Project Archive File is the size of all the files in the project,
not the size of the archived file.
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Toolbars and Menus
At the bottom of the file list window are a set of display tabs. The tabs will vary depending on the page
you are on and the object that you are viewing. In a list view, such as the one you would see in the
Data section, the List tab is the default view and contains a list of all the files and folders that are on
the currently selected page. The Details tab shows the properties, permissions and dependencies of
the currently selected object. On the Discussions tab you can start and participate in discussions about
the object. If the file cannot be viewed in the browser, you are prompted to either save it on disk or
view it in its associated application.
In any view where a list of objects is shown, you can filter the list according to any of the properties
shown. For more information see Filtering the View (p. 170).
To restore down the view window, press ESC, or hover near the top of the window and click Restore
in the pop-up.
You can invoke an action on a selected object using the menus and buttons on the toolbar.
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The EKM Environment
You can also invoke an action on an object by right-clicking and selecting items from the context-
sensitive menu.
Important
Right-click context actions are not available on a tablet device. As a workaround, you
can open the file, folder, or other object and use the toolbar menus to access the actions.
Note
If an object is selected in the file list window, the actions on the toolbar pertain to that
specific object and not to its parent folder.
Note
On Android tablet devices, some dialog boxes are not visible in landscape view; they are
visible in portrait view although the font may be unreadable. You can pinch zoom to enlarge
the font size.
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Applications Panel
• Enter or paste the path to a folder in the address field, then click . In EKM, paths have the following
general format: /section/page/folder name. For example, if you have created a folder on the My Data
page called Custom, the path to that folder is /Data/My Data/Custom.
When specifying a path using this method, ensure that you include the forward slash / at the beginning
of the path, and that the spelling and case of each folder/file name is correct.
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The EKM Environment
Note
The Applications icon is not available if you have been assigned Basic access.
You can filter the type of applications displayed by making a selection from the drop box. Options are:
• All
• Job Templates
• Process Templates
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Applications Panel
• Custom Applications
• Built-in Applications
To control the way applications are visually arranged in the file list window, select the number of
columns in which you would like applications to be displayed from the Columns drop box. The maximum
number of columns permitted is 8.
Your display choices will be remembered and automatically reapplied the next time you display the
Applications panel.
Starring Applications
You can star (bookmark) applications that are of particular interest to you. Starred applications will appear
first in the list of applications, and you can also choose to display only Starred applications if you wish.
To star an application, click the application’s star icon. The star will become yellow in color. You can
revert an application’s starred status by clicking the star again.
Note
When starring applications, the list will not immediately update to show starred applications
first. The list will be updated the next time you display the Applications panel, or when you
refresh the view.
Launching Applications
You can launch any application on the Applications panel by simply clicking on it.
• Start Batch Job (p. 247). Lets you set up and execute a batch job. You are prompted to upload files to the
working directory and specify job submission settings.
• Start Interactive Job (p. 256). Starts a remote desktop session so that you can run jobs interactively.
• Start Electronics Job (p. 285). Runs an electronics simulation batch job through Electronics Desktop.
• Start MAPDL Job (p. 280). Runs a Mechanical APDL batch job.
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The EKM Environment
Managing Applications
If you want to view or edit existing applications, you can access them from the Applications panel by
clicking the icon in the top right corner of the menu window.
Choices are:
The user menu in the top right corner of the application window contains the following items:
• Profile: Enables you to specify personal information such your email address and title, and incorporate a
custom profile photo. See Setting Your User Profile (p. 59).
• Settings: Enables you to specify user preferences, alerts, and RSM account settings. See Setting Your Prefer-
ences (p. 60).
• Connections: Enables you to capture the sign-in credentials for other EKM repositories. See Defining Con-
nections to Other Repositories (p. 72).
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Getting Help
• Recycle Bin: Displays a list of objects that you have deleted from the repository, with the option to restore
selected items if needed. See Accessing the Recycle Bin (p. 57).
• Sign out: Signs you out of EKM and releases your license. See Signing Out of the EKM Web Client (p. 35).
Note
The Recycle Bin option is not available if you have been assigned Basic access. See Licensing
and Access in the Installation Guide for details.
• Contextual help provides help on how to fill out a dialog box or wizard. This help is available when you
click the help button in any dialog box.
• User documentation help provides online access to all of the user documentation guides. You can access
The Getting Started Guide provides summary information on how you get started setting up
and using EKM. It provides links to other sections in the user documentation guides and is a
good place to go when you want to get a “big picture” view of EKM. The EKM User's Guide is
for all users and provides detailed information on how to use EKM once it is installed, set up,
and configured. The Administration Guide is for EKM admin users and describes how to con-
figure an EKM server and perform other admin actions on an EKM server, once it is installed
and set up. The Installation Guide is for EKM admin users and describes how to install and set
up an EKM server.
When you select the About option, a dialog box opens with information about the software re-
lease.
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Chapter 3: Launching EKM
This chapter presents detailed information on how you can launch the EKM web client and sign into
an EKM server from a web browser. It assumes that the EKM server you want to connect to has already
been started. See Starting and Stopping the EKM Server in Console Mode in the EKM Installation Guide
for details.
For details on launching EKM Mobile, refer to Launching EKM Mobile (p. 337).
For details on connecting to EKM from ANSYS Workbench, see Accessing an EKM Server from ANSYS
Workbench (p. 37).
Important
• EKM runs best on Internet Explorer 11+, Firefox 31.0+, and Chrome 36+. You may see a
warning in the sign-in window if you are using a different browser.
• If using Internet Explorer, you may need to change your Compatibility View settings in order
for EKM to display and behave properly. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Compatibility
View settings and disable the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View option.
2. Type the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the EKM server you want to connect to in the URL address
field and press Enter.
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Launching EKM
For example, in Figure 3.1: Web Browser with Sample URL (p. 30) this is
http://ekmServer.mycompany.com:8080/ekm
where
ekmServer is the hostname, mycompany.com is the domain, and 8080 is the port that was
either specified or taken as default when the EKM server was set up.
Note
• The port is optional if the server’s port is the standard port 80. In this case the URL is ht-
tp://ekmServer.mycompany.com/ekm.
• On a secure server, the URL will start with the https:// protocol.
• Using a partial URL instead of the Fully Qualified Domain Name when launching EKM may
result in issues such as not being able to view the content of text and image files in a job’s
working directory.
The EKM sign-in window will appear (Figure 3.2: EKM Sign-in Window (p. 31)), where you can sign
into your default workspace using your sign-in credentials.
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Launching the EKM Web Client
Note
The background image on the sign-in page may be customized. See Using a Custom
Background Image on the EKM Sign-in Page in the Administration Guide for details.
3. In the sign-in window, enter your User name and Password. Both are case-sensitive.
If your EKM administrator has chosen to authenticate users to the operating system, use the same
user name and password that you use to sign into your operating system. If users are authenticated
to an LDAP server or Windows Active Directory, the user name may be an OS account name or
some other unique identifier. Consult your EKM administrator for more information. Details about
sign-in authentication can be found in Configuring Login Authentication and Access Settings in
the EKM Installation Guide.
4. Click Sign In or press Enter on your keyboard. You will be automatically signed into your default workspace.
For more information about how the default workspace is set, refer to Table 8.2: Login-related Access
Settings in the EKM Installation Guide.
Note
If automatic account creation is disabled for the default workspace, and a user account
has not been created for you in that workspace, EKM will attempt to sign you in to an-
other workspace in which automatic account creation is enabled, or in which a user
account has been created for you. If no workspace meets one of these criteria, you will
not be able to sign in to EKM. Contact your EKM administrator for assistance.
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Launching EKM
Initially, EKM will open in the current browser window with Home as the current location, as shown
in Figure 2.1: EKM Web Application (Desktop/Laptop) (p. 10). On subsequent sign-ins, the last ac-
cessed object will be displayed by default. If you prefer, you can choose to display a specific page
on every sign-in. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60) for details.
Note
• If the default Open last accessed object option is selected as your sign-in preference, and
the object last viewed was an error window, the error window will reappear when you sign
in to EKM again. To resolve this issue, click Go one level up in the error window to navigate
to the parent location of the object that was displayed when the error occurred.
• If you have only Basic access, the Data section will be displayed when you sign in, and
the other sections will be unavailable.
When you sign in to EKM for the first time, a welcome dialog box will be displayed. The dialog box
contains a quick overview of the EKM interface, and links to various resources. You can prevent
the welcome dialog box from appearing in the future by disabling the Show at startup check box
at the bottom of the dialog box, or by editing your preferences. See Setting Your Preferences (p. 60)
for details.
5. Start using EKM. If you are signing into EKM for the first time, you should familiarize yourself with the user
interface components that are described in The EKM Environment (p. 9) before continuing.
If you want to switch to another workspace, see Connecting to a Different Workspace (p. 33).
EKM will automatically sign you out after an extended period of inactivity. The default timeout period
is 30 minutes. Your EKM system administrator can change this setting. See Configuring EKM Server
Settings in the Administration Guide for details.
If you are an EKM system administrator, you can sign into the EKM Server Administration interface from
the sign-in window to create and manage workspaces by clicking the Server Administration check
box. See Creating and Managing Workspaces in the Administration Guide for details.
Important
• By default, if you do not exist as a user in the default workspace, a user account with limited
permissions will be automatically created for you upon successful sign-in. You can then update
your profile with your personal information. See Setting Your User Profile (p. 59) for details. An
admin user can also update your profile, and has the ability to edit your group membership. See
Editing a User’s Profile in the EKM Administration Guide.
When the user account is created, the user name that you specified during sign-in will be
the name used to identify you in EKM, as well as the OS account name used to submit
jobs to RSM.
• If automatic account creation has been disabled for the default workspace, and a user account
does not exist for you in this workspace, EKM will attempt to sign you in to another workspace
if available — either one that has a user account defined for you, or one that has automatic account
creation enabled.
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Launching the EKM Web Client
• You will not be allowed to sign in if the maximum concurrent users are already signed in.
• You will not be able to sign in if the EKM server cannot connect to the license server, or has lost
its connection to it.
• If you are signed in to EKM and the EKM server loses its connection to the license server, the EKM
server will continue running for a period of 60 minutes. If the connection has not been restored
after 60 minutes, you will be forcibly signed out of EKM.
• If you attempt to launch EKM when the license server is down, or when the EKM server is unable
to connect to it, you will see the following exception: License framework initialization failed.
• If the EKM server is abnormally terminated, the license that is associated with that server will re-
main checked out for some time even if the server is restarted immediately. You can wait for the
timeout period to expire, or ask your license administrator to manually release the old server li-
cense.
• If you encounter problems while launching the web client, refer to Appendix U: Troubleshooting
in the EKM Installation Guide for details.
• What you can see and do in EKM depends on the access level that has been assigned to you. For
more information see Licensing and Access in the EKM Installation Guide.
When you sign into EKM for the first time using a web browser, you are automatically signed into the
workspace that has been specified as your default workspace by your EKM administrator.
You can switch to a different workspace by selecting the desired workspace from the workspace drop
box in the application title bar, as shown in the figure below.
Only those workspaces that you are permitted to access will be shown in the drop box.
• An account does not exist for you in that workspace, and the createUsersAutomatically setting is
set to false. For more information about this setting, see createUsersAutomatically Setting in the Admin-
istration Guide.
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Launching EKM
When you select a workspace from the drop box, the contents of the workspace will be displayed in
the current browser tab. You can go back and forth between workspaces by simply selecting the appro-
priate workspace from the workspace drop box.
When you sign out of EKM, the workspace to which you were last connected is retained in the browser’s
cache. The next time you sign in to EKM, you will be automatically reconnected to that workspace.
When you connect to a different workspace within the EKM web client, your privileges may be different
depending on the access level that has been assigned to you in that workspace. See Licensing and
Access in the EKM Installation Guide for details.
You can also have multiple connections open at the same time. For example, you can use the (More)
> Open in new window action on the Data page to open the current view in a new browser tab, and
then switch to a different workspace on that tab. Or, you can open a new browser tab and access a
previous connection that was bookmarked as a favorite. When you access a different workspace on a
new browser tab, workspace connections on other tabs remain open.
Important
If you sign in to a workspace via a web browser, and then switch to a different workspace
on the same browser tab, your connection to the first workspace remains active. EKM will
see you as having two open connections until you sign out.
• Web browser
• Workbench
• Mobile
It is possible for you to be signed into EKM from more than one client type at the same time (web
browser, Workbench, or mobile) provided that there is only one open connection on each client. For
example, you can sign into EKM using the Firefox browser, and at the same time sign into EKM from
Workbench.
Important
• You cannot sign in to EKM using the same client type on two different machines. For example,
you cannot sign into EKM from Workbench on one machine, and then sign into EKM from
Workbench on another machine.
• You cannot sign in to EKM from two different web browsers on the same machine. For example,
if you are currently signed into EKM in the Firefox browser, you cannot sign into EKM using the
Chrome browser because there is already an active browser session for EKM. Only one active
session per client type is allowed.
• If there is currently an active EKM browser session, and you attempt to sign into EKM again, you
will have the option of terminating the current session and opening the new one, or cancelling
the sign-in and keeping the current session open.
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Launching the EKM Web Client
• If you have signed into EKM from Workbench, and attempt to sign into EKM again from Workbench,
a connection error will occur because you already have an open connection through the Work-
bench client. You will need to close the other session before opening a new one.
When you are signed into EKM in a web browser, you can open additional browser tabs and windows
and have multiple sessions running at the same time, without having to check out additional licenses
(unless a higher-level license is required). For example, if you are connected to Workspace A in your
web browser, and then open a new browser tab and connect to Workspace B, you will remain signed
into Workspace A on the first tab. The same license that was used to sign into Workspace A is used
for connecting to Workspace B (unless a higher-level license is required for Workspace B). This means
that if you sign out of one workspace, the license will be released, and you will be automatically signed
out of the other workspace as well. See Connecting to a Different Workspace (p. 33) for details.
For specific rules and details regarding licensing in EKM, see Licensing and Access and License Usage
in the EKM Installation Guide.
Important
If you switch from one workspace to another on the same browser tab, you will remain
connected to the first workspace. EKM will see you as having two open connections until
you sign out.
Important
• If you close the EKM web client browser window when using an Internet Explorer, Firefox or
Chrome browser, you will not be signed out and your license will not be released immediately.
Sign-out and license release will only occur after the session has timed out, which by default is
after 30 minutes of inactivity. Therefore it is strongly recommended that you only use the Sign
out action to sign out of EKM.
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Launching EKM
• If you are currently connected to more than one workspace via a web browser (see Making Sim-
ultaneous Connections (p. 34)), signing out from one workspace will disconnect you from the
other workspace(s) as well.
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Chapter 4: Accessing an EKM Server
An EKM server that is running on a networked machine can be accessed by multiple users across a LAN
or WAN. A server is partitioned into workspaces, and you will need to have access to a particular
workspace in order to use it.
There are two ways in which you can access an EKM server:
When you access EKM, a license is checked out that determines what privileges you have. See Licensing
and Access (p. ?) in the Installation Guide for details.
Save to Repository: You can save your ANSYS Workbench project to an EKM repository for archive
storage. Once the project has been saved to the repository, you can perform additional EKM-based
operations on it through the EKM web client. See Saving a Project to an EKM Repository in the Workbench
User's Guide for details.
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Accessing an EKM Server
Open from Repository: You can open a project from an EKM repository to load an archived project,
or access a project a different user has placed on a shared repository. See Opening a Project from an
EKM Repository in the Workbench User's Guide for details.
Send Changes to Repository: When working with a project that has been saved to or opened from
an EKM repository, ANSYS Workbench enables you to update the repository with the current project
version. See Sending Project Changes to the EKM Repository in the Workbench User's Guide for details.
Get Changes from Repository: When you open an ANSYS Workbench project that has been previously
opened from or saved to an EKM repository, ANSYS Workbench will check if a more recent copy of the
project exists in the repository. If a more recent copy exists, you will be prompted and given the option
to update your local copy with the version of the project in the repository. See Getting Project Changes
from the EKM Repository in the Workbench User's Guide for details.
Transfer to Repository Status: This option enables you to check the status of a file transfer via a cache
server. See Using a Cache Server for EKM File Transfers in the Workbench User's Guide for details.
Manage Repository Project Enables you to view and control access to the project. See Managing EKM
Repository Project Changes in the Workbench User's Guide for details.
Launch EKM Web Client Launches the EKM web client. If you have more than one connection defined,
you will first be prompted to select the connection you want to open. Once the EKM web client is
launched, you will have access to the full features of the EKM server. See Accessing an EKM Server from
the EKM Web Client (p. 38) for more details on launching the web client from Workbench.
When you invoke Save or Open actions from ANSYS Workbench, you will be presented with the Create
New Connection to EKM Repository wizard if it is the first time you are trying to connect to the web
client from Workbench. Once a connection is created, the server will automatically start if is not already
running and you will be connected to it using your user credentials. If you elect to save your credentials,
then the next time you save or open projects in Workbench, you will be automatically connected and
the action will be invoked without additional user interaction.
To launch the web client from a web browser, see Launching the EKM Web Client (p. 29).
To launch the web client from ANSYS Workbench, select File > Launch EKM Web Client.
• If you have already created a connection to the repository and it is the only connection, then the EKM
server will automatically start (if it is not running) and will bring up the EKM login window.
• If more than one connection exists then the Launch EKM Web Client dialog box will open. When you
select the connection to open, the EKM login window will open.
• If no connection exists, then you will be prompted to create a new repository connection using the
Open from Repository command in Workbench. Once you have created a new connection to your
repository, the EKM server will start. You can then cancel the Open from Repository dialog box and
select File > Launch EKM Web Client in Workbench to open the EKM login window.
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Accessing an EKM Server from the EKM Web Client
When the EKM sign-in window opens, sign in to the server with your user credentials. If your EKM ad-
ministrator has chosen to authenticate users to the operating system, use the same user name and
password that you use to log into your operating system. If users are authenticated to an LDAP server
or Windows Active Directory, the user name may be an OS account name, an email address, or some
other unique identifier. Consult your EKM administrator for more information. Details about login au-
thentication can be found in Configuring Login Authentication and Access Settings in the EKM Installation
Guide.
Important
When you launch EKM from a web browser, you are automatically signed into the workspace that has
been specified as your default workspace in the mapping login module defined by your EKM adminis-
trator. For more information about how the default workspace is set, refer to Table 8.2: Login-related
Access Settings in the EKM Installation Guide. You can subsequently connect to another workspace if
needed. See Connecting to a Different Workspace (p. 33) for details.
If you want to transfer small-sized and small numbers of files or archive files to a shared repository, the
simplest way is to use the web client. The web client cannot transfer folders unless they are compressed
into an archive file. See Transferring Files (p. 79) for details.
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Chapter 5: Customizing EKM for Your Own Use
You can edit your user profile (p. 59) and set general (p. 60), list display (p. 64), file extension (p. 66),
recycle bin (p. 67) and File Transfer Client (p. 68) preferences for EKM from the Settings menu.
Profile settings include personal information such as name, title, group, and phone as well as your EKM
password. You can also change the email address that EKM uses to send you automatic alerts and noti-
fications. For example, you can receive an email when an object (or its children) have been modified
and when an object has been automatically deleted based on the criteria you have set. You can also
be notified when processes and lifecycle signoffs require your action, when batch processes have
completed, and so on.
Preference settings enable you to select a different startup page, and specify a preferred language and
theme for the interface. You can specify the number of columns and rows that are to appear in the file
list window, and the types of properties that you want displayed when viewing files and folders. You
can also define the default file extensions that EKM will use when typing objects, and specify proxy
server settings for the File Transfer Client to use when connecting to EKM. You can also control auto-
matic data extraction and specify whether or not you want to compress Workbench archives before
they are transferred to or from the EKM server. If you will be submitting jobs in EKM, you can specify
the credentials you want to use for job submission to RSM if they are different than the credentials
used to sign in to EKM.
In your settings you can also specify how often you want to receive alert notifications.
This chapter presents information on how you can edit your user profile and set your EKM preferences:
5.1. Setting Up Your Dashboard
5.2. Managing Personal Applications
5.3. Managing Personal Queries
5.4. Accessing the Recycle Bin
5.5. Setting Your User Profile
5.6. Setting Your Preferences
5.7. Setting the Alert Frequency
5.8. Defining Connections to Other Repositories
There are several different types of gadgets that you can set up: Container (p. 43), File (p. 44), Discussion
Board (p. 46), Extraction Monitor (p. 47), Job Monitor (p. 48), Process Monitor (p. 49), My Tasks (p. 50),
Saved Query (p. 51), and URL (p. 52). The figure below shows some dashboard gadget examples. Setting
Up Dashboard Gadgets (p. 42) provides details on how to set up each type of dashboard gadget.
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Customizing EKM for Your Own Use
Most gadgets contain direct links to objects. For example, if you click on a task in the My Tasks gadget,
the task will launch on the Process Monitor page, allowing you to perform the work immediately.
2. Select (New) > Gadget. This opens the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box (for example, Fig-
ure 5.2: Adding a Container Gadget (p. 43)).
3. Select the type of gadget you want to set up, and then fill in the rest of the dialog box according to the
instructions for each gadget type listed below.
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Setting Up Your Dashboard
4. Click OK to add the gadget to your dashboard. The gadget name appears as a link at the top of the gadget
frame and when you click the link, it takes you to the object.
You can resize (p. 54), edit (p. 54) or remove (p. 55) a gadget that is on your dashboard. You can also
rearrange (p. 53) gadgets and reset the layout (p. 53) to the default if desired.
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select Container from the Type of object to be viewed drop
box.
3. Click Browse to select the desired folder or specify the path to it.
4. Keep the default name of the gadget (the folder/container name) or enter a new name.
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The container gadget displays links to objects in the folder or container. For example, if you click on a
link shown in the sample gadget above, its contents will be displayed in the file list window:
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Setting Up Your Dashboard
journal file. This macro shouldn’t take any arguments and must return an instance of ReportObjectInt-
erface. See Scripts and Journals in the EKM Administration Guide for more details.
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select File as the object type from the drop-down list.
3. Click Browse to select the desired file or specify the path to it.
Important
Only select files of those types that can be viewed in the web browser such as Text,
HTML, Image, and so on. Selecting a binary file for a File gadget may prompt you to
download the file every time you view or refresh the Dashboard.
4. Keep the default gadget name (the file name) or enter a new name.
5. Click OK. The contents of the file are displayed in the gadget.
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Customizing EKM for Your Own Use
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select Discussion Board from the drop box, as shown below:
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Setting Up Your Dashboard
3. Click Browse to select the discussion board that you want to display in the gadget.
4. By default, the name of the discussion board will be used as the gadget name. You can edit the gadget
name if desired.
See Discussion Boards (p. 457) for more details on Discussion Boards.
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Customizing EKM for Your Own Use
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select Extraction Monitor from the drop box, as shown below:
3. Click Browse to select the discussion board that you want to display in the gadget.
4. Specify the gadget name, then click OK. The gadget is created.
For more information about the extraction monitor, see Monitoring Data Extraction (p. 104).
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Setting Up Your Dashboard
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, click the Type of object to be viewed drop box and select
Job Monitor from the list.
3. Enter a name for the gadget in the Name of gadget edit box, or keep the default name.
See Monitoring and Controlling Jobs (p. 305) for more information about job monitoring.
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Customizing EKM for Your Own Use
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box., select Process Monitor as the type of object to be viewed.
3. Keep the default gadget name (Process Monitor) or enter a new name.
4. Click OK.
For more information about the creation, display and monitoring of processes, see Starting a Pro-
cess (p. 427).
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Setting Up Your Dashboard
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select My Tasks as the type of object to be viewed.
3. Keep the default gadget name (My Tasks) or enter a new name.
4. Click OK.
See Managing Tasks Assigned to You (p. 441) for more details on tasks.
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2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select Saved Query as the object type from the drop-down
list.
3. Click Browse to select the saved query or specify the path to it.
4. Keep the default gadget name (the name of the saved query) or enter a new name.
5. Click OK. The query executes and the search results are displayed in the gadget.
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Setting Up Your Dashboard
2. In the Add Dashboard Gadget dialog box, select URL from the Type of object to be viewed drop-down
list.
3. Click Browse to select the saved query or specify the path to it.
4. Keep the default gadget name (the URL object name) or enter a new name.
5. Click OK. The URL web page displays in the gadget. An example is shown below.
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To revert the layout of gadgets to the default layout, click the reset layout icon on the toolbar. By
default, gadgets are arranged in a 2-column layout. Note that resetting the layout will also reset the
size of all gadgets to their original size.
To resize a gadget:
1. Hover your cursor over an edge or corner. A double-headed arrow will appear, as shown in the figure
below:
2. Click and drag to resize the gadget window, then release your mouse button.
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Managing Personal Applications
For example, for the Container gadget above, you could point the gadget to a different folder, or change
the name of the gadget.
Note that gadgets are not stored in memory. If you want to bring back a gadget that you have removed,
you will need to add it again.
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You can perform the same types of actions on the My Applications page that you can perform on
other data pages. Some of the actions that you might want to perform are described below.
• To create a new custom application, job template, or process template, click the new button and make
a selection from the menu.
To upload applications from another location, click the upload button and select an upload action.
• To download personal applications to your desktop, click the download button and select a download
action.
• To execute an application, click on its name, or select the application and click the execute button .
• To edit an application, select it, click the edit button and make a selection from the menu. For example,
you may want to copy or move the application to another location, or edit its definition.
Some of the common actions that you can perform on the My Queries page are described below.
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Accessing the Recycle Bin
• To execute a search, click on the query name, or select the query and click the execute button .
• To share the query with other users, select (Edit) > Share Query. A request is sent to the members of
the admin group to move the query to a shared location.
If the request is approved, the query will be moved to the Administration/Shared Queries page.
• On the title bar, click the user menu and select Recycle Bin.
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You can sort the list of objects by Name, Type, Date Deleted, and so on by clicking the appropriate
column header in the file list window. You can also filter the list according to any of the properties
shown. For example, you can filter the list to show only objects of a specific type. For more information,
see Filtering the View (p. 170).
The cleanup policy that is defined in your recycle bin preferences dictates how items in your recycle
bin are maintained. These preferences are detailed in Specifying the Recycle Bin Preference (p. 67), but
in brief they are:
In addition to your saved preferences, you can also act on recycle bin objects during an EKM session
using three different actions. The empty recycle bin button on the toolbar is a global action that
permanently deletes all of the objects in the recycle bin. Delete and Restore can be accessed from the
context menu when one or more objects are selected in the recycle bin. Delete permanently deletes
selected objects from the recycle bin. Restore restores selected objects to their original locations in
the EKM repository.
Note
• The Recycle Bin page is not available if you have been assigned Basic access. See Licensing
and Access in the Installation Guide for details.
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Setting Your User Profile
1. Click the user drop box in the top right corner of the EKM window and select Profile.
2. In the Edit Profile dialog box, edit your personal information such as name, title, phone, and email address.
You cannot edit your User name, Group, or Access level assignments. The latter two settings can only
be changed by a member of the admin group. For information about groups, see Introduction to Users
and Groups in the Administration Guide. For information about access levels, see Licensing and Access in
the Installation Guide.
3. To display a personal image on the title bar in place of the generic user icon, click Change, then select
an image file in the File Upload dialog box.
4. If EKM has been configured to allow password changes, a Change password check box will appear beneath
the Profile Photo setting. Checking the Change password box enables you to change your password if
necessary. Simply enter your old password in the Old password edit box, then enter the new password
in the New password and Confirm password edit boxes.
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For details about how this option is enabled, refer to Configuring a Password Change Script
(<passwordChangeScript>) (p. ?) in the Administration Guide.
Refer to the following sections for details on setting your preference options:
5.6.1. Specifying General Preferences
5.6.2. Specifying List Display Preferences
5.6.3. Specifying File Extension Preferences
5.6.4. Specifying the Recycle Bin Preference
5.6.5. Specifying File Transfer Client Preferences
5.6.6. Specifying Job Management Preferences
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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Setting Your Preferences
• On Sign in: Specify what you want to happen when you sign in to EKM.
– Selecting Open last accessed object opens the view that was last open when you signed out of EKM.
– Selecting Open a specific object displays an edit box where you can specify a particular view to open
upon sign-in. Enter the path to the repository location (for example, /Home), or click Browse to search
the repository.
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– Enabling the Show welcome dialog check box displays a dialog box that includes an overview of the
EKM interface and links to helpful resources.
Note
If you have chosen Open last accessed object as your sign-in option, and the object last
viewed was an error window, the error window will reappear when you sign in to EKM
again. To resolve this issue, click Go one level up in the error window to navigate to the
parent location of the object that was displayed when the error occurred. If the object
does not have an accessible parent location (as in the case of the Home page, for example),
you can click Shared Data to navigate to a view of the repository instead.
• Locale: Select the language in which you want EKM to display text. Once you have signed in to EKM, text
will be displayed in the language you choose. The language for the EKM login page will depend on the
language preference of your web browser. This is because EKM preferences are available only after you have
signed in to EKM.
Important
User-entered text (such as names of objects or property values) is not localized (p. 603)
and will be displayed in the language in which the text was entered.
• Unit system: Select the unit system in which you want EKM to display property values. Options include SI,
CGS, US, Metric, British. The default is set to SI. Units will be shown only for custom properties of
type Double that have been associated with a quantity. All the other values are shown without any units.
See Defining Properties for a Custom Type in the Administration Guide for details on how to define a
quantity with a custom property.
• Theme: Determines the colors, fonts and styles applied to the components of the EKM interface. These
properties are defined in CSS files that ship with EKM. The default theme is Midnight blue.
• Labels for ANSYS files: Choose your preference for displaying ANSYS file labels. The labels of some files
have changed as of ANSYS R12. For example, .db files were called ANSYS Database files in R11 and were
called Mechanical APDL Database files in R12. Using this preference, you can choose whether EKM displays
ANSYS files using R11 terminology or R12.
• The Clear saved Server URLs and User Names button resets expanded searches to the default server URL
and user name.
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Setting Your Preferences
• Disable data extraction: Prevents the automatic extraction of metadata from CAE files when such files are
uploaded or imported into the EKM repository. Files will be identified in the repository with a warning icon
next to them, and hovering over this icon will display the message Extracted data is not set. You can
subsequently extract metadata manually. See Extracting Data On Demand (p. 106) for details.
Note
– If you have opened a repository project from Workbench, the data extraction preference that
was in place when the project was opened remains in effect until the Workbench session is
closed. For example, if data extraction was enabled in EKM when you first opened the project,
and you subsequently decide to disable data extraction, data will continue to be extracted
every time that you send changes to the repository. The change in preference will not take
effect until the next Workbench session is started.
– Data extraction can be disabled for individual built-in and custom types. Even if data extraction
is enabled in your Preferences, data will not be extracted from files whose type definition has
data extraction disabled. For built-in types, refer to the typeSettings setting in Configuration
Settings in WorkspaceConfig.xml in the Administration Guide. For custom types, refer to the
disableDataExtraction attribute in Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type.
• Use compression for archives: Reduces the size of archive files created by EKM before they are transferred
from the EKM server. An archive file is a collection of files and folders stored in one file. The archive file is
not compressed — it uses the same amount of disk space as all of the individual files and folders combined.
A compressed file is a collection of files and folders stored in one file and stored in a way that uses less disk
space than the files and folders that it contains.
EKM creates an archive when you attempt to download a folder from the EKM server. The Use com-
pression for archives preference applies to this type of archive, as well as Workbench project archive
(.wbpz) files that are downloaded using the Browser option. It does not apply to .wbpz files that
are downloaded using the File Transfer Client, or the Open from Repository action in Workbench.
If you enable this preference, the archive will be compressed before it is downloaded. The choice to
compress archive files will depend largely on your location. Compression is most beneficial if you are
transferring files from a remote location across a Wide Area Network (WAN). Even though time is
needed by the system to compress and decompress the archive file, the reduced file size compensates
for this and allows files to be transferred much more quickly when connection speeds are slower. On
the other hand, if you are on the same Local Area Network (LAN) as the EKM server, it is recommended
that you disable compression. In this case there will be a larger file to transfer, but you will not have
to incur the expense of compression and decompression.
Note
– The Use compression for archives preference does not apply to uploads to the EKM server.
– Compression will not be used on archives that are used primarily on the server (in other words,
archives that are not specifically destined for transfer). This includes archives that are created
for jobs.
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1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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Setting Your Preferences
The List Display option enables you to pick the specific properties that you want displayed for each
object type in EKM. The total column properties that are displayed for the parent folder is then the sum
of all the column preferences that you set for the child objects.
For each object type you want to customize the display for, select the Object type from the drop-down
list and define the display settings. Click OK when you are finished.
• Rows per page in list display: Choose the number of rows per page that you want to show in the List display
in the file list window. If the parent folder contains more objects than your preferred number of rows, the
leftover objects are displayed on a new page and navigation buttons appear.
• Select columns to display: Select a specific object type that you want to be displayed in the list. The default
Any Type displays all.
• Standard columns / Additional columns: Select the properties you want to display as columns in the list
for the selected object type.
Note
The Restore Defaults button operates only on the List Display panel, and not on the Column
Order panel.
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
3. In the navigation pane, expand the List Display option and select Column Order.
4. Use the buttons on the right side to change the order of the columns; when finished, click OK.
Note
The “Name” column in the list display always appears as the first column.
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1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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Setting Your Preferences
5. Click OK.
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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You can choose between deleting all objects on exit or logout, deleting objects that are older than a
specified number of days, or deleting objects only when you initiate the action. The default preference
is to delete objects older than 30 days, which you can restore by clicking Restore Defaults.
In addition to setting preferences, you will be able to act on recycle bin objects in the Recycle Bin
during an EKM session using Empty Recycle Bin, Restore and Delete. See Accessing the
Recycle Bin (p. 57) for more details.
The following topics discuss settings that relate to the File Transfer Client:
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Setting Your Preferences
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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4. In the HTTP proxy server edit box, enter the host name and port (for example, www.ekmserv
er.com:3128) of the default proxy server that the File Transfer Client will use to connect to EKM.
5. If the proxy server requires authentication for access, enable the Proxy authentication check box. If au-
thentication is required, you will be prompted for a user name and password when you start the File
Transfer Client. For details see Uploading Files Using the File Transfer Client (p. 88).
In this example, the File Transfer Client would always trust connections to myekmserver and myekm-
server.mycompany.com, regardless of whether the server is secured with a valid certificate.
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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Setting the Alert Frequency
4. Enable the Override Job Execution Credentials check box, then specify the Username and Password
that you want to be used for job submission.
Note
If RSM is running on Windows, the Username must begin with the Windows domain
(for example, MYCOMPANY\jsmith).
Alert conditions, such as when an object is modified or when it is downloaded, can be defined on objects
(and optionally their children) using the Edit > Alert Settings menu item. Refer to Editing Alert Set-
tings (p. 151) for details.
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Settings.
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Each alert that has been set for an object is shown in the Alerts for: list. You can choose either to send
an email immediately when alert conditions are met, or once per day. The alert frequency that you
choose applies to all objects listed.
To remove an alert, select the object and click Remove. When you remove an object from the Alerts
page, the alert conditions set for it are also removed.
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Defining Connections to Other Repositories
passwords are validated and saved so that you can be automatically signed in to those repositories
when you need to access them through expanded searches and URL objects.
To define connections:
1. Click the user profile drop box on the title bar and select Connections.
3. In the Name field, optionally specify a name for identifying the repository. If you do not specify a name,
one will be generated using the format hostname:workspace.
4. Specify the Server URL using the format hostame.domain:port, as shown in the example below. The
available workspaces on the specified server are automatically displayed in the Workspace drop list. Select
the workspace that you want to access.
If the Server URL is not the URL of the current EKM server, then you must specify the User Name,
and Password required to sign in to that server. If the Server URL is that of the current EKM server,
you do not need to specify your User Name and Password because you are already signed into
the current server.
Note
• The Server URL entered must be for an EKM Server version 17.0 and above.
• If the Server URL entered is for a secured EKM Server (https://) that uses a self-signed
certificate, you must import the certificate into Java's keystore on the current EKM server.
Otherwise, the current EKM server’s Java will not trust the certificate that you are using to
secure the server, and will therefore not create a secure connection. For details, see Importing
a Self-signed Certificate into Java’s Keystore in the EKM Installation Guide.
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• EKM cannot validate a connection’s credentials if the connection is currently open in Work-
bench. The connection will remain displayed in the Connections dialog box and appear as
an available connection when accessing other repositories, but you will be prompted for
sign-in credentials when you attempt to use it.
For information about the Expand Search feature, see Expanding a Search to Other Repositories (p. 217).
For information about creating a URL object, see Creating a Connection to a URL (p. 129).
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Chapter 6: Object Types and Properties
This chapter presents information about object types in EKM and their associated properties, actions,
and displays.
Object types include built-in types (p. 77) that are supported by EKM, and custom types (p. 77)—includ-
ing new types and extended file formats—that are configured for your workspace. Whenever an object
is uploaded to EKM, it is automatically assigned an object type based on its file extension, and in certain
cases, some additional logic. If EKM recognizes the object you are uploading as a built-in or predefined
custom type, then it will assign the default type. For example, when you upload a file with extension
.cas, EKM will recognize it as a Fluent Case type. Unrecognized files are assigned the File type. If
there are multiple files that share the same extension and EKM cannot resolve the object type correctly,
it will use the preferred extension you have specified in your global file extension preferences (p. 66)
as the default.
Objects are displayed in the EKM interface as a tree of objects for easy navigation. The set of actions
that you will be able to invoke on an object depends on its type, the permissions that are set for it, and
whether access is restricted.
For example, the File type extends EKM Object and has added File and Remote Item Properties. So, a
Fluent Case type that extends File will include all of the File and EKM Object properties in addition
to its own. The following image shows this for a sample Fluent Case file (cylinder_tutorial.cas).
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Object Types and Properties
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Object Properties
Tip
You can get a current list of the available built-in types from the Object Type drop-
down list in the Advanced Search wizard.
• System-created properties are properties generated by EKM such as the object's name, type, size, date
content modified, the path to the local machine, drive, or file server where the object resides, and so
on.
• Extracted properties are special properties that are extracted from built-in and custom CAE simulation
files after the file is uploaded to the repository, updated using send changes, and synchronized if it is
a remote object. Extracted properties summarize key data that is intrinsic to a simulation and vary de-
pending on object type. Extracted properties are used by EKM to generate reports, and you can use
these properties as search criteria to retrieve the object in the repository. Extracted properties are also
referred to as “extracted metadata.”
• User-defined properties are properties that you define for an object. These include required and optional
properties that are predefined for an object type, as well as dynamic properties that you can add as
“tags” in the Edit Properties (p. 141) dialog box to help identify the object.
To display properties (p. 168) for an object, you select the object and then select (More) > Display
> Properties. Properties are displayed in groups on the Properties tab in the file list window. You can
collapse and expand groups as needed. If custom properties are defined for an object type and a display
order is specified, then the custom properties will be listed at the top of the display, in their display
order. Otherwise, properties are listed alphabetically, by name. Any property that is associated with an
object can be used to retrieve the object using EKM search tools. See Searching a Repository (p. 195)
for details.
What is Metadata?
Metadata is a general term that is used to describe properties in EKM and is often used to describe
properties that are extracted from CAE files. When a file is uploaded to a repository, data that are asso-
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Object Types and Properties
ciated with the file are stored in two separate locations: file contents are stored in the EKM file server,
and properties are stored in a relational database.
Once you have uploaded certain built-in and custom CAE simulation files, updated them using send
changes, or synchronized them if they reside on an external file server and are linked to EKM, metadata
relating to the simulation model are automatically extracted by EKM and applications run in the back-
ground to do the extraction. If you view a file's properties by selecting the file and then clicking the
Details tab, you will see extracted metadata in addition to the other properties. The example in Fig-
ure 6.1: Example of Fluent Case Properties (p. 76) shows a Fluent case file's extracted metadata as
Properties such as Energy Model, Fluent Version, Formulation, Solver, and so on. These
extracted simulation metadata are used in generating simulation details and other EKM reports, and
they can be used as search keywords or as criteria in advanced property searches to help you retrieve
the file.
Important
If the required application (.app.xml file) is not installed in the data extraction queue under
/Administration/Servers/Master/EKM Server, or is not defined correctly, then metadata extrac-
tion may fail. If this happens, the file will be identified in the repository with a warning icon
next to it. The corresponding tool tip will indicate that Extracted data is not set, and
when you display the properties for the file, the values that are missing will be listed as
“Value has not been extracted.” You can subsequently extract metadata by selecting Edit >
Extract Data. See Extracting Data on Demand (p. 158) for more details.
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Chapter 7: Transferring Files
You can use actions on the Upload and Download menus to do the following:
There are three Upload actions for transferring files from your local computer or the compute server to
the EKM repository. See Uploading Files to EKM (p. 79). There are also various Download actions for
transferring files from the EKM repository to your local computer or the compute server. See Downloading
Files from EKM (p. 107). The action you choose depends on what you want to transfer (files, archive files,
or folders), the size of the transfer, where you want to transfer to or from, and the permissions that you
have for a particular location. Upload and Download menus appear on the toolbar when applic-
able to the currently selected file or folder. These menus are also available on the right-click context
menu.
Action Considerations
Upload Files/Archives Using Browser Pros
Use to transfer single or multiple files from your • Can be faster than the File Transfer Client (for
local computer to the EKM repository. smaller files)
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Action Considerations
• Upload errors can occur if temporary folder for
staged files becomes full
Upload File/Folder from Server Provides specific access to the compute server
Important
• Upload actions are not available in Shared Data if you only have Basic or Analyst access.
For more information see Licensing and Access in the EKM Installation Guide.
You can upload files to a repository folder if the following conditions are met:
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Uploading Files to EKM
As files are uploaded, EKM recognizes them as built-in types or custom types that are defined for your
workspace and assigns them an object type (p. 100). Once files have been uploaded, EKM automatically
begins extracting metadata (p. 101) from them and creates simulation details reports for selected file
formats. You can view the status of data extraction (p. 104) on the Data/Extraction Monitor page.
Note
If you upload a Workbench project (.wbpj file) to the repository along with its project files,
EKM will create an archive file (.wbpz file) for the project and upload only the archive to
the repository in lieu of the project. This occurs even if you are uploading a folder that con-
tains a Workbench project. You can specify whether or not you want to compress archive
files prior to transfer. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60).
When uploading files with the browser, a wizard helps you easily select files, and prepares the files for
upload. Files are first added to a temporary location or staging area. Once files are uploaded to the re-
pository, you can choose to define their properties at that time.
Note
• You can use the browser to upload single or multiple files, but you cannot use it to upload folders.
• Large or numerous files may take a long time to transfer if you use the web client browser. For
larger transfers, use the File Transfer Client instead.
• If the temporary folder is full or almost full, then the upload may not work as expected. Contact
your IT staff to clean up the temporary folder on the EKM server.
To upload files and archive files using the web client browser:
2. Select (Upload) > Files/Archives Using Browser. The Upload wizard will open.
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3. Select the files that you want to upload. If the files are currently displayed in a window such as Windows
Explorer, or are on your desktop, you can drag them into the Upload wizard.
Note
You can drag a folder into the Upload wizard if you are using the Google Chrome
browser. However, only the files contained in the folder and in its sub-folders will be
uploaded. The folder itself will be ignored, as will any sub-folders within it. To properly
upload a folder, use the File Transfer Client instead.
Alternatively you can click the Add button to select files from your local file system.
In Firefox and Chrome browsers you can select multiple files simultaneously. To select consecutive
files, hold down the Shift key while selecting files. To select non-consecutive files, hold down the
Ctrl key while selecting files. (In Internet Explorer you can only select a single file.) Once you have
selected the files to upload, click Open to add them to the staging area.
Files that you have selected for upload are displayed in a list in the Upload wizard. The size of
each file is also displayed. A progress bar reports the transfer status of each file to the staging area.
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Uploading Files to EKM
If a particular file cannot be uploaded to the staging area, it will be flagged with an error, and will
not be uploaded to the repository. An error may occur if you try to drag a folder into the staging
area, as shown in the figure above. Also, a file may fail to upload if it is 0 KB in size, or if you do
not have permission to access it. Sudden issues with network connectivity can also cause errors.
You can cancel the transfer of a file by clicking the Cancel button next to the file’s name.
Once a file has been successfully transferred to the staging area, the Cancel button next to the
file’s name becomes a Remove button. Clicking this button removes the file from the staging area.
4. Once the files have been successfully transferred to the staging area, click Next >.
5. If there are any archive files (.zip, .tar, .tgz or .tar.gz files) in the staging area, you will be
prompted to specify whether or not you want them to be extracted upon upload. Select individual archives
to extract or check the Select all box to select all of them. If you leave a file’s box unchecked, it will be
uploaded as an archive file. The way in which files are extracted depends on how the archive was created.
If the archive contains only files (and no top-level folder), then the files will be extracted directly into the
target folder in the repository.
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6. If there are existing files of the same name in the target location, you will be prompted to specify
whether or not you want to overwrite them. You can select individual files to overwrite or check Select
all to select all of them. If you leave a file’s box unchecked, that file will not be uploaded.
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Uploading Files to EKM
Note
You can overwrite an existing file within a folder if you have Modify permission on
the folder.
7. The Message dialog box appears as soon as the files start uploading to the target location. It lets you
know which file is currently being uploaded, how many files have been uploaded so far, and if there are
any errors or warnings.
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If any of the files do not satisfy EKM file system requirements, they will be listed in a separate dialog.
For example, a file named Document[].txt is not a valid file name in EKM. Another example is
an archive that contains top-level files or folders that have duplicate names within the upload.
Review the error messages, then click Next to continue uploading files.
Once all files have been successfully uploaded, the Message dialog box displays the Edit properties
of added files/folders option.
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Uploading Files to EKM
8. If you want to set the values of required properties now, or apply a description or image to the files, check
the Edit properties of added files/folders box. If you do this, the Edit Properties dialog box will appear
when you click OK.
You can also edit the properties of files at a later time by selecting (Edit) > Properties. For
more information about editing properties, see Editing Object Properties (p. 141).
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The File Transfer Client is a full-featured Java application that is launched by a Java Web Start application.
When you choose to use the File Transfer Client for uploading files, a Java Network Launch Protocol
(JNLP) file is first downloaded to your system. The JNLP file instructs the Java Web Start application
to download and run the File Transfer Client application.
If you are using a proxy server and authentication (p. 68) is required to access the proxy server, you
will be prompted to specify a User name and Password for the proxy server, as shown below:
Enabling the Save user name and password check box will store your user name and password in
memory, and will prevent the Proxy Authentication dialog box from appearing in the future. Note
that your password will be encrypted before being saved. If you do not choose to save your user name
and password, you will be prompted to specify your credentials every time the File Transfer Client is
launched.
When you launch the File Transfer Client, a wizard prompts you to select files for upload. When a
transfer is started, the File Transfer Client displays the current stage of the transfer and provides visual
feedback of its progress.
You can upload any number of files and folders to an EKM repository from your local file system when
the following conditions are met:
• You have Create permission on the folder to which you want to upload.
The File Transfer Client enables you to use a cache service for file transfers. See Using a Cache System
for WAN Transfers (p. 115).
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2. Select (Upload) > Files/Folders Using EKM File Transfer Client. This launches the Upload to EKM
wizard:
Note
If your browser asks you if you want to open or save the LaunchFtc.jnlp application,
specify that you want to open the JNLP file with the Java(TM) Web Start Launcher,
and then check the Do this automatically for files like this from now on box.
3. Select the files and folders that you want to upload. There are two ways to do this:
• Click the Add button, and then select the files and folders in the Open dialog box. You can select
multiple files simultaneously in the Open dialog box. To select consecutive files, hold down the Shift
key while selecting files. To select non-consecutive files, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting files.
Once you have selected the desired files, click Open to add them to the wizard.
• If the files are currently displayed in a window such as Windows Explorer, or are on your desktop, you
can simply drag them into the wizard.
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As you add items to the wizard, the total number of files and folders and the total size of those
items is displayed below the file list pane:
Note that files will be transferred in one transaction and not separately (one by one). To ensure
successful transfers, the EKM server has a set maximum for the number of files that can be uploaded
at one time. If the number of files that you have added to the Upload wizard exceeds the number
allowed by the server, a warning will appear, and you will need to remove some of the files from
the wizard and upload them in a separate transaction.
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Note
Certain types of files (for example, Workbench projects or project archives) will create
additional objects in the repository during upload. This is an important consideration
when determining the number of files to upload at one time, as these additional objects
may cause the limit to be exceeded, resulting in an upload error.
If a file cannot be uploaded for any reason, it will appear grayed out in the file tree and the reason
will be given in the Reason not uploaded column. For example, in the figure below you can see
that the Document[].txt file did not get uploaded because it has an invalid file name. (File
names cannot include [ ] characters.) Others reasons may include not having the proper permissions
for the file, or issues with network connectivity.
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Note
• Workbench projects should be added to an EKM repository as complete projects (that is, a
.wbpj file and its associated _files folder). Whenever you upload a Workbench project,
EKM will create an archive file (.wbpz file) for the project and upload only the archive to
the repository in lieu of the project. You can specify whether or not you want to compress
archive files prior to transfer. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60).
Unlike the web browser method, when you upload an archive file using File Transfer
Client, you are not given the option of expanding the archive during the transfer
process. Instead, an archive is saved in a repository location as an Archive type. You
need to manually extract the contents of an archive file after it is uploaded using the
Extract action that is available only in the web client. Refer to the section on Extracting
Archives in the EKM User's Guide for details.
• If you are uploading an archive file (such as a .wbpz file) the file size displayed in the File
Transfer Client is for the zipped file only, and is not indicative of the actual size of files being
transferred (for example, the size of the .wbpj file and the _files folder). After the upload,
the file size displayed in EKM reflects the expanded size.
4. If you selected a folder to upload, and would like to exclude particular files or folders within it, select the
folder in the list and then click the Exclude Folder Content button. The Exclude Folder Content dialog
box appears:
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• You can exclude a file/folder explicitly by enabling the Select files and folders option. Select the file
or folder directly in the tree, and then click Exclude >. The object is copied to the excluded list in the
right pane and grayed out in the tree.
• You can exclude a file by specifying one or more patterns for it by enabling the Specify pattern(s) for
files option. Enter the pattern (or patterns separated by a comma) in the text box and click Exclude >
to add it to the excluded list. The pattern can include wildcards: '*' for any occurrence of any character,
and '?' for a single occurrence of any character.
For example:
• To return an item back to its folder, select the item in the exclusion list and click < Restore.
• When you click OK in the dialog box, you will return to wizard. The files that you selected for exclusion
will be grayed out in the file list pane, and the reason given in the Reason not uploaded column will
be Excluded from upload, as shown in the figure below.
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Important
5. To remove a top-level folder from the upload, select it in the list, and then click Remove.
6. If any of the files being uploaded already exist in the target location, the Next > button is enabled. Click
Next > to view a list of existing files, and then select the ones that you want to overwrite (or check Select
all to select all of them). If a file remains unselected, it will not be uploaded, and the file in the target
location will not be overwritten.
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Items that are under version control can be checked in during this step.
• If a file/folder is not selected, it remains checked out to you and the file contents are overwritten.
• If a file/folder is selected for check in, it is updated and then checked back in. Its version will increment
by one after upload.
7. Click Finish to start uploading the files. During the first stage, the File Transfer Client creates folders in
the repository to receive the uploaded files. Next, files will begin uploading to the server. The uploaded
files will then be imported into the repository. The File Transfer Client reports the current stage of the
transfer (for example Creating folders, Uploading files or Complete) in the Stage column, and displays
the progress of the current stage in the Progress column. If you hover over the Transfer cell you can
view the transfer type, destination, date, and transfer start time.
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If any files fail to transfer, the progress bar will turn red, and the number of errors will be reported
in the Progress column.
Note
As mentioned earlier, the EKM server has a set maximum for the number of files that
can be uploaded at one time. The File Transfer Client will prevent the upload if the
maximum number of objects is exceeded. In some instances, uploading large numbers
of certain types of files (for example, Workbench projects or project archives) may result
in an error, even if the number of files that you are uploading does not appear to exceed
the maximum. When these particular types of files are uploaded, additional objects that
the File Transfer Client is unaware of are created in the repository during upload. These
additional objects may cause the limit to be exceeded, resulting in a failed upload. In
these cases, reduce the number of files being transferred and retry the upload.
The Actions column displays buttons for various actions that you can perform, such as stopping
or retrying an upload. These actions are described in the steps below.
Note
Due to a limitation of the Java interface, tooltips are not automatically displayed on the
buttons in the Actions column. To activate tooltips, simply click on any disabled button
in the Actions column.
8. To stop the upload, click in the Actions column. The status changes to Cancelled in the Stage column.
9. If the transfer was stopped, or if any files failed to upload, you can retry the upload by clicking in the
Actions column. A new entry will be added to the File Transfer Client window, and the transfer will start
again from the beginning.
Note
If you are uploading a Workbench project and it fails to upload for any reason, you
cannot retry the upload using the retry action. You must start a new upload of the
project.
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10. To display a log of the transfer status at any time during or after the upload, click in the Actions column.
This can be particularly useful if there were any failures. In addition to the date and start/end times, the
log reports the number of files transferred, the number of failed transfers, the source path of files that
failed to transfer, and the reason that files failed to transfer.
Alternatively you can send a copy of the log to the Clipboard by clicking in the Actions column,
and then pasting it into a text editing application.
11. Transfers remain in the File Transfer Client until you delete them. To delete a transfer, select it and then
click in the Actions column.
12. When you are finished uploading files, close the File Transfer Client.
Once files have been successfully uploaded you can define any required properties, or apply descriptions
and images to them. For more information, see Edit Properties.
Note
If the file transfer has failed, and the EKM session has timed out, follow these steps to retry
the transfer:
3. Start an upload or download of any file using the File Transfer Client, then cancel the wizard.
The File Transfer Client window is displayed.
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Note
If you upload a folder that contains a Workbench project (.wbpj file) along with its project
files, EKM will create an archive file (.wbpz file) for the project and upload only the archive
to the repository in lieu of the project. You can specify whether or not you want to compress
archive files prior to transfer. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60).
1. In the file list window, select the folder to which you want to upload files/folders.
2. On the toolbar, select (Upload) > Files/Folders from Server. The Upload Files/Folders From Server
dialog box appears.
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4. In the address bar, enter the path of the folder that you want to search in, and then click Go. The contents
of the selected folder are displayed below the address bar. To search a folder within the currently selected
folder, click the folder in the list. The path in the address bar will change accordingly. To move up a level
in the folder structure, click the up arrow next to the Go button.
5. Select the files and/or folders that you want to upload. You can select multiple items if you wish. You can
“Shift + click” to select a group of consecutive items, or “Ctrl + click” to select or deselect items individually.
6. Click OK to add the selected items to the upload list. To remove an item from the upload list, click Remove
next to the item’s name.
7. If the files/folders that you are uploading already exist in the target location, and you want them to be
overwritten, enable the Overwrite existing files check box. If you do not enable in this check box, and
the files/folders already exist in the target location, a warning message will appear, and the files/folders
will not be uploaded.
8. Click OK. The selected files/folders will start uploading to the currently selected folder.
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When the upload is complete, the Message box will report the number of items that were success-
fully uploaded, as well as any errors or warnings.
9. To specify properties for the uploaded files/folders immediately, enable the Edit properties of added
files/folders check box. Otherwise you can leave this check box disabled and edit the properties at a later
time if you prefer.
There are some built-in CAE file types that share the same extension (or have the same extension as
registered file types) but have different formats. These are listed in the table below:
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Automatic Extraction of Data on Upload
In these cases EKM reduces the chance of setting the wrong type during upload by reading the first
few lines of a file and using type-specific logic to infer the file type. If successful, it sets the default type
to the corresponding type. This method of type validation ensures that in almost all cases, the correct
type will be set as the default. If EKM cannot determine the file type, then it will use the preferred type
for the given file extension that is specified in your global Preferences (p. 66) as the default.
Custom types are validated using a Java class defined in the type’s typeValidatorClass attribute.
For more information about this attribute, see Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type in the EKM
Administration Guide.
Note
If the file or archive you are uploading contains digits after the file extension then EKM will
ignore the digits and type the file based on the recognized built-in or custom type extension.
For example, if you upload files myfile.cas.123 and myfile.cas.123.zip, then EKM
will assign both files the Fluent Case type. Similarly, if a custom type named ProE with file
extension .prt is defined for your workspace, then when you upload files named my-
file.prt.5 and myfile.prt.5.gz, EKM will assign the ProE type to both.
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If the file type you are uploading is a custom object type or extension to a built-in type that has a
custom metadata extractor application defined for it, then in addition to the built-in metadata that are
extracted, custom properties that are specified will also be extracted. You can display these custom
properties using (More) > Display > Properties. See Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type
in the Administration Guide to learn more about specifying a custom metadata extractor program for a
custom type.
If the custom metadata extractor replaces (not extends) the built-in metadata extractor then it must
extract all built-in as well as custom properties.
While metadata is being extracted, you may see a warning icon next to files in the file list window,
and the message Data extraction is pending if you hover over the icon. You can monitor the progress
of data extraction on the Data/Extraction Monitor page.
Note
• While data extraction is in progress, an EKM User License will remain checked out for you until
the extraction is complete, even if you sign out of the EKM web client.
• While data is being extracted from an archive file, data will be synchronously extracted from the
CAE files that it contains. Synchronous extraction also occurs when data extraction from a CAE
file results in the creation of a new file for which an extractor has been defined. For example, if
you upload a *.cas file and that file type has been configured to extract CAX files, a VCollab
*.cax file will be extracted from the *.cas file and added as a child of the *.cas file. Data
will be extracted from the *.cax file in the current data extraction thread.
– You do not have the required license to extract metadata for ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus files.
– There are too few licenses available for the number of people attempting to access a repository
at the same time.
– The required extractor applications (.app.xml files) are incorrectly defined or not installed
in the data extraction queue at /Administration/Servers/Master/EKM Server.
– There is insufficient memory to perform the extraction. The amount of memory that is available
for data extraction is determined by the maxDataExtractionMemory setting in the
ekm.xml file. For more information about this setting, see Specifying Local Process Policies
(<localProcess>) in the Administration Guide.
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Automatic Creation of Simulation Details Reports on Upload
– Data extraction is disabled in your Preferences. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60) for
details.
– Data extraction has been disabled for a file’s type. For built-in types, refer to the typeSet-
tings setting in Configuration Settings in WorkspaceConfig.xml in the Administration Guide.
For custom types, refer to the disableDataExtraction attribute in Defining Type Attributes
for a Custom Type.
If extraction fails, the file will be identified in the repository with a warning icon next
to it, and hovering over this icon will display the message Extracted data is not set. For
some file types you may see a message such as Extracted report is not set or Exported
image is not set if EKM was not able to extract a specific item from the file.
You can subsequently extract metadata using the Extract Data action. See Extracting Data
On Demand (p. 106) for details.
• Data extraction from ANSYS Electronics Desktop (.aedt) files is not supported.
The report that is created is not a separate EKM object but is instead a child object of the uploaded CAE
file, and is available only for display, copying, and downloading purposes. You can, however, save it as
a separate EKM object (p. 228) of type Simulation Details Report if you want, so that you can act on
it independently of the parent file. See Simulation Details Reports (p. 224) for more details.
If the file is a Workbench project archive file (.wbpz), a more comprehensive simulation details report
is generated. It contains a summary of the archive properties, all files contained within the project,
design points, parameters, systems, and simulation details of relevant CAE files for each system associated
with the project.
If the file type you are uploading is a custom object type or extension to a built-in type that has a
custom report extractor application defined for it, then in addition to the built-in report that is extracted,
a custom report that is specified will also be extracted. See Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type
in the Administration Guide to learn more about specifying a custom report extractor program for a
custom type.
There may be circumstances when metadata and/or report extraction can fail. This can happen, for ex-
ample, if there is an error in the built-in or custom report extraction program. You can invoke data ex-
traction manually if needed. See Extracting Data On Demand (p. 106) for more details.
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• Fluent .cas
• Mechanical APDL .db, .cdb, .rst, .rstp, .rmg, .rfl and .rth
• Ansoft .adsn
• HFSS .hfss
• Maxwell .mxwl
• Simplorer .asmp
Images will appear in the file's Simulation Details Report, and on the Image tab when the file is opened.
For information on viewing images, see Viewing Simulation Models and Images (p. 164).
Note
For Simplorer, Maxwell, HFSS and Ansoft Designer files, the image that is shown cannot
be enlarged in the display or when the report is downloaded.
If the file type you are uploading is a custom object type or an extension to a built-in type that has a
custom image extractor application defined for it, then the image will be extracted using the custom
extractor program. See Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type in the Administration Guide to learn
more about specifying an image extractor for a custom data type.
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Monitoring Data Extraction
The status of the extraction will update at regular intervals, but you can also refresh the status at any
time by clicking the refresh button on the toolbar.
Extractions remain on the Extraction Monitor page until you delete them. To delete extractions, select
them in the file list window and then click the delete button on the toolbar. By default, extraction
objects are perishable and will be removed after 7 days. This setting is configured in the retention policy
settings in WorkspaceConfig.xml.
Note
While data extraction is in progress, an EKM User License will remain checked out for you
until the extraction is complete, even if you sign out of the EKM web client.
If you have cancelled an extraction, or it has failed for any reason, you can click the re-extract button
on the toolbar to restart or retry the extraction. EKM will attempt to extract data from those files
from which data has not yet been extracted.
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Selecting All displays a list of all of the files in the extraction monitor, and reports the current extraction
status of each one. Selecting Not Processed lists the files for which extraction has not yet started. Se-
lecting Succeeded displays the files from which data has been successfully extracted. Selecting Failed
displays a list of files for which extraction has failed.
If data extraction fails you can try again by clicking the re-extract button on the toolbar, and if that
does not work, you can invoke data extraction manually using the Extract Data action. See Extracting
Data On Demand (p. 106) for details.
You may also need to extract data on demand if data extraction is disabled in your Preferences. See
Specifying General Preferences (p. 60) for more information.
To extract metadata and simulation details from a file in EKM, select the file in the file list window and
then select (Edit) > Extract Data.
You can monitor the data extraction on the Data/Extraction Monitor page.
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Once data has been successfully extracted, you will no longer see the warning icon next to the file
in the repository.
Note
• You can also extract data using scripts. Sample scripts can be found in the script library that ships
with EKM. For details see Using Sample Scripts Supplied by EKM in the Administration Guide.
• The Extract Data action will not be available for a built-in or custom type whose type definition
has data extraction disabled. For built-in types, refer to the typeSettings setting in Configur-
ation Settings in WorkspaceConfig.xml in the Administration Guide. For custom types, refer to the
disableDataExtraction attribute in Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type.
Action Considerations
(file) Download To a Local Folder Pros
(folder) Download Using Browser • Can be faster than the File Transfer Client (for
smaller transfers)
Use to transfer a single file or folder from the
repository to your local computer. • Does not require the launch of a separate
application
Best used for:
• Cannot accidentally overwrite files
• Single file or folder
Cons
• Archive file (.zip, .tar, .tgz or .tar.gz file)
• Can transfer only a single file or folder
• Smaller transfers
• Folders are zipped prior to download, requiring
See Downloading Files/Folders Using the Web extraction after download
Client Browser (p. 109).
• Cannot overwrite existing files if desired
Use to transfer files or folders from the • Can handle large transfers
repository.
• Can select multiple folders to download
Best used for:
• Provides option to exclude selected files
• Large or multiple files
• Provides visual feedback of transfer progress
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Action Considerations
• Large or multiple folders • Provides additional transfer controls
If you want to download a folder, it is recommended that you use the Show Folder Size action to view
the size of the download and determine whether you should use the browser or File Transfer Client.
See Viewing a Folder’s Size Before Downloading (p. 108).
Note
If you download a folder that contains a link or shortcut to another object, that object will
be downloaded as well. For example, if Folder A contains a shortcut to Folder B, then
Folder B will be downloaded inside of Folder A.
In the case where the referenced object contains a link or shortcut to the original folder, the
original folder will be downloaded once inside of the referenced object. For example, if
Folder A contains a shortcut to Folder B, and Folder B contains a shortcut to Folder
A, then the following will occur when you download Folder A:
1. In the file list window, select the folder that you want to download.
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2. Right-click and select Download > Show Folder Size. The Show Folder Size dialog box appears. It displays
the total size of the folder as well as the size of each folder within it.
3. Click OK.
Note
If a folder contains a link or shortcut to another object, the referenced object will be included
in the download.
Important
Folders are automatically compressed and downloaded as .zip files during the transfer, and you will
need to extract the contents of the archive file in your local location once the transfer is complete. Before
you download a folder using the browser, it is recommended that you display its size using the Show
Folder Size (p. 108) action. If the folder is very large in size or contains a large number of files and sub-
folders, it may take a long time to zip. You can specify whether or not you want to compress archive
files prior to transfer. See Specifying General Preferences (p. 60).
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Files are downloaded to the location that is currently set as the default download location in your web
browser. If you have not changed the download location in your browser settings, the defaults are as
follows:
• Linux: home\<username>\Downloads
1. Select the file or folder that you want to download from the EKM repository.
2. If the current selection is a file, select (Download) > To a Local Folder from the context menu. If the
current selection is a folder, select (Download) > Using Browser The item will start downloading to
the default download location. If you have the download window enabled in your web browser settings,
it will appear at the bottom of the web client window. The download window displays the progress of
the download below the file name.
Note that if a file with the same name already exists in the download location, it will not be over-
written. Rather, a number will be appended to the name of the file that you are downloading to
distinguish it as a separate file. For example, if there is a file in the download location named
workflows.zip, and you attempt to download another file with the same name, the new
download will be named workflows (1).zip.
3. If you click on the file in the download window, it will open in the application associated with that file
type. For example, if the file is a .zip file, the WinZip application will launch so that you can unzip the
file. Alternatively you can choose the Show in folder option on the file’s drop menu to display the file in
the download location.
Important
The File Transfer Client is a full-featured Java application that is launched by a Java Web Start application.
When you choose to use the File Transfer Client for uploading files, a Java Network Launch Protocol
(JNLP) file is first downloaded to your system. The JNLP file instructs the Java Web Start application
to download and run the File Transfer Client application.
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Downloading Files from EKM
The File Transfer Client enables you to use a cache service for file transfers. See Using a Cache System
for WAN Transfers (p. 115).
1. Select the desired files or folders to download. You can select multiple files and folders simultaneously.
To select consecutive files, hold down the Shift key while selecting files. To select non-consecutive files,
hold down the Ctrl key while selecting files.
2. Select (Download) > Using EKM File Transfer Client. The Download From EKM dialog box will appear:
Note
If your browser asks you if you want to open or save the LaunchFtc.jnlp application,
specify that you want to open the JNLP file with the Java(TM) Web Start Launcher,
and then check the Do this automatically for files like this from now on box.
3. Click Browse to change the download location on your local file system.
4. Check Get exclusive control over the downloaded files if you want exclusive edit privileges on the
downloaded objects. The check box will be enabled only if all of these conditions exist:
1. You have Modify permission on all of the files/folders selected for download.
3. None of the objects are under version control and checked out to another user.
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If any of the selected files/folders are under version control and you have Modify permissions on
the objects, they will optionally (using the check box of Check out) be checked out to you. Items
that are under exclusive control will be “locked” and no other users will be allowed to modify them
until you release exclusive control.
5. To calculate the total size of the download, click Transfer Details. The Transfer Details dialog box appears
and begins calculating the download size. This calculation takes some time to perform, but you can still
interact with the Download From EKM dialog without affecting the ongoing calculation. You can even
start the download. When the calculation is finished, the total size of the files to be downloaded is displayed
in the Transfer Details dialog box:
If you are using a cache service (p. 115) for file transfers, the Transfer Details dialog box also displays
the percentage of kilobytes that are cached and up-to-date on the cache server. This should give
you a better idea of how long the overall download will take, as data downloaded directly from
the cache server will be transferred much more quickly. The higher the cache percentage, the faster
the overall download will be.
The percentage cached is rounded to one decimal place. If it is very small (less than .05%), it will
display as 0% even though a small amount of data is actually cached. For example, if 49 bytes are
cached out of a total of 100,000, the Percentage cached will appear as 0%. 50 bytes out of 100,000
would display as 0.1%. The Percentage cached will only display 100% if all of the data is cached.
It will not round up the percentage in this case.
Note that caching will not occur if the EKM administrator has not assigned you to use the cache
server, or if the File Transfer Client cannot establish a connection to the cache server. In either case
the data will be downloaded directly from the EKM server, and you will not see the Percentage
cached in the Transfer Details dialog box.
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Downloading Files from EKM
6. To begin the download, click OK. If there are files in the download location that have the same name as
any of the files that you are downloading, you will be notified of this, and the files will be overwritten.
7. The File Transfer Client reports the current stage of the transfer (for example Download or Complete) in
the Stage column, and displays the progress of the current stage in the Progress column. If you hover
over the Transfer cell you can view the transfer type, date, and transfer start time.
If any files fail to transfer, the progress bar will turn red, and the number of errors will be reported
in the Progress column.
The Actions column displays buttons for various actions that you can perform, such as stopping
or retrying a download. These actions are described in the steps below.
Note
Due to a limitation of the Java interface, tooltips are not automatically displayed on the
buttons in the Actions column. To activate tooltips, simply click on any disabled button
in the Actions column.
8. To stop the download, click in the Actions column. The status changes to Cancelled in the Stage
column.
9. If the transfer was stopped, or if any files failed to download, you can retry the download by clicking
in the Actions column. A new entry will be added to the File Transfer Client window, and the transfer will
start again from the beginning.
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10. To display a log of the transfer status at any time during or after the upload, click in the Actions column.
This can be particularly useful if there were any failures. In addition to the date and start/end times, the
log reports the number of files transferred, the number of failed transfers, the source path of files that
failed to transfer, and the reason that files failed to transfer.
Alternatively you can send a copy of the log to the Clipboard by clicking in the Actions column,
and then pasting it into a text editing application.
11. Transfers remain in the File Transfer Client until you delete them. To delete a transfer, select it and then
click in the Actions column.
13. When you are finished downloading files, close the File Transfer Client.
Note
If the file transfer has failed, and the EKM session has timed out, follow these steps to retry
the transfer:
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Using a Cache System for WAN Transfers
3. Start an upload or download of any file using the File Transfer Client, then cancel the wizard.
The File Transfer Client window is displayed.
2. On the toolbar, select (Download) > To a Folder on Server. The Download To a Folder on Server
dialog box appears.
3. Click Browse, then select the folder to which you want to download the selected file or folder.
4. Click OK. The file or folder is downloaded to the selected location on the server.
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You can monitor a file transfer by looking at the Stage column in the File Transfer Client. As files are
being uploaded to the cache server, the Stage reads Uploading files to cache. Once the files have
been uploaded to the cache server, the cache server sends a request to EKM to upload the files to it.
As files begin uploading to a temporary location in EKM, the Stage changes to Uploading files to EKM
from cache. Next, files are written to the repository, and metadata and simulation details are extracted.
During this stage the Stage reads Importing files to EKM. Once the files have been successfully written
to the repository, the Stage will read Complete.
Note
If a connection to the cache server cannot be established or is lost, files will be transferred
to/from the EKM repository directly.
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Chapter 8: Managing Repository Data
This chapter presents information on how you can manage data that has been transferred to an EKM
repository using the EKM web client, the EKM File Transfer Client, or ANSYS Workbench. It focuses mainly
on the Data section in EKM.
You can use the actions described in this chapter to create, edit, delete, display, synchronize, extract,
and perform other miscellaneous data and file management operations on objects in an EKM repository.
You can perform the intended action on an object only if you have the required permission (p. 137).
Additionally, if the object is under exclusive control (p. 182) by another user, or it is under version con-
trol (p. 184) and not checked out to you, you cannot perform some of the actions.
Important
If the object that you want to operate on is a custom folder and it is defined as “required”
in the custom types XML configuration file, then no user (not even the Root User) can delete,
rename, move, or change the automatic deletion policy on the folder, regardless of whether
they have been granted permission in EKM. The displayed permissions are superseded by
the configuration definition.
For actions on multiple objects and those involving recursion (for example, propagating permissions
to children, and so on) a special Message dialog box is displayed when the action is initiated. The
Message reports on the progress of the transaction and continues to refresh until the operation is
completed. It indicates the total number of objects processed in the transaction (for example, copied,
moved, and so on) as well as any errors or warnings that were encountered. Errors cause the operation
to be cancelled for the particular object; warnings are message-only indicators.
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Note
If you update your Java software and attempt to work with a file in a repository, you may
get a Windows error message saying that Windows cannot open the file. To correct this,
configure Windows to open the file with the Java Web Start Launcher and choose to always
open files of this type.
The main repository for data is accessible in the Data section. The Data section contains five pages:
My Data, Shared Data, Starred, Recent, and Extraction Monitor. Clicking on a page on the navigation
bar displays the content of the page in the view window.
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Navigating the Repository
Note that if you know the path to an object in the repository, you can enter or paste the path in the
search box to instantly navigate to that object. See Searching for an Object by its Path (p. 209).
8.1.1. My Data
My Data is a private page that you can use to store your personal files, folders, and links to other EKM
objects. It is the default save location for journals, reports, and shortcuts. Data stored in My Data is not
visible to other users.
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You have Full Control permission for My Data, and any object that you store there can be acted
only by you. For example, if there is a file in Shared Data for which you have only Access permission,
but you want to modify it, you can copy the file to your My Data page and modify it there.
Note
The My Data page is not available if you have been assigned Basic access. See Licensing
and Access in the Installation Guide for details.
The user designated as the Root User, users belonging to the admin group, and users who have been
assigned Shared access, have Full Control over all objects in Shared Data.
Users belonging to the all group, or users with Analyst or Basic access, have only Access and
Download permission on objects in Shared Data.
You can edit the permissions on a shared file or folder if you have Modify or Full Control permis-
sion on that object. Note, however, that license permissions override object permissions. For example,
if you grant a user Modify permission on an object in Shared Data, but that user holds only an Analyst
license, he or she will not be able to modify the object, because the Analyst license does not allow
a user to edit objects in Shared Data. See Licensing and Access in the Installation Guide for details.
To star a file or folder, click the star icon next to the object’s name.
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Accessing Sample Files
in EKM, a job monitor object is added to the Extraction Monitor page. The monitor reports the status
of an extraction (for example, Running or Completed), the percentage completed, the number of files
involved, and the number of errors. See Monitoring Data Extraction (p. 104) for details.
Note
Metadata extraction from ANSYS Electronics Desktop (.aedt) files is not supported.
Note
• The Delete action is not available for the Sample Files folder, even for an admin user.
Providing Full Control permission to this folder to another user does not provide them
with the delete option.
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There are various examples throughout the EKM documentation that refer to files found in the Sample
Files folder. This includes the following tutorials:
Sample Scripts
Also packaged with an EKM server installation and accessible from the web client are sample scripts
that make use of EKM's scripting interface. These scripts are contained in a “script library” in
EKM_HOME/examples/conf/scripts and can be accessed from the Data/Shared Data/Sample
Files/conf/scripts folder, as shown below.
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Creating New Objects
Some sample Python scripts are provided and described in more detail in Using Sample Scripts Supplied
by EKM in the Administration Guide. You can use these sample scripts, and the macros (or methods)
contained with them, when you define your own custom scripts. However, you should note that scripts
contained within this folder are not under workspace configuration control and are therefore not
available to other files or processes in different contexts. Only when the script is moved to the common
Administration/Configuration/Scripts folder and put under configuration control will it be available
in all contexts and not just the context they are defined for. For example, when a macro from a script
that is not under configuration control is used in a lifecycle definition, then that macro cannot be called
from another lifecycle or process template file unless it is defined separately within those contexts. See
Configuring a Common Scripts Library in the Administration Guide for more details on how a scripts
library can be configured for a workspace by an admin user.
For general information on scripting features in EKM, see Scripts and Journals in the Administration
Guide.
The New action menu can be used to create new objects in an EKM repository folder. It can be in-
voked from the context menu for the folder that the new object will be created in, as well as from the
action toolbar when the folder is opened. You must have Create permission on the folder in which
you want to create an object.
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On the Data/My Data and Data/Shared Data page, and in any sub-folders therein, the New menu
contains the following actions:
Note
You can only create objects in Shared Data if you have Shared access. See Licensing and
Access in the Installation Guide for details.
If a custom folder or container type is defined and configured for your workspace, then it is selectable
from the Type drop-down list. See Defining Custom Types Directly in EKM in the Administration Guide
for more details. If the custom folder/container has dependent properties defined and if one property
is changed in the New Folder dialog box, the property options for the dependent properties change
as well. See Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type in the Administration Guide for details on how
to define and call the macro for a custom type. See Creating Actions for a Custom Type in the Adminis-
tration Guide for a sample macro.
2. The parent folder is checked out to you (if it is under version control).
To create a folder:
1. Select the folder where you want the new folder to be stored, then select (New) > Folder. This opens
the New Folder dialog box.
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Creating New Objects
3. Select the type of folder to add from the Type drop-down list. Options include: Folder, Analysis Project
and PDM Object. If a custom folder or container type is defined and configured for your workspace, it
also appears in the drop-down list for you to select.
4. Optionally enter a Description for the folder. This property is viewable when you display properties and
can be used as a search word to retrieve the folder.
5. Optionally attach an Image to the folder. Enter the full path or click Browse to select the image file from
the Folders tree.
6. For custom folders, enter the required and optional properties if they are defined for the custom type. If
a specific display order for properties is also defined for the type, then the properties are listed in the New
Folder dialog box in this order; otherwise, they display in alphabetical order by name. An example custom
folder is shown in Figure 8.7: New Folder Dialog Box - Custom Folder Type Example (p. 126).
7. Check the Edit Permissions box if you want to set permissions on the new folder now. If this is selected,
Edit Permissions dialog box opens when you click OK.
8. Click OK.
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Figure 8.7: New Folder Dialog Box - Custom Folder Type Example
2. The parent folder is checked out to you (if it is under version control).
You can also create a shortcut directly from a selected object using the Create Shortcut action. See
Creating Shortcuts to Objects (p. 178) for details.
1. Select the folder where you want to save the shortcut, and then select (New) > Shortcut. This opens
the New Shortcut dialog box.
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Creating New Objects
4. Optionally choose to prevent the target object from being deleted while the shortcut to it is in place.
You can edit a shortcut by selecting (Edit) > Shortcut. See Editing Shortcuts (p. 153).
There are two built-in remote file servers in EKM: Audit Logs and EKM Base Directory. The server address
(or the location that the server points to) for the Audit Logs file server is the EKM_HOME/logs directory.
The EKM Base Directory server points to the location where the EKM server is set up (EKM_BASE dir-
ectory).
Important
• The remote file server you want to create a new connection to must already exist as a built-in
file server or other file server that has been set up by an EKM administrator. See Adding a New
Remote Server and Built-in Remote File Servers in the Administration Guide for more details.
• To be able to connect to a remote file/folder, your OS account name and password must be
correctly defined in RSM, and the data management process must be set up on the EKM server.
To see how OS account names are determined in EKM, see Configuring Login-related Access
Settings in the Installation Guide. For information on server settings that are involved in the data
management process, see Specifying Remote Process Policies (<remoteProcess>) in the Admin-
istration Guide.
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When you create a connection to a remote file or folder, the object is symbolically linked to EKM and
metadata are automatically extracted once the remote connection is made. Remote files are assigned
the File data type whereas remote folders are defined as Remote Folder types. Because the actual files
and folders are stored on the remote file server and are only symbolically linked, they need to be syn-
chronized (p. 177) whenever the data has changed in the file server. EKM automatically synchronizes
this data at regular intervals. The frequency and time of synchronization can be configured by the EKM
system administrator in ekm.xml file. Alternatively you can also manually synchronize the data.
3. The parent folder is checked out to you (if it is under version control).
1. Select the folder in the repository where you want the remote object reference to be stored, then select
(New) > Connection to a File/Folder on a Remote Server.
2. Enter a new name for the remote object if you want it to be different than what it is currently named on
the remote server. Otherwise, leave it blank and the current name will be used.
3. Choose the File server from the drop-down list. Available remote file servers that have been defined by
your system administrator will be listed.
Note
The built-in Audit Logs and EKM Base Directory file servers are available only
for members of the admin group. See Managing Logs for details.
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Creating New Objects
4. Click Browse to specify the location of the object on the remote server. If specifying the object path directly,
make sure that the path is absolute for service host file servers, and relative for other file servers that are
within the LAN of the EKM server.
Click OK to create a link to the remote file or folder. EKM will extract metadata from the file. You
can monitor extraction status by selecting the Data/Extraction Monitor page. Information about
the remote object will be included in the Remote Item Properties that you can view using
(More) > Display > Details. You can edit the connection using Edit > Remote Item Properties.
See Editing Remote Item Properties (p. 159).
2. The parent folder is checked out to you (if it is under version control).
1. Select the folder where you want the new URL connection to be stored, then select (New) > Connection
to a URL. This opens the New Connection to a URL dialog box.
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2. Specify the name of the URL object as you would like it to appear in the repository.
Note
You must enter the full address including the http prefix (for example, http://www.an-
sys.com for the ANSYS web site home page).
4. Specify whether you want the URL to be opened in a new window. If you leave this box unselected, the
URL opens within EKM in the file list window. There are some web sites that do not allow their content
to be embedded within other pages and you must select this check box for those sites. Otherwise when
you click on the URL in EKM, it will either show a blank page or occupy the full browser window.
5. Click OK.
Note
You can rename a URL object, but you cannot edit its URL address. To connect to a different
URL you must create a new URL object.
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Creating New Objects
1. Select the folder where you want to create the message board, then select (New) > Discussion Board.
3. Click OK.
1. Select the folder where you want to create the new object, then select (New) > Object. This opens
the New Object dialog box.
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3. Select the object type you want to create from the Type drop-down list and click OK.
If a custom type is defined and configured for your workspace, then it will also be selectable from
the Type drop-down list. If a custom type has required properties defined for it and a display order
is also specified, then the properties will be listed in the New Object dialog box in this order.
Otherwise, properties will be listed alphabetically, by name. See Editing a Custom Type in the Ad-
ministration Guide for more details on defining custom properties.
Important
Creating a Folder object using New > Object may cause a container with a different
data model to be defined. ALWAYS use New > Folder to create new folder objects in-
stead.
4. Optionally enter a Description for the folder. This property will be viewable when you display properties
and can be used as a search word to retrieve the folder.
5. Optionally attach an Image to the folder. Enter the full path or click Browse to select the image file from
the Folders tree.
6. Click OK.
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Editing Objects
The new object will be saved in the current folder as an empty file, containing 0 bytes. A warning
icon will indicate that the “File data not uploaded.” If the object type has metadata automatically
extracted for it, then another warning icon will indicate that “Extracted metadata is not set.”
When you click on a file within a folder, the file opens in the file list window. Different objects will have
a different set of tabs at the bottom of the file list window, enabling you to display different types of
information about the object. For example, the tabs for a simulation file may be Simulation Details
Report, Image, Details, Discussions, and Content. Alternatively you can use the (More) > Display
menu to access these views.
To return to the overall folder view, click on the desired folder in the breadcrumb.
To open a selected object in a new browser window, select (More) > Open in new window on the
toolbar.
The Edit menu can be used to edit objects in an EKM repository. It can be invoked from the context
menu and from the toolbar. Menu items that are presented to you depend on the object type, the
permissions that are set, and whether the object is under version control.
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Note
You must have Shared access to be able to edit objects in Shared Data. For more inform-
ation see Licensing and Access in the EKM Installation Guide.
Important
• If you do not have Download permission on the object, only the object’s metadata will be copied.
Although the resulting copy will have all of the metadata contained in the original file, it will
have no content, and will display a file size of 0 when downloaded.
• If you copy a folder that contains a shortcut, and the folder also contains the target of the
shortcut, the copied shortcut will point to the new target. If the folder does not contain the target
of the shortcut, or you copy only the shortcut, the copied shortcut will continue to point to the
original target.
• If an object with the same name already exists in the target location, it will not be overwritten.
Rather, a unique number will be appended to the name of the copied object to differentiate it
from the existing object.
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Editing Objects
1. Select the objects to copy, then select (Edit) > Copy. The objects are copied to the clipboard.
2. Navigate to the folder to which you would like to copy the objects, then select (Edit) > Paste. The
copied objects are pasted into the current folder. A message box reports the number of objects that were
copied successfully, and notifies you of objects that could not be copied (if any).
2. The object and its parent folder are checked out to you if they are under version control.
Important
To move objects:
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1. Select the objects you want to move, then select (Edit) > Cut. The objects are placed on the clipboard.
2. Navigate to the folder to which you want to move the objects, then select (Edit) > Paste. The objects
on the clipboard are pasted into the current folder. A message box reports the number of objects that
were moved successfully, and notifies you of objects that could not be moved (if any).
Note
If an object with the same name already exists in the target location, it will not be overwritten.
Rather, a unique number will be appended to the name of the moved object to differentiate
it from the existing object.
1. Select the object(s), then select (Edit) > Get Exclusive Control. This opens the Get Exclusive Control
dialog box, as shown below.
2. If the object has children (for example, if the object is a folder and it contains files), an Include all children
option is displayed. Check this box if you want exclusive control of the object’s children in addition to
the object itself.
3. Click OK.
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Editing Objects
If an object of the same name already exists in the folder it is contained in, then an error message will
be reported and the object will not be renamed.
To rename an object:
1. Select the object, then select (Edit) > Rename. This opens the Rename dialog box:
3. Click OK.
Recall that permissions are set at the object-level in EKM and are based on users and groups. New objects
that are added to an EKM repository automatically inherit the permissions of their parent and the user
who creates the object is automatically assigned Full Control by default. Permissions can be
changed at any time.
There are seven possible permissions that can be set for an object: Access, Create, Delete, Download,
Full Control, Lifecycle, and Modify. The download permission is available only for file and folder objects.
If the object is a folder, you have the added option of applying the folder’s permissions to the contents
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of the folder. In this case you can choose to overwrite all permissions, or only those permissions that
have been modified.
In all cases, you can perform actions on an object only if you or the group you belong to have been
granted the required permissions. Even if you have the right permissions, you will not be able to delete
or modify the object if it is under version control and has not been checked out by you, or some other
user has exclusive control of it. The user designated as the Root User and users belonging to the admin
group have Full Control over all objects in an EKM repository. However, these users cannot delete
built-in folders such as Data/Shared Data.
You can set permissions on an object by adding a user or group to the permissions list and selecting
permissions that are allowed. The access permission is assigned to a selected user/group by default,
and cannot be removed because other permissions such as modify and delete can only work if a
user can access the object. When you add or modify permissions for a group, the permissions will be
applied to all users who belong to that group.
1. Select the object, then select (Edit) > Permissions. This opens the Edit Permissions dialog box, as
shown below. The Edit Permissions dialog box will display the available users and groups for the selected
object.
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Editing Objects
2. Select Users only, Groups only or Users and Groups from the Show drop-down list to change what is
listed. Select a user or group from the list that is displayed and click the Add button. (You can use the
Shift and Ctrl keys to select contiguous and non-contiguous items in the list). The selected users/groups
will be added to the User/Group table below and the permissions for each will become visible and select-
able. Use the Remove button to remove selected users/groups from the list.
3. Set the permissions for each selected user/group by checking the appropriate boxes.
4. If the object is a folder, and you want to apply the folder permissions to objects inside the folder, enable
the Apply permissions to folder contents check box, and then choose one of the following options:
• Overwrite all permissions. Overwrites the full set of permissions for each object in the folder so that
all permissions match those of the folder.
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• Apply only modified permissions. Overwrites only those permissions that you have changed, leaving
other permissions intact.
Recursive permissions should be applied with care because for large folders, it could mean modi-
fying a large number of objects which could be time intensive or could even exceed the limits
specified by your EKM system administrator.
Note
If multiple folders are selected and you enable the Apply permissions to folder contents
option, all permissions will be overwritten for objects in each folder.
5. To view of summary of the changes that you have made, click the Show the changes made link. Permis-
sions that have been granted or taken away from users are shown in a pop-up panel:
Note
• Even if a user is granted Full Control or Delete permission on a particular object, he or she will
not be able to rename, move or delete the object unless he or she has Access permission on the
object’s parent.
• Object permissions do not override license permissions. For example, if a user is granted Modify
permission on an object in Shared Data, but only holds an Analyst license, the user will not
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Editing Objects
be able to modify the object, because the Analyst license does not allow editing in Shared
Data. See Licensing and Access in the Installation Guide for details.
You can use the (Edit) > Properties action to add or edit user-defined properties for an object.
All EKM objects have two built-in properties: Description and Image. Objects can also have any number
of custom properties assigned to them.
When you select (Edit) > Properties, the Edit Properties dialog box appears (Figure 8.18: Edit
Properties - Setting Property Values (p. 142)). This dialog box also appears if you have checked the Edit
properties of added files/folders option when uploading files to an EKM repository.
All of the properties that you can edit will appear on the Set Property Values tab. SeeSetting Property
Values (p. 141). When custom properties are defined for a type, they will be listed in the dialog box ac-
cording to their display order, if one is specified. Otherwise, properties will be displayed alphabetically,
by name. See Defining Properties for a Custom Type in the Administration Guide for more details on
defining custom properties.
You can add or remove user-defined properties on the Add/Remove User Properties tab.
SeeAdding/Removing Properties (p. 144).
If multiple files are selected, the Edit Properties dialog will have a third Select Editable Properties
tab. All editable properties for all files are displayed on this tab, and you can choose which ones you
want to be available for editing. This allows you to set the same property value for multiple files simul-
taneously if desired. If the selected object is a folder, an option on the Set Property Values tab allows
you to apply the user-defined properties recursively to all of the objects in that folder. SeeEditing
Properties for Multiple Files (p. 149).
If a folder is selected, you have the option of applying the folder’s properties to the objects contained
in the folder. See Editing the Properties of a Folder (p. 150) for details.
You can edit properties for an object only if the following conditions are met:
If the object has a custom date (or date and time) property defined, then refer to Using the Pop-up
Calendar to Specify a Date (p. 147) for details on setting the date and time using the pop-up calendar
tool.
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If the object has a custom type defined with dependent properties, then if one property is changed in
the Edit Properties dialog box, the property options for the dependent properties will change as well.
Refer to the propertyUpdateMacro setting in the Defining Type Attributes for a Custom Type section
in the Administration Guide for details on how to specify a macro that can enable dependencies across
properties, and Creating Actions for a Custom Type for a sample macro.
2. In the Edit Properties dialog box, select the Set Property Values tab.
All of the user-defined properties for the object type will be listed in the dialog box. If custom
properties are defined and a display order (for example, 1, 2, 3 and so on) is specified, then the
properties will be listed in that order, with the lower number displayed first. Otherwise, properties
will appear alphabetically, by name.
3. All EKM objects have built-in Description and Image properties. Optionally enter a description and attach
an image to the object. For images, enter the full path or click Browse to select the image in the file system.
The values will be listed under EKM Object Properties when you display properties.
4. Optionally set other built-in or custom properties that are defined for this type. In this example, the En-
gineering Data Database property is an optional property for the built-in Mechanical Database. You
specify the database by entering the full path in the edit box or by clicking Browse and selecting the
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database file in the file system. An example of custom properties is shown in Figure 8.19: Edit Properties
- Custom Type Example (p. 143). See Editing a Custom Type in the Administration Guide for more details
on defining custom properties.
5. Click OK. The Description, Image, and other properties you added or set will be shown when you display
properties using (More) > Display > Details.
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By default, if the object is a folder, any new properties that you add will apply only to the folder. However,
you can choose to apply the properties recursively to all files within that folder if you wish. If you want
to add properties to all objects of the same type, then you will need to extend the type as described
in the chapter on Defining Custom Types in the Administration Guide for details.
You can select multiple files and add the same property to all of the files simultaneously.
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2. In the Edit Properties dialog box, select the Add/Remove User Properties tab.
3. In the Name edit box, enter the name of the new property that you want to add.
4. From the Type drop-down list, select the type of property that you are adding. Choices are described
below. To see what each of these property types produces, seeFigure 8.21: Edit Properties - Added Prop-
erties of Different Types (p. 146).
• Reference produces an edit box with a Browse button so that you can create a reference to a file.
• Date produces an edit box with a date picker so that you can accurately specify a date.
5. Once you have defined the property’s name and type, click Add. The new property will be added to the
Added properties list and will also be added to the Set Property Values tab.
6. To remove a property, select it in the Added properties list and click Remove.
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7. If the selected object is a folder, and you would like to apply the added properties to the objects within
the folder, check the Apply properties recursively to children of folder(s) box. For more information
seeEditing Properties for Multiple Files (p. 149).
8. When you have finished adding properties, select the Set Property Values tab to set the values of the
properties you added as well as other user-defined properties.
Note
For a Date property, you cannot enter the date manually. See Using the Pop-up Calendar
to Specify a Date (p. 147).
9. Click OK. The properties you added will be listed under User Specified Properties when they are displayed
using (More) > Display > Details, as shown in the example below.
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Note
If you have removed a property, you cannot subsequently add a property with the same
name while in the same dialog session. You must first click OK in the Edit Properties dialog
box, and then relaunch it.
Note
In some dialog boxes, such as the Automatic Deletion Settings dialog box (p. 153), manual
entry for the date is not allowed. You will only be able to specify the date using the pop-up
calendar.
When you click the calendar icon next to a date edit box, a pop-up calendar appears. In dialog boxes
where you are not allowed to enter dates manually, clicking inside the edit box will also display the
pop-up calendar.
Important
When you click the calendar icon on an iPad tablet device, you will be asked to create a new
contact or add to an existing contact instead of opening the pop-up calendar. Ignore this
message.
The pop-up calendar has two variations: one for specifying the date only (for example, Aug 11, 2018)
and the other for specifying date and time (for example, Aug 11, 2018 14:47), as shown below.
The type of calendar displayed will depend on the setting that you are specifying a date for.
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1. Click the calendar icon next to the edit box to open the pop-up calendar. In dialog boxes where dates
cannot be entered manually, you can also click inside the edit box to display the pop-up calendar.
2. To select a date, click > to advance to the next month or < for the previous month. Click >> to advance
to the next year and << for the previous year. To select a day, click on the cell in the calendar.
3. To change the month and year simultaneously, click the month and year that is currently displayed at the
top of the calendar (for example, August, 2018). This will pop up a separate dialog box where you can
choose the desired month and year. Click OK to close.
5. To clear the date currently displayed in the edit box, click Clean.
6. To close the pop-up calendar, click the X icon in the top right corner of the calendar.
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1. Follow the steps for specifying a date, as noted in Specifying a Date Only (p. 147) above.
2. To change the time, click on the time that is currently displayed along the bottom of the calendar. This
will pop up a separate dialog box where you can choose the desired hours and minutes.
If multiple files are selected when you choose (Edit) > Properties, the Edit Properties dialog will
have a third Select Editable Properties tab. All editable properties for all files are displayed on this
tab, and you can choose which ones you want to be available on the Set Property Values tab for
editing. This allows you to set the same property value for multiple files simultaneously if desired.
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The alerts you can set will depend on the type of object that is selected, whether it is under version
control, and whether it has a lifecycle associated with it. For folders, you have the added option of
setting an alert when contents are added or removed from the folder.
1. Select the objects you want to set alerts for, then select (Edit) > Alert Settings.
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2. In the Edit Alert Settings dialog box, set the desired alerts.
3. Click OK. To change the frequency of alerts, see Setting the Alert Frequency (p. 71).
Note
If you set a download alert on a Workbench project archive (.wbpz) file, you will receive an
email alert for each individual file in the archive. To avoid a large influx of emails, you may
want to disable the download alert for .wbpz files.
1. Select the object(s), then select (Edit) > Automatic Deletion Settings.
2. Select Allow automatic removal of this object to edit the parameters. The dialog box expands to show
more options.
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3. Click the calendar icon to open a pop-up calendar where you can specify the expiration date. See Using
the Pop-up Calendar to Specify a Date (p. 147) for details. Note that you cannot type a date directly in the
Enter expiration date edit box.
Important
When you click the calendar icon on an iPad tablet device, you will be asked to create
a new contact or add to an existing contact instead of opening the pop-up calendar.
Ignore this message.
4. Select Automatically increase expiration date on modification if you want the expiration date to be
added to the current date whenever the object is modified.
5. Click OK.
Important
To edit a shortcut:
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1. Select the shortcut, then select (Edit) > Shortcut. The Edit Shortcut dialog box opens.
2. Click Browse and then select the object to which you want to create a shortcut.
3. Optionally choose to prevent the target object from being deleted while the shortcut to it is in place.
4. Click OK.
For information on creating shortcuts, see Creating a New Shortcut (p. 126) and Creating Shortcuts to
Objects (p. 178).
If you change the type, then metadata will be automatically extracted from the file. You can monitor
extraction on the Data/Extraction Monitor page. See Monitoring Data Extraction (p. 104) for details.
For Folder objects, you can choose from other built-in folder types (such as Analysis Project) as well
as custom folders to change the type to. Note that you will be able to change a type only if:
1. Select the files, then select (Edit) > Type. This opens the Edit Type dialog box.
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2. Select a new file type from the drop-down list. The options you are presented with depend on the type
you are trying to change. In the example shown, a Fluent Data file is selected and the Edit Type dialog
box options show the other four choices for the .dat extensions.
If a custom type is defined and configured for your workspace, then it will also be selectable from
the Select new type drop-down list. If a custom type has required properties defined for it and a
display order is also specified, then the properties will be listed in the Edit Type dialog box in this
order. Otherwise, properties will be listed alphabetically, by name. See Editing a Custom Type in
the Administration Guide for more details on defining custom properties.
3. Click OK.
Text and XML files will be displayed as text. HTML file content will be displayed with a rich user interface
that uses TinyMCE which is a powerful WYSIWYG editor for HTML. You can click the ? icon in the
toolbar to learn more about how to use the TinyMCE editor or to go to the ht-
tp://tinymce.moxiecode.com/ web site for additional documentation.
To edit content:
1. Select the file to edit, then select (Edit) > Content. This opens the Edit Content dialog box.
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2. For text/XML files, edit the content in the text box (Figure 8.30: Edit Content Format for Text/XML
Files (p. 156)). For HTML files, use the built-in HTML editor to edit content (Figure 8.31: Edit Content Format
for HTML Files (p. 157)).
3. Click OK.
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1. Select the object, then select (Edit) > Created By Property. This opens the Edit Created By Property
dialog box:
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2. Select the new user to assign object ownership to from the drop-down list.
3. If the object is a folder or other container, optionally choose to recursively apply the change to all children.
4. Click OK.
5. Select (More) > Display > Details for the object and verify that the user has changed.
You can use the (Edit) > Lifecycle in EKM Studio action when you want to open the selected Lifecycle
object in EKM Studio.
Important
The Edit > Lifecycle in EKM Studio action is not available on a tablet device.
You can use the (Edit) > Process Template in EKM Studio action when you want to open the se-
lected EKM process template object in EKM Studio.
Important
The Edit > Process Template in EKM Studio action is not available on a tablet device.
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can monitor extraction status on the Data/Extraction Monitor page. Once the appropriate changes
have been made by your EKM administrator to the external application .xml file, or the error is otherwise
corrected, you can select Edit > Extract Data to extract the missing metadata and details report on
demand.
Note
Metadata extraction from ANSYS Electronics Desktop (.aedt) files is not supported.
1. Select the remote file or folder, then select (Edit) > Remote Item Properties. This opens the Edit
Remote Item Properties dialog box.
2. Choose the File Server from the drop-down list. Available remote file servers that have been defined by
your EKM system administrator will be listed.
3. Click Browse to specify the location of the object on the remote server. If specifying the object path directly,
make sure that the path is absolute for service host file servers, and relative for other file servers that are
within the LAN of the EKM server.
4. Click OK.
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2. The parent folder is checked out to you (if it is under version control)
Note
• You cannot delete a user on the Administration/Users page if that user is currently the designated
Root User for EKM. For more information about the Root User, see Designating a Root User in
the Administration Guide.
• You must have Shared access to be able to delete objects in Shared Data. For more information
see Licensing and Access in the EKM Installation Guide.
To delete objects:
1. Select the objects, then click the delete button . This opens the Delete Object dialog box if a single
object is selected, or the Delete Selected Objects dialog box if multiple objects are selected.
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Displaying Objects
2. Click OK to confirm the deletion. The object is moved to the Home/Recycle Bin page.
Important
• When you delete a process that has not yet completed, all of the tasks associated with the process
will also be deleted.
• If you are deleting a user on the Administration/Users page, and the user has version-controlled
objects in their My Data folder, you must first get exclusive control (p. 136) of the user object
before deleting it.
Once items are in your recycle bin, the cleanup policy that is set in your preferences will define how
the objects will be maintained. See Specifying the Recycle Bin Preference (p. 67) for more details.
In addition to the settings saved in your preferences, you will be able to act on recycle bin objects
during an EKM session using Empty Recycle Bin, Restore and Delete. See Accessing the Recycle
Bin (p. 57) for more details.
You can use the (More) > Display menu to display all of the information that is associated with an
object. The display options that are available for an object depend on its type. Information that can be
displayed for an object can be in the form of a list of objects that are contained within a folder, file
contents, permissions that are set for the object, properties associated with it, dependencies and revision
history.
Some common display actions are presented in the sections that follow.
8.7.1. Displaying the Content of a File
8.7.2. Displaying an Object’s Dependencies
8.7.3. Viewing Simulation Models and Images
8.7.4. Displaying a List of Contents
8.7.5. Displaying the Permissions on an Object
8.7.6. Displaying Object Properties
8.7.7. Displaying Revision History
8.7.8. Displaying a Simulation Details Report
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For Folder objects, three display options are available: List, Details and Discussions. List shows the
list of objects contained within the folder and includes attributes such as name, size, type, and so on
for each object. You can reverse the sorting of the list by clicking the arrow next to the Name label.
Details displays the folder properties, and Discussions shows any discussions that have been started
about the folder.
• Select the object and select > (More) > Display > display option from the action toolbar.
• Right-click the object and select More > Display > display option from the context menu.
• Select the object and select the different tabs along the bottom of the file list window.
Note that your display choices will be expanded if you have a lifecycle defined for the object, the object
is under version control or exclusive control, and so on. Figure 6.1: Example of Fluent Case Proper-
ties (p. 76) shows an example of displayed properties for a Fluent case file.
You can use the (More) > Display > Content action (or the Content display tab if the object is
already opened) to display the content of a file object. You can only view content of files that can be
displayed in a web browser such as text, XML, HTML, image files, and so on. If you view the content of
a binary file that the browser does not know how to display, you will be prompted to download the
file. This display option is available only if a user has download permission on the file.
If you upload a VCollab .cax file to a repository, EKM will recognize it as a VCollab File type. When
you display the file’s content, the VCollab viewer will load in the file list window and will display the
3D simulation image for that file. See Displaying 3D Simulation Images Using VCollab (p. 549) for more
details.
You can use the (More) > Display > Dependencies action (or the Dependencies display tab if the
object is already opened) to display dependencies for an object in the form of a diagram. Dependencies
allow you view upstream and downstream dependencies of any object in the repository. Dependency
tracking allows you to easily understand the interrelationships between objects and link to dependent
objects from the diagram.
There are two kinds of dependency relationships that you can view: Analysis Pedigree and References.
The Analysis Pedigree dependencies are only available for files or Analysis Project type objects, and are
used to view the input and output files of an analysis or the upstream and downstream analysis of a
file. (See Working With Analysis Projects (p. 527) for details.) The References dependencies are available
for all objects. This type of dependency allows you to view the objects referred to by the current object
(these objects are shown as upstream dependencies on the left of the current object in the diagram)
or the objects that refer the current object (these objects are shown as downstream dependencies on
the right of the current object in the diagram). Only the immediate upstream and downstream depend-
encies are shown. You can click on any node in the diagram to navigate the dependency tree and view
dependencies of other objects. You can create a new user-defined property of type Reference to create
another upstream dependency. See Adding/Removing Properties (p. 144) for details.
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Figure 8.36: Dependencies Diagram - Example (p. 163) shows an example of a Dependencies display for
Comparison Report that will be used to highlight the features of dependency tracking in EKM.
In the diagram, the Comparison Report object has the number 1, and its box is not shaded. This
indicates that the Comparison Report object is the current object. Upstream dependencies are
shown on the left of the current object, and downstream dependencies are shown on the right of the
object.
The Final Decision object (numbered 4) is a shortcut to the comparison report. This means that
Final Decision is a downstream dependency of Comparison Report. If the Comparison
Report changes, the Presentation.pptx will need to be updated because it is dependent on the
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Each box in the diagram shows the name of the object and an ID. The details of each dependent object
are displayed by ID in the table below the diagram. Moving your mouse pointer over the object shows
the full path to the object in a tooltip. If you click on one of the objects in the diagram or table, the
dependencies for that object will be displayed.
If the modification time of an upstream object (or content modification time if the upstream object is
a file) is more recent than the current object, it is marked with an asterisk (*) in the diagram and its
status is specified as “Newer than downstream” in the table (see Figure 8.36: Dependencies Diagram -
Example (p. 163)). This allows you to easily determine if the current object is out of date.
The table shows the details of all objects and their relationships. It contains columns for the ID, Path,
Status, Type and Date Modified. You can filter the table according to any of the displayed properties.
For details see Filtering the View (p. 170).
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The viewer displays native geometry from SpaceClaim .scdoc files and certain other file types. For
certain Fluent, CFX and MAPDL files, it displays a 3D image that has been extracted from the file. For
Simplorer, Maxwell, HFSS and Ansoft Designer files, it displays a static image. For a list of file types from
which images are extracted, see Automatic Extraction of Images on Upload (p. 104).
You can also use the viewer to display a static image that has been added as an Image property to
any object. Static image properties can be added to any EKM object by selecting (Edit) > Properties.
If viewing a 3D image, you can manipulate the image (p. 167) on the Image tab in various ways.
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If a file type is configured to extract a different type of 3D model image, such as a .cax file, the image
will be displayed in the associated application (for example, VCollab) on the Image tab. For more in-
formation about interacting with extracted CAX images in VCollab, see Displaying 3D Simulation Images
Using VCollab (p. 549).
The Set Scene button is displayed on the viewer toolbar if the source simulation file is one that
supports multiple scenes or viewports. Scenes contain preselected visualization settings such as camera
angles, zoom levels, and visibility selections.
For example, when viewing an image from a CFX .def file, clicking displays a menu of four
viewports, which correspond to the four viewports that you would see in the CFX-Pre 3D viewer or
CFD-Post:
Click the Set Visibility button on the viewer toolbar to display the Set Visibility panel:
Check or uncheck individual faces to control whether or not they are included in the model display.
The view updates automatically as you make selections.
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Note
An image will not be displayed in the viewer if EKM is running in a browser version that does
not support WebGL (for example, Internet Explorer 10). WebGL is supported in Internet Ex-
plorer 11, Mozilla Firefox 4.0 and higher, and Google Chrome 9 and higher.
In this view you can zoom in and out, pan, rotate, and hide faces.
To zoom the view so that the entire image is visible and centered in the view window, click on
the viewer toolbar.
To pan the view, click and drag with your right mouse button.
To Press
Set the view X
from the +X
axis
Set the view Y
from the +Y
axis
Set the view Z
from the +Z
axis
Set the view Shift + X
from the −X
axis
Set the view Shift + Y
from the −Y
axis
Set the view Shift + Z
from the −Z
axis
Reset the R
view to the
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To Press
isometric
orientation
You can use the (More) > Display > List action (or the List display tab if the object is already
opened) to list the objects contained within the currently-selected folder. The number of columns dis-
played will depend on the types of objects in the folder and your column preferences (p. 64) specified
for those types. You can click on any column headers to sort the items in increasing or decreasing order.
By default the objects are sorted by name in increasing order. You can filter the list according to any
of the displayed properties. For details see Filtering the View (p. 170).
You can use the (More) > Display > Details action (or the Details display tab if the object is already
opened) to display the permissions that are set on the currently-selected object.
Note
Object-level permissions will only be granted to users who have an appropriate license
checked out. For example, a user with an Analyst license will not be able to modify an
object even if he or she has been granted Modify permission on the object. He or she must
have a Shared license checked out to be able to modify the object.
You can use the (More) > Display > Details action (or the Details display tab if the object is already
opened) to display all of the properties that are associated with an object (that is, system-created, ex-
tracted, and user-defined). Figure 6.1: Example of Fluent Case Properties (p. 76) shows an example of
displayed properties for a Fluent case file. Properties are displayed in groups (such as EKM Object
Properties, File Properties, and so on) that can be collapsed or expanded as needed. Within each
property group the properties will be listed alphabetically by name. For custom properties, if a display
order was specified in the custom type definition, then the properties will be displayed in that particular
order, instead of alphabetically. See Editing a Custom Type in the Administration Guide for more details
on defining custom properties.
Note
When viewing the File Properties of an object, the Date Content Created value will differ
depending on how the file was uploaded. If the file was uploaded using the browser, this is
the date on which the file was uploaded to EKM. If the file was uploaded using the File
Transfer Client, this is the last modification date of the file on the user's system prior to upload.
If the Date Content Created and Date Content Modified dates are the same, it is likely that
the file was uploaded using the browser.
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Displaying Objects
You can use the (More) > Display > Revision History action (or the Revision History display tab
if the object is already opened) to display the revision history for an object under version control. See
Viewing Revision History (p. 191) for details.
You can use the (More) > Display > Simulation Details Report action (or the Simulation Details
Report display tab if the object is already opened) to display the Simulation Details Report for the
currently-opened CAE file. It is the default display for all CAE file types (objects that derive from the
CAE Model File base type) except for Abaqus Output Database (.odb).
For standalone Icepak projects, a simulation details report will only be available if the Write XML-based
report when finished option was enabled in the Solve settings in Icepak (see Using the Solve Panel to
Set the Solver Controls in the Icepak User's Guide). Simulation details reports are not available for packed
Icepak projects (.tzr files). For Workbench projects with an Icepak system, a simulation details report
will always be available.
If the file is a Workbench Project Archive File (.wbpz), a more comprehensive report is created that
contains a summary of the archive properties, all files contained within the project, design points,
parameters, systems, and simulation details of relevant CAE files for each system associated with the
project. See Displaying Workbench Project Reports (p. 493) for more details.
Simulation details reports are displayed as a single HTML page in the file list window (see Fig-
ure 8.39: Sample Simulation Details Report (p. 170)). A navigation pane is displayed to the left of the report.
This pane contains a table of contents that provides an overview of the sections in the report. You can
click on a section in the table of contents to instantly jump to that section. You can hide the navigation
pane from view by clicking in the top left corner of the pane. You can then redisplay the navigation
pane at any time by clicking in the top left corner of the report window. You can also use the
scroll bar to view a desired section.
If the file is a Fluent case file (.cas), Ansoft Designer File (.adsn), HFSS File (.hfss), CFX Definition
file (.def), CFX Result file (.res), Mechanical APDL Database file (.db, .cdb). Simplorer File
(.aspm), Maxwell File (.mxwl), or Mechanical APDL Result file (.rst, .rstp, .rth, .rmg, .rfl),
and it has an image associated with it, then the static image will be included in the simulation details
report.
Note
For Simplorer, Maxwell, HFSS and Ansoft Designer files, the image that is shown cannot
be enlarged in the display or when the report is downloaded.
There are two special actions available to you when displaying a Simulation Details Report: Copy Report
and Download Report. These are located in the upper right corner of the page, just below the toolbar.
See Copying a Report (p. 228) for more details.
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Filtering the View
Or you could use the filter in the Date Modified column to target files that have been modified within
a specific time period. To further refine the list you can specify multiple filters simultaneously.
Note
Filtering is specific to the folder in which it is applied, and is not retained when you navigate
to another folder. Also, if filters are applied in the current view and you sign out of EKM, the
filters will not be applied when you sign back in.
Filter icons are displayed in column headers. Clicking on a filter icon displays a pop-up panel where
you can either select or specify inputs for the filter. The options available will depend on the property
selected.
In the example below, clicking the filter icon in the Type column displays a list of all of the object types
in the currently selected folder. Selecting an object type in the pop-up panel updates the object list so
that only objects of that specified type are displayed. For example, if you selected the Image type and
clicked Apply, only the two image files (Mixing Tank.jpg and schematic.png) would be listed.
When you apply a filter, the filter icon in the column header becomes solid-filled to indicate that a filter
has been applied.
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When defining a filter expression you can use the wildcard characters * and ?. EKM will search for
matching words with the wildcard characters replaced.
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Filtering the View
Use the “?” symbol to represent a single character. For example, if you were filtering by name, specifying
the pattern flum?? would return files flum.10 and flum.50, but not flum.100.
Use the “*” symbol to represent multiple characters. For example, specifying the pattern blowmold*
would return files blowmold.dat, blowmold.lst and blowmold.msh. You can place the wildcard
characters anywhere in the word.
Note
If you want to filter a list based on a file extension (for example, .txt), then you will
need to include the asterisk wildcard * before the file extension (for example, *.txt)
for the search to be successful.
Filtering by Date
Date properties such as Date Modified, Start Time and End Time require that you specify a date range
to define the filter. You can either enter From and To dates manually using the MM/DD/YYYY format
or use the calendar control to quickly select dates on a calendar. For Date properties, see Using the
Pop-up Calendar to Specify a Date (p. 147).
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Applying a Filter
When you have selected or specified filter criteria for a particular property, click Apply in the pop-up
panel to apply the filter to the current list of objects. If you change your mind and do not want to apply
the filter, click Cancel instead.
Removing a Filter
To remove a filter that you have applied to a list of objects, click the solid-filled filter icon and then
click Remove in the pop-up panel. Removing a filter will return the list to its pre-filtered state.
Uploads of the .wbpj file and the folder for the project files will be performed as a single archive.
Uploads of the .wbpj file will automatically include the project files if they exist in the same location;
if the project files are missing, a warning appears in the Status column.
When finished viewing project files, use the breadcrumb or your browser’s Back feature to return to
the previous view.
Note
EKM does not open remote .wbpz files in the manner just described, so the Project Files
option will not be available.
The Extract action can be used to extract the contents of an archive file with extension .zip, .tar,
.tgz, or .tar.gz to a folder in the repository. The archive extraction depends upon how the archive
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Extracting Archives
was created. If there is not a top-level folder inside the archive, then files will be extracted directly into
the selected folder. For example, fluentzip.zip will be expanded and its contents placed in a folder
named fluentzip if there is a top-level folder in the archive with name fluentzip.
The archive extraction process is accomplished using a multi-step wizard. The first step involves the
selection of the folder where the archive is to be extracted to. When you click Next, the archive is
transferred to a staging area (p. 606) that EKM uses to prepare or extract objects before they are copied
to the repository. Overwrite preferences are set when files contained in the archive already exist in the
repository. Finally, you set the user-defined property values for all files that require it, and then initiate
the extraction.
To extract an archive:
1. Select the archive, then select Extract. The Extract wizard will open in the Select Folder step. (Fig-
ure 8.45: Selecting a Target Folder for Extracted Files (p. 175))
2. Click Browse to select a target folder for the extracted files. The default folder that is displayed will be
the parent folder of the selected archive provided that you have Create permission on the parent folder
and the parent folder is not a Remote Folder.
3. Click Next. The next step in the wizard will depend on the following:
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a. If there are existing files with the same name in the repository in the same location where you want
to extract to, then the next step is to set the overwrite options. You can select individual files to
overwrite or check Select all. Click Next to set type and properties.
b. If there are no files left to extract because you chose not to overwrite existing repository files, then
the extraction process will be terminated. If you choose to overwrite some files and not others, the
files you skip will not be extracted (or overwritten).
c. If there are any files that do not satisfy EKM file system requirements, the next step will list these files
and they will not be extracted. For example, a file named Document[].txt is not a valid file name
in EKM. Another example is an archive that has the same name as another file, or has the same top-
level root folder name as the selected archive.
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Synchronizing Remote Objects
Limitations
The extraction process uses a temporary system folder to hold files in the staging area before they are
uploaded. If the temporary folder is full or almost full, then the extraction may not work as expected.
Contact your IT staff to clean up the temporary folder on the EKM server.
When a remote file is synchronized, the metadata is recalculated and updated in EKM if the file has
been modified. When a remote folder is synchronized, the metadata for all the new or modified files
contained within the folder are recalculated and updated in EKM. Additionally, any new file or folder
that is found on the remote file server that does not exist in the EKM folder will be added to the EKM
folder, and any existing file/folder that no longer exists on the remote server will be removed from the
EKM folder. The Synchronize action menu is displayed for remote folders only if you have Full
Control permission; Modify permission is required for remote files.
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1. Select the objects, then click the synchronize button . This opens a Message dialog box.
2. The Message dialog box will report on the progress of the synchronization while it is taking place and
when it is complete. Click Cancel to cancel synchronization.
The total number of objects that are processed in the transaction is reported, as well as (fatal) errors and
(non-fatal) warnings that were encountered. Error messages will prevent a synchronization from occurring,
while warnings are alerts only. Common warnings result when:
• The default type for an extension cannot be applied to a file because the metadata extraction has failed.
You can monitor extraction status on the Data/Extraction Monitor page.
Important
If you cancel a synchronization while it is being processed, you may need to wait for some
time before the operation is cancelled.
If you are currently in a folder and want to add an object shortcut to that folder, use the New Short-
cut (p. 126) action instead.
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Emailing Links to Objects
All shortcuts that you create in EKM are typed as Shortcut objects and can be edited using (Edit)
> Shortcut. See Editing Shortcuts (p. 153).
Important
1. Select the object, then select (More) > Create Shortcut. This opens the Create Shortcut dialog box,
as shown below.
2. Click Browse to specify the folder where the shortcut will be saved. The default location is /Data/My
Data.
4. Check the Prevent object from being deleted box is you want EKM to prevent the object that the
shortcut is referencing from being deleted.
To email a link, select the objects, then select (More) > Email Link. Your default mail client opens
with the URL of the selected objects inserted in the body of the email. The subject line will contain the
path of the object if there is only one object selected or the label: Links to EKM objects, as shown
below for multi-selected objects.
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When a recipient of the email clicks on a link in the message, and they are already logged into the same
workspace that the object links to, then they will be taken directly to the object. However, if the recip-
ient is not currently logged into the workspace and they click on a link in the message, they will be
presented with the EKM login screen and prompted to enter their credentials before being taken directly
to the object.
Note
The repository in which the object resides must be one that the recipient is allowed to access.
If the object normally launches a dialog or action when selected in EKM, then the same will occur when
the recipient accesses the object through an email link. For example:
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Chapter 9: Version Control and Access Management
This chapter presents information on how to control access to objects in an EKM repository and manage
branches using the Versioning action menu. It also describes how you can get and release exclusive
control of objects.
• set permissions (p. 137) on the object that permit (or restrict) access by users and groups.
• get exclusive control (p. 182) of the object, which gives you exclusive edit privileges and prevents others
from modifying it. When you are done modifying the object, you can release exclusive control (p. 183)
of it.
• place the object under version control (p. 184) by adding it to EKM,'s version control system. Editing
objects in a “controlled check-in” environment ensures that only one user is modifying an object at any
given time, and that their modifications are captured exclusively in the version they are working on.
Managing the configuration of an object under version control includes creating new versions for it
and branching (p. 188). Versioning creates a linear sequence of versions for an object, whereas branching
creates a tree of versions. Figure 9.1: Versioning Versus Branching (p. 181) shows an example of an object
that has been versioned and branched. Versions 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 are versions of the same object.
2.1 is a branch of version 1.2 and has a new version 2.2, spawned from it.
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Versioning and branching are both handled from the Versioning action menu. You can also use the
Versioning action menu to revert to a previous version (p. 189) of the object, retrieve a copy of a stored
version (p. 189), remove the object from version control (p. 190) if it is obsolete, and view its revision
history (p. 191). When you revert to a previous version, the current repository copy of the file gets replaced
with the contents of a selected previously stored version in the version store. For example, suppose
you have a text file under version control. Let's say there are three versions of it stored in the version
store; 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. Now if you revert to 1.2, then your file will have its content replaced with
the content from 1.2. Then, if you check in the file, a new fourth version will be added to version
control and labeled 1.4.
Some sample actions from the Versioning menu are shown below for an object that has been added
to version control and is checked out.
1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Get Exclusive Control. This opens the Get Exclusive Control
dialog box.
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Releasing Exclusive Control
2. Optionally choose to lock the entire object tree under the selected object by including all children.
3. Click OK. An unlock icon will be placed next to the objects that are under your exclusive control with
the Tool tip labeled as “Exclusively controlled by user.” They will appear as locked to other users.
1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Release Exclusive Control. This opens the Release Exclusive
Control dialog box.
2. Optionally choose to unlock the entire object tree under the selected object by including all children.
3. Click OK.
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Once version control is enabled, you can check out the object, modify it, and check it back in. When
you check it in, the version gets automatically incremented. You can also choose to “undo the checkout”
which reverts the version of the object back to the previous one. When an object is under version
control and “checked out” to you, no other user with modify permission can modify the object until it
is checked back in. The object will appear to be “locked” when viewed by other users and “unlocked”
to you. Only versioned objects that are checked in (and not under “exclusive control by someone else)
are available for modification.
1. Allows only one user at a time to modify the object. To modify an object under version control, you place
the object in an exclusive editing mode with the check out action. The check in action releases the exclusive
editing mode.
2. When you are done modifying the object, the check in action is performed, and a non-editable copy of
the object is stored. This copy is called a version.
Important
You cannot add a folder to version control if it contains an object already under version
control.
1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Add to Version Control. This opens the Add to
Version Control dialog box.
2. If you want to start modifying the objects immediately, select the Check out option.
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Modifying Objects Under Version Control
3. Click OK. A new version will be created for the object (for example, 1.1) and the version control tool tip
will either indicate that the object is checked out (open lock icon) or not checked out (lock and key icon)
as shown below.
The first part of the version ID (before the period) is the branch number. The second part is the version
number. For example, the second version of the first branch has a version ID of 1.2.
When displayed in a table, objects under version control will also have a lock icon next to their names.
An icon showing an “open lock” means that the object is checked out to you. An icon showing a
“closed lock” means that another user has the object checked out. If the icon shows a “lock with a
key” , it means that the object is not checked out to anyone. Tool tip information is displayed when
you hover your mouse cursor over the different icons.
When you are done modifying the object and want to exit the exclusive editing mode, you can check
in the object. Once that is performed, you are said to have the object “checked in.”
If you want to exit the exclusive editing mode without saving modifications to the object, you can undo
the checkout. The object will revert to the state it was in prior to checkout.
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1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Check Out. This opens the Check out dialog
box.
2. If any of the selected objects are container objects (for example, folders), you will be given an additional
option to check out all child objects (not shown). The tool tip will indicate that the objects are checked
out and the unlock icon will be displayed as shown in Figure 9.5: Under Version Control and “Checked
Out” (p. 185).
3. Click OK.
9.6.2. Check In
To check in objects under version control:
1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Check In. This opens the Check In dialog box.
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Modifying Objects Under Version Control
2. Optionally add a comment. This comment will be associated with the object check in and displayed in
the Revision History view.
3. If any of the selected objects are container objects (for example, folders), you will be given the additional
option to check in all child objects (not shown).
4. Optionally choose to keep the object checked out after a new version has been stored.
5. Click OK. The version number will be incremented (for example, 1.2), the tool tip will indicate that the
object is checked in and the lock icon will be displayed as shown in Figure 9.6: Under Version Control and
“Not Checked Out” (p. 185). If you did not modify objects, then a new version will not be created and you
will be advised to “Undo the Checkout” in the resulting error message.
Note
All children of a folder under version control share the same version number. This means
that the version number of the folder and all its files will be incremented even if you
check in just a single file in that folder.
1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Undo Checkout. This opens the Undo Checkout
dialog box.
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2. If any of the selected objects are container objects (for example, folders), you will be given the additional
option to undo the checkout for all child objects (not shown).
3. Click OK.
To create a branch:
1. Select the object (the object does not need to be checked out), then select (Edit) > Versioning >
Create Branch. This opens the Create Branch dialog box.
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Getting a Copy of a Version
5. Click OK.
1. Select the object, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Revert to Version. This opens the Revert to
Version dialog box.
3. Click OK.
1. Select the object to create a copy of, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Get Copy of Version. This
opens the Get Copy of Version dialog box.
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4. Click Browse to select the folder where you would like to save the copy.
5. Click OK.
Note
If the object contains discussions, only messages that are currently stored via check-in of the
selected version will be included in the copy. Messages that have been added since the
check-in of a selected version will not be included.
1. Select the objects, then select (Edit) > Versioning > Remove from Version Control. This opens the
Remove from Version Control dialog box.
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Viewing Revision History
2. Choose to either remove the branch that corresponds to the selected objects or remove all branches.
Note
You can remove all branches from version control only if you have checked out all
branches. Otherwise this operation will fail.
3. Click OK.
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You can display the revision history in two different views: an Ancestors of Current Version view and
an All Versions view. In the Ancestors view, only the versions that the current version is derived from
are shown. In the All Versions view, versions from all branches are shown. (Figure 9.14: Revision History
- Ancestors of Current Version (p. 192))
Note
Both of the revision history displays will show only those versions in which the object was
modified. Thus, if you are viewing the revision history of a file that is contained in a folder
under version control, only those versions will be shown that have had content or metadata
modified. This is done so that you do not see a long list of versions when an object has rarely
changed.
Version information is displayed in both diagram and table format. Click the nodes of the diagram to
view the corresponding stored versions. Mouse-over nodes of the diagram to view the paths of the
corresponding stored versions. The table displays information pertaining to the user who checked in
the versions, the check in date, and comment (if any). You can filter the table according to any of the
displayed properties. For details see Filtering the View (p. 170). Click the versions in the table to view
the corresponding stored versions. Multiple versions in the table are selectable using the right-click
context menu. You can create a comparison report, edit the version, and email a link containing the
selected version information.
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Viewing Revision History
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Chapter 10: Searching a Repository
EKM provides you with keyword and advanced property search tools that you can use to search a re-
pository and retrieve objects that are stored or referenced by EKM. Both of these search tools are easily
accessed from the page bar in the Data section.
Search Methods
A keyword search can be used to quickly search EKM for all objects in a repository that have the specified
keyword in their properties or file content. You can execute a keyword search by entering a word in
the search box and then pressing Enter or clicking the search icon. See Searching by Keyword (p. 196).
An advanced search can be used to conduct a more directed search on object properties. For example,
you may want to search for a specific file type, and/or search by properties such as Created By or
Date Modified. To perform an advanced search you click the Advanced link next to the search box
on the menu bar, and then enter search criteria in the Advanced Search dialog box. For pages and
folders, you can also open the Advanced Search dialog box by selecting (More) > Search from the
toolbar or context menu. For more information see Performing an Advanced Search (p. 199).
If you know the path to an object you can enter it in the search box to quickly navigate to that object.
See Searching for an Object by its Path (p. 209).
Search Results
When performing keyword or advanced searches, search results are displayed in the file list window.
By default, results are displayed in list form on the List tab. Clicking on an item in the list takes you to
that item in EKM. You can also display search results in a tree by selecting the Tree tab. The tree display
enables you to view the EKM folder that each found object is contained in. You can expand and collapse
the tree to change the number of objects that are displayed. You can also click on any item in the tree
to go directly to that item. For more information see Displaying Search Results (p. 210).
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When you enter a path to an object, you will be taken directly to the object rather than being presented
with a list of search results.
Saved Queries
You can save your search queries (p. 215) in /Home/My Queries (or /Administration/Shared Queries
if you have access). Once saved, you can edit the query (p. 217), re-execute it (p. 218), and make a private
query “public” (p. 219) so that it can be shared with other users in your workspace. See Managing
Queries and Search Results (p. 215) for full details.
Clicking on the arrow to the right of the Advanced button will display a pop-up window that contains
a list of saved queries. When you select a saved query from this list, the query will immediately ex-
ecute (p. 218). Queries on the Shared Queries (p. 219) page are ones that users in your workspace have
elected to share with others. Queries on the My Queries (p. 119) page are your own private saved
queries.
This chapter presents information on how you can use keywords and advanced search tools to search
and retrieve any object in EKM, as well as how to manage your search results. The following topics are
covered:
10.1. Searching by Keyword
10.2. Performing an Advanced Search
10.3. Searching for an Object by its Path
10.4. Displaying Search Results
10.5. Searching Results for Report Content
10.6. Managing Queries and Search Results
For specific information on searching a catalog, refer to Searching a Catalog (p. 469) in the Catalogs
chapter.
Note
• If the keyword you are searching on is contained in a report for a CAE file, then the CAE file will
be returned in the search results.
• Keyword searches traverse both the My Data and Shared Data pages in the Data section.
• A file name that contains a number and only one '_' character following the number anywhere
in the name will not appear in search results. Therefore, if you want to reliably search on a file
based on its file extension (for example, .txt or txt), then you will need to do one of the fol-
lowing:
– Include the asterisk wildcard * in your keyword before the file extension and to omit the
period before the extension (for example, *txt).
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Searching by Keyword
– Use an advanced search for the name property with the "Matches" condition set to the value
"%.ext".
icon .
Important
Keyword searches are case-sensitive, and there are limitations on the way certain char-
acters can be used. For a complete list of limitations see Rules and Restrictions for
Keyword Searches (p. 197).
• You cannot leave the search field blank, or use any of the following characters as singular input:
+ ! ^ ( ) { } - [ ] “ ” ‘ ’
Note that some of the characters listed above are also invalid when they are part of a string. For ex-
ample, while the strings “fluent” and (fluent) are valid, the strings ‘fluent’ and [fluent]
are not. Also, some characters are valid at the beginning of a string, but not at the end of a string.
For example, !fluent is valid, while fluent! is not.
• Non-alphanumeric characters that are part of keyword may be ignored. For example, entering the keyword
#scaling could return results such as scaling, #scaling, scaling#, scaling#one, and so on.
Similarly, entering the keyword scaling#one could return results such as scaling, one, scaling#one,
scaling:one, scaling-one, and so on.
• You cannot use section labels or headings in any EKM-generated report as keywords to retrieve objects.
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Wildcard Searches
You can use wildcard characters ? and * to perform single and multiple character searches, respectively.
EKM will search for matching words with the wildcard characters replaced.
will return objects whose name or file contents contains the words: part1, Part2.
will return objects whose name or file content contains the words: Airfoil, airfoil-1. You can
place the wildcard characters anywhere in the word.
Note
If you want to search on a file based on its file extension (for example, .txt or txt),
then you will need to include the asterisk wildcard * in your keyword before the file
extension (for example, *.txt) for the search to be successful.
Proximity Searches
You can conduct a proximity search to find words that are a specified number of words away from the
given search phrase. Place a “~” (tilde) at the end of a search phrase followed by the proximity defined
as number. For example, the following will return files that contain the words “ekm” and “repository”
within 10 words of each other.
"ekm repository"~10
The “||” operator is the default conjunction operator. This means that if there is no Boolean operator
between two keywords, the “||” operator is used. The “||” operator links two keywords and finds a
matching object if either of the keywords exist in the object’s content or properties. The word "OR" can
be used in place of the "||" symbol.
For example, to search for objects that contain either "Fluent model" or just "model", you could use
either of the following queries:
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Performing an Advanced Search
The "&&" operator is a conjunction operator that finds a matching object if both keywords exist in the
object’s content or properties.
For example, to search for objects that contain both "fluent model" and "ansys model", you would use
the following query:
The "!" operator excludes objects that contain the keyword displayed after the "!" symbol.
For example, to search for objects that contain "fluent model" but not "test model", you would use the
following query:
Note
The "!" operator cannot be used with only one keyword. For example, the search string
!"fluent" model would return no results.
Grouped Searches
You can use parentheses to group a statement so that it can be used to form a more complex query.
For example, to search for either "fluent" or "cfx" and "ansys", you could use the following query:
Fuzzy Searches
Fuzzy searches enable you to match a pattern approximately (rather than exactly). To perform a fuzzy
search, use the tilde "~" symbol at the end of a single keyword.
For example, to search for words that are similar in spelling to "cfd", you would use the following query:
cfd~
You can control the closeness of the match by adding an optional parameter to the search value. The
parameter can be a number between 0 and 1 (for example, cfd~0.8). The closer the number is to 1,
the higher the similarity must be for a word to be included in the search results. If you do not specify
this parameter, a default value of 0.5 is used.
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You can create simple expressions that search for one or more properties of a single object type, or
you can build a complex expression that utilizes more advanced options. If an object type has child
properties associated with it, you can use those properties as well.
A special property Any Keyword can be used to locate objects that contain the specified value in
either their properties or file content.
If you are performing a search to find reports in the repository, then you can further refine your advanced
search by filtering the results you obtain for report content (p. 211).
Similar to keyword searches, advanced search results are displayed on the List tab of the file list window.
They can also be re-displayed in a tree. See Displaying Search Results (p. 210) for details. You can also
manage search results from this view by saving, editing and executing the query, clearing search results
and sharing your private query with others. See Managing Queries and Search Results (p. 215) for details.
This launches the Advanced Search dialog box, where you can define your search criteria. See Specifying
Search Criteria (p. 200) for details.
The figure below shows the components of the Advanced Search dialog box.
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Performing an Advanced Search
1. Specify the folder(s) in which you want to search. By default, both Shared Data and My Data will be
searched. You can specify additional folders to be searched or remove folders from the list by clicking
Edit next to the Folder(s) to search in option. A panel will appear enabling you to add and remove
folders:
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To add a folder, click Add to display the EKM file system. All users will have access to the Data
and Home sections. Members of the admin group can also search the folders contained in the
Administration section, including the personal folders of other users.
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Performing an Advanced Search
Select the desired folder or enter its path in the edit box, then click OK. The folder will be added
to the list of folders to be searched.
To remove a folder from the list, select it in the list and then click Remove.
2. From the Select object type drop box, select the object type that you want to search for, or choose Any
Type to search all object types. The properties for the selected object type will be displayed in the
Property pane. Some properties are common to most object types, such as Name and Modified By,
while other properties are specific to certain object types. For example, if Fluent Case is selected as
the object type, then you will see properties such as Fluent Version, Solver, and Viscous Model
in the properties list. You can reduce the number of properties that are displayed for this session and future
sessions by clicking the filter icon . See Filtering Types and Properties in the Advanced Search Dialog
Box (p. 205) for details.
3. To expand the properties list to include child properties of the selected object type (if they exist), check
the Show child properties box. For example, the Workbench Project Archive File (.wbpz) object type
has a simulation details report as a child object. You can choose to search on those child report properties
as well.
4. Select a property to add to the expression. The property will appear in the Expression panel on the right
along with appropriate condition and value options. Select the desired condition and value for the
property. For more information see Creating Search Expressions (p. 206).
Note
• If you are searching on the property --Any Keyword-- and it is contained in a report for
a CAE file, then the CAE file will be returned in the search results.
• Keyword searches are case-sensitive, and there are limitations on the way certain characters
can be used. For a complete list of limitations see Rules and Restrictions for Keyword
Searches (p. 197).
• If you are searching on any keyword based on its file extension (for example, .txt or txt),
then you will need to include the asterisk wildcard * in your keyword before the file extension
(for example, *.txt) for the search to be successful.
• If the object type that you are searching is a Workbench Project Archive File,
and you want to use a Mechanical model to build an expression, choose a property as follows:
– To search Workbench archives added in EKM R15 or earlier, use Workbench Project
Archive File > Mechanical Model.
– To search Workbench archives added in EKM R16 or later, use Workbench Project
Archive File > Mechanical Database > Mechanical Model.
You can add more properties to the expression by clicking on properties in the Property pane.
Each time you click on a property, a new row will be added to the expression. To remove a property
from the expression, click the Remove link next to the property.
5. Specify the Matches criteria for the expression. If Matches all of the following is selected, all property
conditions must be met in order for an object to appear in the search results. If Matches any of the fol-
lowing is selected, then only one of the conditions must be met.
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6. To add one or more sub-expressions to the search criteria, check the Allow sub-expression box. A sub-
expression is an expression that is nested within another expression. When Allow sub-expression is se-
lected, the View search expression option becomes available.
7. Review the expression by clicking View search expression (shown only when Allow sub-expression is
selected). You can click View search expression at any time to view the updated search expression.
8. Click OK to execute the search. The search results will be displayed on the List tab of the file list window.
You can switch to the Tree view for easier navigation if a large number of objects are returned. See Dis-
playing Search Results (p. 210) for more details.
You can act on search results directly from the view. See Managing Queries and Search Results (p. 215)
for details on saving and editing the query, and clearing search results. See Searching Results for Report
Content (p. 211) to further refine your search by filtering the results you obtain for report content.
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Performing an Advanced Search
10.2.2.1. Filtering Types and Properties in the Advanced Search Dialog Box
The number of object types you can select from in the Advanced Search dialog box may be too lengthy
for your preference. As a convenience, you can click the filter icon to the right of the Select object
type drop-down list to hide types that you do not want to display in the list. A drop-down list opens
(Figure 10.5: Filtering Types (p. 205)). Select one or more items you want to hide and click Apply to apply
the change to this instance of the advanced search. Selecting Apply & Save will save the setting so
that the next time you open the Advanced Search dialog box your type preference will be automatically
applied.
Similarly, the number of properties you can select from in the Advanced Search dialog box may be
too lengthy for your preference. As a convenience, you can click the filter icon in the Property pane
to hide properties that you do not want to display. A drop-down list opens (Figure 10.6: Filtering Prop-
erties (p. 206)). Select one or more items you want to hide and click Apply to apply the change to this
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instance of the advanced search. Selecting Apply & Save will save the setting so that the next time
you open the Advanced Search dialog box, your property preference will be automatically applied.
Note
For multi-valued properties of any type, the only available conditions are Contains
and Doesn't Contain. Also, wildcards * and ? are not supported even if the property
type is String.
• String properties can have the following conditions: Equal To, Not Equal To, Matches, and
Contains.
– The Equal To condition can be used to exactly match the specified value. No wild cards are sup-
ported. When a wildcard is used, it will be treated as a normal character.
Note
You must use the Equal to condition over Contains if the value contains a
drop-down list. The reason is that the Contains condition performs a full text
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Performing an Advanced Search
search to find property values that match the specified keyword, and will not provide
an exact match with the specified value.
– The Not Equal To condition can be used when you do not want an exact match of the specified
value. No wild cards are supported. When a wildcard is used, it will be treated as a normal character.
– The Matches condition can be used to match a pattern in the specified value. Wild cards % and _
are supported. % will match zero or more characters and _ will match a single character. Matches
is case-sensitive.
Note
You must use Matches if the value contains non-Latin characters such as Chinese
or Japanese characters.
– The Contains condition can be used to search for a single word in a property that contains multiple
words. Wild cards * and ? are supported. * will match zero or more characters and _? will match a
single character. Contains is case-insensitive.
Note
Important
Keyword searches are case-sensitive, and there are limitations on the way certain
characters can be used. For a complete list of limitations see Rules and Restrictions
for Keyword Searches (p. 197).
• Boolean properties can have the Equal To condition. The value is shown as a check box. If you
want to search for objects for which the value of the Boolean property is true, then select the check
box. Otherwise, leave it unselected.
• Date properties can have the following conditions: Equal To, Not Equal To, Less Than, Less
Than or Equal To, Greater Than, Greater Than or Equal To, and Within.
– The Within condition can be used to set the number of days within which to perform the search.
For example, to search for objects created in the past month, you would select the Date Created
property and set the expression to Within 30 Days.
• Integer properties can have the following conditions: Equal To, Not Equal To, Less Than,
Less Than or Equal To, Greater Than, and Greater Than or Equal To.
Note
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• Real Number properties can have the following conditions: Equal To, Not Equal To, Less
Than, Less Than or Equal To, Greater Than and Greater Than or Equal To.
Note
Wildcards * and ? cannot be used when specifying Real Number property values.
• Reference property: Equal To and Not Equal To. You will need to supply the full path of the
reference as the value. For example, if you want to search for all Workbench Simulation files whose
DesignModeler Database property references a particular file, then give the full path of the file (for
example, /Data/Shared Data/model.agdb) as the value.
word1
word2
word1 word2
An Advanced search is conducted with Any type and the property Name is selected, which is of type
String. An example of each condition for the String type is shown below.
Equal To
/Data/Shared Data/word1
Not Equal To
/Data/Shared Data/word1
Matches
/Data/Shared Data/word1
/Data/Shared Data/word2
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Searching for an Object by its Path
Contains
/Data/Shared Data/word1
/Data/Shared Data/word1
/Data/Shared Data/word2
Contains or Matches
or
/Data/Shared Data/word1
/Data/Shared Data/word2
When entering a path, ensure that you use the following format: /section/page/file or folder
name. For example, to navigate to the Sample Files folder on the Shared Data page, you would enter
/Data/Shared Data/Sample Files in the search box. Similarly, if you wanted to navigate to a
particular job you would enter /Jobs/Job Monitor/jobname.
If you do not use the correct format (for example, if you do not include the forward slash at the beginning
of the path), the entry will be considered to be a keyword instead.
If you use the correct format but the path is invalid, you will see an error message similar to the following:
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A path may be invalid if spelling or case does not match exactly, or if the object no longer exists.
If instead you want to search for files that contain a certain path, insert double quotation marks around
the path when entering it in the search box.
Figure 10.7: Keyword Search Results Example - List View (p. 211) shows an example of search results
displayed in List view. Figure 10.8: Keyword Search Results Example - Tree View (p. 211) shows the same
search results displayed in Tree view. In this example, several objects were found for the keyword “fluent”.
EKM will return any file that contains “fluent” in its file contents, folders that have “fluent” in their name,
and any object that has “fluent” listed in its properties.
For keyword searches, snippets are displayed in the search results for certain file types. A snippet contains
a few lines of text around the keyword and provides relevant information about the object so that you
can understand what it is without having to open the object. Snippets are extracted for files such as
.txt, .doc, .pdf, .ppt, .rtf, .xml, .xls, .html, and any file whose MIME type is set as
text/plain in EKM.
To open a file or folder displayed in the search results, simply click on its entry in the file list window.
The number of rows and columns that are displayed in the Search Results list are determined by the
List Display settings in your Preferences (p. 60). Reverse and forward navigation buttons are provided
to allow you to move back and forth between pages. By default, all search results are displayed in a
single page.
When you right-click any search result link in a display, you can access the context menu for the object.
This means that you can act on objects directly from the Search Results, without having to navigate to
the folder they are contained in. For example, if you want to place an object that you have retrieved
under version control, simply right-click the link in a search result display and select Edit > Versioning
> Add to Version Control from the context menu. As always, the actions you are presented with depend
on the permissions that are set for the object in its source folder.
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Searching Results for Report Content
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To filter search results for report content, select (More) > Search Reports on the toolbar. This will
open the Advanced Search - By Report Content dialog box where you can specify the criteria for
searching reports. (Figure 10.9: Specifying Folders to Search In (p. 212))
1. The search results will already be listed as items to search. To add a folder to the search list, click Add,
then select a folder from the repository file system. To remove items, click Remove.
2. Click Next > to filter objects. Filtering provides you with an easy way to restrict searching to a subset of
reports found in the selected folders.
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Searching Results for Report Content
a. To filter by report type, select the desired types in the left pane and click Filter >.
b. To filter by report path, or part of a path (including the report name), enter a value in the Enter Report
path name pattern box (using an asterisk as a wildcard where necessary) and click Filter>. For example,
if you wanted to search reports found only in My Data, you would enter *My Data* in the name
pattern box. Or, if there were several reports in the list that had the name Simulation Details
Report in their path (for example, /Data/My Data/fluent-elbow.cas/Simulation De-
tails Report and pipe-optimization.wbpz/Simulation Details Report), but you
only wanted to search those from Fluent .cas files, you would enter *cas/Sim* as the path pattern.
c. The filtered reports will appear in the Report(s) to search in list to the right. The list can contain
standalone reports as well as CaeModelSummaryReport files that are part of simulation files. If
required, you can select any report from this list and click the Remove button to remove it.
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a. The tables from filtered reports in the last step will be displayed in the Table drop-down list. Select
the table you want to use in the query from the list.
b. Select the Row header (the value in the first row) and Column header for the query and click Add.
The query will be added to the Expression below.
c. Choose the condition and provide the value for the added query.
e. Choose the match criteria as: matches all of the following (AND) or matches any of the following
(OR).
f. Click OK to execute the search. The search results will be listed in the file list window. Note that the
search results may contain standalone reports as well as simulation files that contain reports.
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Managing Queries and Search Results
g. Manage the query and search results using actions described in Managing Queries and Search Res-
ults (p. 215).
1. In the search results window, click the save button . This opens the Save Query dialog box:
2. Specify the location where the query will be saved. You can save it in Home/My Queries or Administra-
tion/Shared Queries.
5. Click OK.
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Once saved, the saved query will appear in the list of saved queries, as shown below:
1. Select (More) > Save Results on the toolbar. This opens the Save Results as Report dialog box:
3. Specify the folder where the report will be saved. The default location is Data/My Data.
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4. If a report of the same name was previously saved, check the Overwrite box to overwrite the previously
saved file.
To edit the current query, click the edit button on the toolbar. For advanced search queries, the
Advanced Search dialog box opens and for keyword search queries Keyword Search opens. Edit the
query using this dialog box as per your requirement.
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1. Click the expand search button on the toolbar. The Expand Search dialog box opens.
If you have not yet defined connections to other repositories, click the Connections link to create
a new connection. For details see Defining Connections to Other Repositories (p. 72). Once you
have created a connection, you will be automatically returned to the Expand Search dialog box.
2. Deselect any repositories that you do not want to include in the search.
3. Click OK to perform the search. EKM will search in the selected repositories, and show the search results
in different EKM windows, one window for each repository.
In the search results window of the Server where the initial query was created, you can edit the search
query, resubmit it to get results for the modified search, then reopen the Expand Search dialog (where
all the details are prefilled) and perform the modified search on other repositories.
Note
• Click the down arrow inside the search box to display a pop-up window containing a list of saved
queries:
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Managing Queries and Search Results
– Filter the list of queries to display only My Queries, Shared Queries, Starred queries or Recent
queries. Clicking All displays the entire list.
– Access the folders in which queries are saved by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner and
making a selection from the menu:
• Navigate to the folder where the query was saved (for example, Home/My Queries or Administra-
tion/Shared Queries), and then click on it to execute it.
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group accepts and approves the request by completing the task, the saved query is automatically moved
from its location to the Administration/Shared Queries page where it can be accessed by all users in
the workspace.
Important
You cannot share a query on a tablet device using the Share Query action.
1. Select the saved query on your Home/My Queries page, then select (Edit) > Share Query. This will
open a Message dialog box with the following message:
2. The EKM admin group members will get an email message alerting them that a share query request is
pending. A sample is shown below:
3. The EKM admin group members can click the link in the email and, if they are signed in, go directly to
the task. Alternatively, they can click on the task on their My Tasks page to open the task on the Processes
page, and then accept the task in the process view. Once the task is accepted by any member of admin
group, it will not appear to other admin users.
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Managing Queries and Search Results
4. After accepting the request, the EKM admin user can approve the request by checking the Approve
Request box. The existing name of the query can be maintained, or a new name entered. The admin can
then click Complete to fulfill the Shared Query request.
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5. Once the task is completed, the query will be automatically moved to the Administration/Shared
Queries page where it can be accessed by all users in the workspace. The initiator of the request will receive
an email alerting them of the status. The process for the request will be placed in the location where the
private query request was initiated from, and can be used as a log.
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Chapter 11: Creating Reports
When you upload files that derive from the CAE Model File base type to an EKM repository, EKM will
automatically extract a simulation details report as a child object of the uploaded file, and display the
report by default as HTML in the file list window. The report will also be generated when you add the
file as a remote object, or synchronize it. From the display, you can choose to save the child report as
a separate EKM report object so that you can act on it separately from its parent. Or, you can download
the report to your local file system in different file formats. See Simulation Details Reports (p. 224) for
more details.
A simulation details report contains a summary of key data such as model information and simulation
setup, solution settings and results. For a Workbench Project Archive File (.wbpz), a more compre-
hensive report is created that contains a summary of the archive properties, all files contained within
the project, design points, parameters, systems, and simulation details of relevant CAE files for each
system associated with the project. See Workbench Project Reports (p. 226) for more information.
EKM also provides you with powerful tools for creating on-demand reports that are described in this
chapter. You can create a Quick Compare (p. 230) report that applies default settings and compares
objects based on their properties and/or report content. You can also create a customized Comparison
Report (p. 231) that compares objects based on their properties, report content, charts, and folder contents.
If you are viewing a process object, you can create a Process Report (p. 240) that provides information
about tasks in the process.
Comparison reports and process reports are created using the (More) > Report menu and are saved
upon creation. Reports that are displayed in the file list window as temporary objects or child objects
of a parent CAE file can also be saved as separate EKM report objects so that they can be downloaded
or acted on independently.
The Report menu also provides an action that enables you to create an Excel file report (p. 244) that
contains exported properties for any object in a repository.
This chapter presents information on all of the different types of reports that are available in EKM. These
include reports that you can create on-demand, as well as reports that are automatically generated. It
also includes details on how to create an Excel spreadsheet report that contains exported properties
for any object in the repository. The following topics are covered:
11.1. Simulation Details Reports
11.2. Comparison Reports
11.3. Creating a Process Report
11.4. Displaying a Report
11.5. Saving a Report
11.6. Downloading a Report
11.7. Exporting Properties to an Excel File Report
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Creating Reports
Important
An appropriate license is required to create simulation details reports for ANSYS, Nastran,
or Abaqus files.
If the object type is a Workbench Project Archive File (.wbpz), then a special Workbench project report
is created. See Workbench Project Reports (p. 226) for details.
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When an upload is finished or when you open the CAE file in EKM, the report will display as a single
HTML page on the Simulation Details Report tab in the file list window. A navigation pane is displayed
to the left of the report. This pane contains a table of contents that provides an overview of the sections
in the report. Each section corresponds to metadata that has been extracted from the file. You can click
on a section in the table of contents to instantly jump to that section. You can hide the navigation pane
from view by clicking in the top left corner of the pane. You can then redisplay the navigation
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pane at any time by clicking in the top left corner of the report window. You can also use the
scroll bar to view a desired section.
If the file is a Fluent case (.cas), Ansoft Designer File (.adsn), HFSS File (.hfss), Simplorer File
(.asmp), Maxwell File (.mxwl), CFX Definition (.def), CFX Result (.res), Mechanical APDL Database
(.db, .cdb) or Mechanical APDL Result (.rst, .rth, .rmg) type and it has an image associated
with it, then the static image will be included in the simulation details report.
Note
For Simplorer, Maxwell, HFSS and Ansoft Designer files, the image that is shown cannot be
enlarged in the display or when the report is downloaded.
The report that is created is not a separate EKM object but is instead a child object of the uploaded CAE
file and is not directly accessible to you in the user interface except for display, copying, and downloading
purposes. The child report can be useful when you want to compare the simulation details of multiple
supported CAE files directly, without having to create separate report objects and then compare the
reports as separate actions. It also enables you to retrieve the parent file using child report contents as
search criteria.
There are two special actions available to you when displaying a Simulation Details Report: Copy Report
and Download Report. These are located in the upper right corner of the page, just below the toolbar.
Copy Report can be used to create a separate EKM object of type Simulation Details Report for the
child report that can be used when you want to act on the report separately from its parent CAE file.
You can also download a report in several file formats. See Copying a Report (p. 228) and Downloading
a Report (p. 229), respectively for details.
There may be circumstances when metadata extraction succeeds but simulation details report extraction
fails. In this case you will need to extract the report manually. See Extracting Simulation Details Reports
On Demand (p. 229) for details.
The report includes a Summary section that provides general information about the Workbench project.
It also includes details exported from Workbench, including the Project Schematic, a list of Files that
are associated with the project, Design Points and Output of All Parameters. The report also displays
the systems associated with the Workbench project and includes simulation details of each CAE file
that is contained in a system. In Figure 11.2: Sample Workbench Project Report (p. 228) you can see that
the project contains a Fluent system. When you expand one of these sections in the table of contents,
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Simulation Details Reports
the details of the selected system are displayed. Note that the details listed are the simulation details
report child objects of the included CAE files for the Workbench project.
Important
Section labels or headings in Simulation Details Report objects cannot be used as search
keywords or criteria to retrieve objects.
For more information on Workbench project archive files, see Working With ANSYS Workbench Pro-
jects (p. 493).
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1. Click the Copy Report icon in the top-right corner of the report window. The report is copied
to the clipboard.
2. Navigate to the folder to which you want to copy the report and select (Edit) > Paste. The report with
have the name of the parent CAE file with a Simulation Details Report suffix.
To download the report, click the Download Report icon in the top-right corner of the report
window and then select either Excel, PDF, XML or Word Document from the drop list. Depending on
your browser, you may be prompted to specify a save location for the file, or to open the file upon
download. If your browser is set to download files automatically, the report is instantly downloaded in
the selected format to the default download location specified in your browser settings.
Note
If you have downloaded a report as a Word document, the navigation pane may not be
displayed when you open it in Word. To display a navigation pane in Word, select View,
then enable the Navigation Pane check box.
The Quick Compare action provides an easy way for you to generate a comparison report based on
default settings. See Creating a Quick Compare Report (p. 230).
The Comparison Report action provides you with a lot of flexibility to create reports based on simple
or complex criteria. You can compare objects based on their properties and/or by report content. You
can also create plots and charts that compare numerical values. Refer to Steps for Creating and Using
a Comparison Report (p. 229) for an outline of the steps involved in the process.
2. View the temporary report that is displayed. See Displaying a Report (p. 242).
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3. Save the temporary report as a Comparison Report object in EKM. See Saving a Report (p. 243).
5. Edit the saved report. See Editing a Comparison Report (p. 239).
Important
EKM provides you with an easy single-click way to generate a comparison report between two or more
objects using the quick compare feature. Simply select two or more objects in the file list window, then
select (More) > Report > Quick Compare. The Show all default setting for the objects selected will
be used to automatically generate a temporary report and display it in HTML (Figure 11.3: Quick Compare
Report (p. 231)). You can clear the temporary report results by clicking the clear button on the
toolbar, or save the report as a Comparison Report object in the default /Data/My Data folder (or
another folder you specify) by clicking the save icon . See Saving a Report (p. 243).
If all of the objects selected are report object types (for example, Comparison Reports, Process Reports,
Simulation Details Reports), then All Report Content will be compared as well as All Proper-
ties (Figure 11.3: Quick Compare Report (p. 231)). Otherwise, All Properties will only be compared.
Once the report is generated, you can change the report to compare only the differences in the prop-
erties and report content. Do this by selecting Show only differences from the Comparison Format
drop box at the top-right of the temporary report.
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The Comparison Report feature enables you to create a customized comparison report using a simple
wizard. The number of steps in the wizard will vary depending on the type of objects you select for
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comparison. For example, if you choose a combination of files and folders for comparison, you can
compare them by their properties and choose to include objects contained within folders. This additional
step enables you to filter child objects to include in the comparison by type or by name pattern. If instead,
you choose to compare only folders, you have the option of comparing objects that have the same
name within the folders.
You can also compare any two or more report files (and their properties) directly by selecting the report
objects and initiating the compare. And, when you want to compare simulation details of supported
CAE files, you can simply select the CAE files for comparison, instead of selecting Simulation Details
Report objects that were saved separately.
By default, comparison reports show items as text, tables, and links that are the same between the
compared objects. You can choose to “Show only differences” if you want to compare only those items
that are different in the compared objects.
Important
Only numeric quantities can be compared in a Chart. If two or more reports are compared
and any report contains numbers mixed with units (for example, 415 KB, 123 MB and
so on), then that report's content cannot be compared using charts because it is treated
as a “String” type.
Once a comparison report is finished being generated, a temporary report will display (p. 242) in HTML
on a single page in the file list window. The report is titled Comparison Report and will contain sections
based on the comparison options you selected. Depending on the type of report that is displayed, there
may be additional actions that you can choose from that enable you to edit the report setup, clear the
temporary report, save it as an EKM object (p. 243), and change the comparison format.
Important
1. In the file list window, select the objects that you want to compare, then select (More) > Report >
Comparison Report. This opens the Create Comparison Report wizard. The objects you selected are
pre-filled in the comparison list.
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2. Click Add to add additional files and/or folders to compare. Click Remove to remove an object from the
list.
3. Choose the compare option. The available options in this step will depend on the objects you have selected:
• Compare objects with the same name within folders is available only if all the selected objects for
comparison are folders. This option enables you to recursively compare objects in the selected folders
that have the same type and relative path. For example, if two folders are selected for comparison and
both contain two files, analysis1 and analysis2, then the Comparison Report will compare the
file analysis1 in one folder to the file analysis1 in the second. Similarly it will compare file ana-
lysis2 in one folder to the file analysis2 in the second. The Comparison Report will also point out
objects that are present in one folder but not in the other.
• Compare any two or more objects enables two or more objects to be compared against each other
and is the default option. For folders, this means that just the top-level folder objects are compared. If
the selected objects contain any folders, then you can also select the Include objects within folders
option to include children of the selected folders for comparison, This option is useful if you want to
compare certain files that belong to different folders. If the selected objects are a mix of files and folders,
then all comparison options are disabled and the Compare any two or more objects option is selected
by default.
• If the objects are all folders and you chose to either compare objects with the same name within folders
or compare any two or more objects and included objects within folders in the previous step, then go
to Step 5 to filter folders objects by name or type. Otherwise to compare two or more objects, go to
Step 7 to define properties. Note that chart-based comparisons are not supported when comparing
objects with the same name within folders.
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• If the objects are combinations of files and folders, go to Step 7 to define properties.
• If the objects are all reports or are parent CAE files listed in Simulation Details Reports (p. 224) that
contain child simulation details reports, go to Step 6 to select the comparison types.
a. To filter by type, select one or more types from the Filter by type list and click Filter>. The objects
that match the name pattern in the expression will be filtered and display under the Object(s) to
compare list.
b. To filter by name pattern, enter a regular expression in the name pattern field, and the object name
that matches the expression will be filtered when you click Filter>. The objects that match the selected
types in the expression will be filtered and display under the Object(s) to compare list. In the example
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Comparison Reports
shown in Figure 11.5: Create Comparison Report - Select Objects (Filter) (p. 234), the name pattern
*.xml filtered two objects named report.xml in different folders.
c. Click Next> to define property comparison and then go to Step 7 for instructions.
6. Define the comparison types and click Next>. (Figure 11.6: Create Comparison Report - Define Comparison
Type (p. 236))
If all of the objects you chose for comparison are report objects, then you can compare report
contents in addition to properties.
• The wizard will guide you through both steps if you chose both options.
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Note
Charts are not available when comparing objects with the same name within folders.
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a. Select Tables if you want to compare properties based on tables and choose one or more property
categories to include in the report. Select Show only differences to show just those properties that
have different values. (Properties with the same values will not be shown in the report). If you do not
want to compare charts, then click OK to generate the report. Otherwise, check the Charts box and
go to step b.
b. Select Charts if you want to compare numeric properties using plots and charts. The dialog box will
expand to show more options.
Important
Only numeric quantities can be compared in a Chart. If two or more reports are
compared and any report contains numbers mixed with units (for example, 415 KB,
123 MB and so on), then that report content cannot be compared using charts be-
cause it is treated as a “String” type.
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i. Click Add to add a new chart. The chart will be added to the Chart Names list below, with a default
name. You can change the default name by editing the Name field under Chart definition and
clicking the Update button.
ii. Select the type of chart you want to define from the Type drop-down list. There are three options:
Bar Chart, Column Chart, and Line Chart. The default type is Bar Chart.
For Bar charts, you supply the X-axis data. You can select a Table-Row-Column combination
to define the property that is to be compared in the chart. Only numeric properties will be
visible in the drop-down lists. The Y-axis data are automatically taken as the object names.
For Column charts, you supply the Y-axis data. You can select a Table-Row-Column com-
bination to define the property that is to be compared in the chart. Only numeric properties
will be visible in the drop-down lists. The X-axis data are automatically taken as the object
names.
For Line charts, you supply both the X-axis and Y-axis data. The dialog box will expand to
show both options. For X-axis data, you can choose either Object names to compare or a
numeric property. For Y-axis data, you can input a numeric property only.
iii. Add more charts, as needed. Use the Remove button to remove charts.
c. Click Next>.
8. Define the report content comparison (shown only if reports are selected). Choose to Show only differ-
ences or keep the default of comparing all contents. If you want to add a chart, go to Step 7b for details.
Note that you can choose only numeric table data for chart-based comparisons of report files. Click Next>.
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9. Click OK to generate the comparison report. The report will be created and temporarily displayed (p. 242)
in the file list window in HTML format. You will then need to save the report (p. 243) as an EKM object if
you want to act on it in the future.
You can also edit a saved comparison report by selecting the report and then selecting (Edit) >
Comparison Report.
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1. Go to the Processes page, then select the process in the Process Monitor folder.
2. Select (More) > Report > Process Report. The Create Process Report dialog box appears:
3. In the Name edit box, specify a name for the report. By default, the name of the process is used, with
"Process Report" appended at the end.
4. Click Browse and then select the repository folder where you would like to save the report. By default,
the report will be saved in /Data/My Data.
5. If a report with the same name has already been created in the selected folder, you can choose whether
or not you want to overwrite the existing report by checking or clearing the Overwrite box.
6. Click OK to create the report. The process report is displayed on the HTML tab in the file list window. The
left pane of the report contains a table of contents that you can use to navigate to specific sections in the
report. You can hide the navigation pane by clicking in the top left corner of the pane. Clicking
shows it again.
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Creating a Process Report
The report includes links to the process and process template, a process graph, variable status, and
details about each completed task.
If the process has another process nested within it, separate diagrams and details will be shown
for the main process and nested process provided that the nested process has been reached.
Otherwise, only the main process is represented in the report.
You can expand the section containing completed tasks to view details about each task. For example,
you can view inputs and outputs, and job submission settings.
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When viewing a report in the file list window, a navigation pane is displayed to the left of the report.
The navigation pane displays a list of section titles in the report. You can click on a section in the nav-
igation pane to go to that specific section in the report. You can also use the scroll bar to view a desired
section.
For simulation details reports, you can copy the child report and download it directly from the displayed
page. For comparison reports, you will need to first save the report (p. 243) as a separate EKM object
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Downloading a Report
before you can download a hardcopy (p. 243) to your local file system and perform other actions on it.
Process reports are automatically saved as separate EKM objects when they are created.
1. While the report is displayed in the file list window, click the save icon on the toolbar to open the
Save Report dialog box.
3. Click Browse to specify a save location for the report. The default location is /Data/My Data.
4. Optionally enter a report description. The description will be added to the EKM Object Properties but will
not be included in the report.
6. Click OK. The report will be saved in the location you specified. Once saved, you can download the re-
port (p. 243) and perform other allowable actions on the report object.
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1. Select the objects, then select (More) > Report > Export Properties to Excel.
2. The browser will show a dialog box where you can choose between opening the generated proper-
ties.csv file in Excel or saving it to your desktop.
3. Click OK.
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Chapter 12: Managing Jobs
A job refers to a process that runs when an external application is launched from EKM. You can run
both batch and interactive jobs in EKM, and easily monitor and manage those jobs.
A batch job is a sequence of commands to be executed by the operating system. Once submitted, batch
jobs run on their own without any user intervention. You can set up and execute a batch job (p. 246)
in EKM using the Start Batch Job application. When you create a batch job you specify job submission
settings and upload files to a working directory on the compute server. Jobs are submitted to a local
or remote batch queuing system that is scheduled and managed by the ANSYS Remote Solve Manager
(RSM) utility.
An interactive job is processed in real time, meaning that you interact with the system as the job executes.
You can start an interactive job (p. 255) in EKM using the Start Interactive Job application. When you
start an interactive job you are prompted to select an application to launch (for example, ANSYS
Workbench). Interactive jobs are submitted to EnginFrame, a high-performance computing (HPC) applic-
ation portal that manages all aspects of the interactive session. EnginFrame integrates with key job
schedulers and remote visualization tools for a seamless interactive experience.
For increased efficiency you can create job templates (p. 289) that contain your desired job submission
settings.
When a job is started in EKM, a job monitor object is automatically created on the Job Monitor page.
You can monitor (p. 305) the status of all jobs simultaneously on this page. Opening a job monitor objects
enables you to view various details about the job, such as inputs and outputs, and job submission set-
tings. The toolbar will display actions that are pertinent to the current job stage.
Job management in EKM is integrated between the web application and the mobile application to
provide you with more options for monitoring and controlling jobs.
Note
You cannot start or manage jobs if you have been assigned Basic access.
In this chapter:
12.1. Starting a Batch Job
12.2. Running an Interactive Job
12.3. Quick Starting a Remote Desktop Session
12.4. Using Job Templates
12.5. Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
12.6. Creating a Custom Job Template
12.7. Editing a Job Template
12.8. Monitoring and Controlling Jobs
12.9. Accessing a Job’s Working Directory
12.10. Accessing the RSM Job Log
12.11. Cluster Monitoring
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You can start a batch job by launching the default Start Batch Job application on the Applications
panel, or by executing a batch job template that has been created in the repository. You can also start
a batch job directly from selected simulation files that reside in the EKM repository. When you start a
batch job you are prompted to accept or specify the job name and then upload files to the working
directory. The working directory is a location on the compute server where job files are gathered for
processing. You can upload files from your local computer, the EKM repository, or from another location
on the EKM server. Once you have uploaded all necessary files to the working directory, the job will
execute automatically by default, and you can monitor its progress on the Job Monitor page.
Note
• If you want to run a job for a Workbench project archive stored in the EKM repository, you can
run the job directly from the .wbpz file. This will save you time as there is less setup involved.
See Running Jobs Directly from Stored Workbench Projects (p. 524).
• It is not possible to submit jobs from ANSYS AIM projects stored in EKM.
• By default, when you submit a batch job, the credentials that you use to sign in to EKM will be
used to submit the job to RSM. If you use different credentials to execute jobs, then you must
specify these credentials in your EKM settings. See Specifying Job Management Preferences (p. 70).
For information about defining the rsmWindowsDomain setting, see Specifying Remote
Process Policies (<remoteProcess>) (p. ?) in the Administration Guide.
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Starting a Batch Job
To start a batch job using the job launch application, click the Applications icon on the title bar,
and then on the Applications panel click on the Start Batch Job icon.
For the next steps, see Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247).
1. Select the file(s) that you want to include in your simulation job.
2. Select (More) > Execute > Batch Job on the toolbar or context menu.
3. Continue with setting up the job as described in Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247). As soon as you accept or
specify the job name, the view switches to the Job Monitor page, and the files that you selected are dis-
played on the job’s Working Directory tab.
Note
For details about starting a batch job from a Workbench archive (.wbpz file), see Running
a Batch Job from a Workbench Project (p. 524).
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Note
If you started the job directly from repository files (p. 247), a Specify execution settings
button is displayed next to the Select files button. This enables you to skip the step of se-
lecting input files (since you have already selected them), and go directly to the step of
specifying execution settings if desired.
2. By default, a working directory will be automatically created for the job in the EKM Job Data Direct-
ory (to see where this is located, refer to EKM and RSM Job Directories). This is where job files will be
staged. If you would prefer to stage job files in an existing directory, enable the Choose a working dir-
ectory for this job check box. When you do so, the following options become available:
• Choose working directory of an existing job. Click the drop box to select a job that has been started
previously. Files for the current job will be staged in the previous job’s working directory.
• Choose a directory on the server. Click Browse to display the folder structure of the compute server.
When you select a folder, its path will be displayed in the edit box.
Note
– If selecting the working directory of an existing job, that directory will not be deleted
until the last job that is using that directory is deleted.
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Starting a Batch Job
– If selecting a directory on the server, make sure that you do not select a directory that
could potentially be deleted. For example, do not select another user’s job working direct-
ory, as it may be deleted if the user deletes the job with which it is associated.
– When selecting a job directory, you must have write permission on that directory.
3. Click Select files. (If you started the job directly from repository files, you can skip this step if you wish
by clicking Specify execution settings instead. See the next step for details.)
At this point, a job is created in the Job Monitor, and a working directory is created. Note that if
you were to close the dialog box now or in the next step, the job would be cancelled, but the job
object and working directory would remain.
• To upload files from your local computer, select the Local System tab. If the files are currently displayed
in a window such as Windows Explorer, or are on your desktop, you can drag them into the dialog.
Otherwise, click Add and select the files in the Open dialog box. In Firefox and Chrome browsers you
can select multiple files simultaneously. To select consecutive files, hold down the Shift key while se-
lecting files. To select non-consecutive files, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting files. (In Internet
Explorer you can only select a single file.)
If you would like to use the File Transfer Client to upload files, click the Launch File Transfer
Client link. See Uploading Files Using the File Transfer Client (p. 88) for more information.
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• To upload files from the EKM repository, select the Repository tab. Click Add to display the repository
file system in a pop-up window. Navigate to the repository folder where the files reside, or enter the
path to the folder in the address field and click Go. To move up a level in the folder structure, click the
up arrow next to the Go button. Select the files that you want to upload by enabling their check boxes,
then click OK to add the selected files to the upload list.
• To upload files from another location on the EKM server, select the Server tab. Click Add to display a
pop-up search window. Navigate to the folder where the files reside, or enter the path to the folder in
the address field and click Go. To move up a level in the folder structure, click the up arrow next to the
Go button. Select the files that you want to upload by enabling their check boxes, then click OK to add
the selected files to the upload list.
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Starting a Batch Job
4. Click Specify execution settings. You can now specify the job submission settings:
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Managing Jobs
Additional settings may be available if the job was launched from a custom or built-in job template.
Job template
If you did not launch the job from a job template you can select one now. Templates save time by
automatically filling in the job settings for you, and provide a way to specify variables that have been
defined in the template. See Using Job Templates (p. 266) for details.
Note
• The Job template drop box only displays templates saved in Home/My Applications
and Administration/Shared Applications unless you started the job directly from a
job template that is located in a different folder. In this case the template from which
you launched the job is listed under Other Templates in the Job template drop box.
However, any other templates saved outside of My Applications and Shared Applica-
tions are not displayed.
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Starting a Batch Job
• If a job template is selected, settings for command line arguments, batch submission
options and the transcript file are not available. These settings are defined in the template.
Application
The application that you want to use for computing results, such as ANSYS Workbench, Fluent, or
Mechanical APDL.
Queue
The job submission queue. You may want to select a specific queue if the application exists on multiple
queues.
Note
Only MAPDL/Mechanical jobs support the use of a local scratch directory. For all
other job types, make sure that you select a queue that uses a shared staging direct-
ory.
Number of cores
The number of central processing units to reserve on the server.
Transcript file
The name to be used for the transcript file that will be written during job execution. When viewing a
job on the Job Monitor page, the transcript is displayed on the Transcript tab for monitoring purposes.
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Managing Jobs
5. Click Execute to execute the job. The status of the job is displayed on the Jobs/Job Monitor page.
Provided that the job is not interrupted, the status will go from Queued to Executing, and then to
Executed once complete.
When executing a batch job you can access the job’s working directory and perform various data
management tasks such as uploading, copying, moving, deleting, and renaming files. See Accessing a
Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for details.
Note
• When you execute a job, an ekm_job.out file is created in the job’s working directory. If you
plan to execute a job again, make sure that this file is not being viewed at that time. EKM cannot
generate a new ekm_job.out file if the existing one is being viewed, and will report an error
if that is the case.
• A maximum of 10MB of data can be read from the ekm_job.out file. If the size of this file exceeds
10MB, only a partial transcript will be displayed on the Transcript tab.
• The ekm_job.out file does not include printouts from the solver to RSM’s stderr file.
• Variable values that you have specified in the Start Job dialog box will be saved in memory when
you execute the job. If you execute the job again, the previously entered values will be displayed
in the Start Job dialog box for your convenience.
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If you cancel a job it will stop executing. However, the job object will remain on the Job Monitor page
so that you can execute it again later, or display information about it. If you want to remove the job
completely, you will need to delete (p. 255) it.
1. Select the job on the Job Monitor page (if not already selected), then click on the toolbar.
2. In the Execute Batch Job dialog box, select the desired Input File, and specify your job submission settings.
3. Click OK.
To delete a batch job on the Job Monitor page, select the job and then click the delete button on
the toolbar, or right-click the job and select Delete.
Note
• When you delete a job, its working directory is not deleted unless you delete the job from your
Recycle Bin as well.
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you can launch applications and perform computational tasks. EnginFrame manages the interaction
between you and the compute server, and integrates with key job schedulers to submit, monitor and
manage jobs.
In order to run interactive jobs, you must have a remote visualization application installed on your
computer or device. Examples include:
In order to run interactive jobs on a Linux queue, EnginFrame must be installed and correctly configured
to work with EKM. See Installing and Configuring EnginFrame in the Installation Guide for details. Also,
the VNC password must be set.
You can start an interactive job by launching the default Start Interactive Job application on the Ap-
plications panel, or by executing an interactive job template that has been created in the repository.
You can also start an interactive job directly from selected files in the EKM repository.
When you start an interactive job you will be prompted to upload files to the working directory (if de-
sired), and specify job submission settings such as the application to launch. A job object will be created
on the Job Monitor page, and from there you can connect to the remote session. The selected applic-
ation will launch remotely on your desktop provided that you have a supported visualization client in-
stalled.
During an interactive session you can access a job’s working directory and perform various data man-
agement tasks such as uploading, copying, moving, deleting, and renaming files. See Accessing a Job’s
Working Directory (p. 320) for details.
To start an interactive job using the job launch application, click the Applications icon on the title
bar, and then on the Applications panel, click on the Start Interactive Job icon.
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Running an Interactive Job
For the next steps, see Setting Up an Interactive Job (p. 258).
There are two ways to start an interactive job from a job template:
• Click on the job template on the Home/My Applications or Administration/Shared Applications page,
or select the job template and click the execute button on the toolbar. You can also right-click the job
template and select Execute from the context menu.
• Click the Applications icon on the title bar to display the Applications panel, then click on the template’s
icon.
For the next steps, see Setting Up an Interactive Job (p. 258).
1. Select the file(s) that you want to include in your simulation job.
2. Select (More) > Execute > Interactive Job on the toolbar or context menu.
3. Continue with setting up the job as described in Setting Up an Interactive Job (p. 258). As soon as you accept
or specify the job name, the view switches to the Job Monitor page, and the files that you selected are
displayed on the job’s Working Directory tab.
Note
For details about starting an interactive job from a Workbench archive (.wbpz file), see
Running an Interactive Job from a Workbench Project (p. 525).
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1. In the Start Job dialog box, accept or edit the job name.
2. By default, a working directory will be automatically created for the job on the compute server. This is
where job files will be staged. If you would prefer to stage job files in an existing directory, enable the
Choose a working directory for this job check box. When you do so, the following options become
available:
• Choose working directory of an existing job. Click the drop box to select a job that has been started
previously. Files for the current job will be staged in the previous job’s working directory.
• Choose a directory on the server. Click Browse to display the folder structure of the compute server.
When you select a folder, its path will be displayed in the edit box.
Note
• If selecting the working directory of an existing job, that directory will not be deleted until
the last job that is using that directory is deleted.
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Running an Interactive Job
• If selecting a directory on the server, make sure that you do not select a directory that could
potentially be deleted. For example, do not select another user’s job working directory, as
it may be deleted if the user deletes the job with which it is associated.
• When selecting a job directory, you must have write permission on that directory.
The working directory will be created when you advance to the next screen (by clicking either
Select files or Specify execution settings on this screen). A job object will also be created in the
Job Monitor at this time. Note that if you were to close the dialog box now or in the next step,
the job would be cancelled, but the job object and working directory would remain.
3. To upload files to the working directory now, click Select files, then select the input files that you want
to upload to the working directory. For more information, see Uploading Files to the Working Direct-
ory (p. 322).
Alternatively you can upload files to the working directory after the interactive session has been
started. In this case, skip to the next step.
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The main job submission settings are described below. Additional settings may be available de-
pending on the job template that is selected.
Job Template
Selecting a job template populates the Application and Queue boxes with the applications and
queues defined in the job template. For more information about job templates, see Using Job
Templates (p. 266).
Note
The Job template drop box only displays templates saved in Home/My Applic-
ations and Administration/Shared Applications unless you started the job
directly from a job template that is located in a different folder. In this case the
template from which you launched the job is listed under Other Templates in
the Job template drop box. However, any other templates saved outside of
My Applications and Shared Applications are not displayed.
Application
By default, if no job template is selected, the Remote Desktop application is selected. To launch
a specific application, such as ANSYS Workbench, Fluent, or Mechanical APDL, select it from this
drop-down.
Queue
The job submission queue. You may want to select a specific queue if the application exists on
multiple queues.
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Running an Interactive Job
Memory options
If the selected queue is associated with a Neutro job scheduler, you can submit the job to a
visualization host with a particular amount of memory.
5. Click Execute to start the interactive job. A job object will be created for the session on the Jobs/Job
Monitor page. It may take a few minutes for the interactive session to be created.
As you are connected to the interactive session, a file is downloaded that contains information
about the session. You will be prompted to open this file with a visualization tool, as shown in the
figure below.
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6. Click OK. This opens the remote visualization client, enabling you to interact with the remote desktop
session.
In the figure below, ANSYS Workbench has been launched remotely from a user’s computer:
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Running an Interactive Job
If you do not connect to the remote session, or are disconnected from it, you can connect to it by
clicking Connect on the toolbar. See Connecting to an Interactive Session (p. 264) for details.
When executing an interactive job you can access the job’s working directory and perform various data
management tasks such as uploading, copying, moving, deleting, and renaming files. See Accessing a
Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for details.
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Note
The Connect action is not available on a tablet. To connect to a remote session on a tablet
you will need to specify the Connection URL in the job’s properties. Specifying this value
will open the VNC app on the tablet.
When you connect to an interactive session, a file is downloaded that contains information about the
session. You will be prompted to open this file with a visualization tool, as shown in Figure 12.3: Opening
a Remote Connection Information File (p. 262).
Clicking OK in this dialog will open the remote visualization client, enabling you to interact with the
remote desktop session.
If you experience any issues while an interactive session is running, you can select (More) > Show
session log to display a detailed log of activity from EnginFrame. The log shows task outputs and errors,
and information about the VNC Server.
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Running an Interactive Job
The Show session log action will only be available until you start a job in the interactive session.
• In the EKM web client, right-click the interactive job object on the Jobs/Job Monitor page and select Cancel
from the context menu, or select the job object and click the cancel button on the toolbar. The Cancel
Job dialog box will appear prompting you to confirm the cancellation.
• In the remote visualization client, log out of the remote session. Note that closing the client window will
not terminate the session and you will still be able to connect to it afterward.
• (Linux only) Close the application (for example Workbench) that was launched interactively. The session will
close automatically when the application closes.
Note
• If you close the launched application and the interactive session does not close, it is likely that
the Close session when application exits option is disabled in the interactive job template.
Note also that this option only works for interactive jobs started in Linux. You will need to close
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the session using one of the other methods. For details about this setting see Defining General
Job Template Settings (p. 291).
• If an interactive session is closed outside of EKM (for example, from the remote visualization client),
the corresponding job object may still appear in the Job Monitor for a few minutes. Once EKM
detects that a session has been closed, the job’s status will change to Cancelled.
1. In the Jobs section, select (More) > Quick Start Remote Desktop. An interactive job is created on
the Job Monitor page, and a working directory is created for the job on the compute server.
A file is downloaded that contains information about the session. You will be prompted to open
this file with a visualization tool, as shown in Figure 12.3: Opening a Remote Connection Information
File (p. 262).
2. Click OK. This opens the remote visualization client, enabling you to interact with the remote desktop
session.
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Using Job Templates
For added convenience, you can also run a job directly from a job template by simply selecting the
template file. See Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template (p. 268) for details.
For information on using the built-in job templates, see the following:
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There are two ways to start a batch job from a job template:
• Navigate to the location where the job template is saved (usually Home/My Applications or Administra-
tion/Shared Applications), and then click on the job template, or select the job template and click the ex-
ecute button on the toolbar. You can also right-click the job template and select Execute from the context
menu.
• Click the Applications icon on the title bar to display the Applications panel, then click on the template’s
icon.
For the next steps, see Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247).
For information on using the built-in, application-specific job templates, see the following:
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
1. Click the Applications icon on the title bar, and then click on the Start CFX Job template on the Ap-
plications panel. The template is located in Shared Applications.
2. In the Start Job dialog box, accept or specify the job name. You can then specify a working directory if
desired. See Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
3. Click Select Files, then select the input files to be uploaded to the working directory. See Setting Up a
Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
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4. Click Specify execution settings, then specify the CFX job submission settings:
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
Queue
Select the queue to which you want to submit the job.
Note
CFX jobs may fail if submitted to a queue that uses a local scratch directory. Ensure
that you select a queue that uses a shared scratch directory.
Version
The version of CFX that will be launched.
Note
• Features introduced in current or recent releases of EKM, such as live job monitoring,
may not be available in EKM if you choose a solver from an older release.
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Run Definition
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Run Definition tab of the CFX Solver Manager’s
Define Run dialog box. Refer to Run Definition Tab in the CFX Solver Manager User's Guide.
Type of Run: Choose Full or Partitioner Only. When Full is selected, the Run Mode setting
is available. To specify partitioner settings, enable the Show Advanced Controls check
box, and then select the Partitioner tab.
Double precision. Check the box to select Double Precision.
Run Mode: During a Serial run, all computation is done by a single process running on
one processor. A Parallel run divides computation into more than one process and is done
on more than one processor in a single machine (local parallel processing) or on more than
one machine (distributed parallel processing).
(Parallel) Number of partitions: The number of partitions should not exceed the number
of available processor cores. For local parallel setup, you can select between 2 and 16384
partitions.
Note
• When Parallel processing is selected, you must select a queue that does not use a local
scratch directory. Distributed CFX jobs require a shared cluster directory that all compute
nodes can access.
• On Linux queues, when Parallel processing is selected, passwordless SSH access must
be set up for each cluster node.
Initial Values
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Initial Values tab in the CFX Solver Manager’s
Define Run dialog box. Refer to Initial Values Tab in the CFX Solver Manager User's Guide.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
On the Run Definition tab you can set the Message Passing Interface (MPI Type) to either
Platform MPI or Intel MPI. Refer to Message Passing Interface (MPI) for Parallel in the CFX Solver
Manager User's Guide for details.
Partitioner
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Partitioner tab in the CFX Solver Manager’s
Define Run dialog box. See the Partitioning and Partitioner Tab sections in the CFX Solver Manager
User's Guide for more information.
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Solver
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Solver tab in the CFX Solver Manager’s Define
Run dialog box. For details see Solver Tab in the CFX Solver Manager User's Guide.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
Interpolator
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Interpolator tab in the CFX Solver Manager’s
Define Run dialog box. For more information see Interpolator Tab in the CFX Solver Manager User's
Guide.
1. Click the Applications icon on the title bar, and then click on the Start Fluent Job template on the
Applications panel. The template is located in Shared Applications.
2. In the Start Job dialog box, accept or specify the job name. You can then specify a working directory if
desired. See Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
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3. Click Select Files, then select the input files to be uploaded to the working directory. Supported file types
include .cas, .dat, .cas.h5 and .dat.h5 files. For general information on uploading files, see Setting
Up a Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
4. Click Specify Execution Settings, then specify the Fluent job submission settings:
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For detailed information about these settings, see Starting ANSYS Fluent Using Fluent Launcher in
the ANSYS Fluent Getting Started Guide.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
Queue
The queue on which the job will run.
Note
Fluent jobs may fail if submitted to a queue that uses a local scratch directory. Ensure
that you select a queue that uses a shared scratch directory.
Dimension
Choose 2D or 3D.
Double precision
Enable the check box to select double precision.
Processing options
During a Serial run, all computation is done by a single process running on one processor. A Parallel
run allows you to compute a solution by using multiple processes that may be executing on the same
computer, or on different computers in a network.
Note
General options
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On this tab you can choose the Fluent version to use, specify inputs for the solution, or select
an existing journal file.
Note
• When selecting a Case file or Data file, you can only choose from among files that were
uploaded to the working directory when you started the job.
• When submitting a Fluent job to a Windows compute server, non-compiled UDFs are
not supported.
For a steady case, enter the desired number of iterations. For a transient case, enter the number
of time steps, and the time step size in seconds.
Environment
On this tab you can specify other environment variables:
5. Click Execute to execute the job. During the solution you can view live solution monitors and interact
with Fluent using actions in the EKM job monitor. See Working with Fluent Server-mode Jobs (p. 307) for
details.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
mode, which enables you to view live convergence and solution monitors, and steer the solution using
actions in the EKM job monitor.
1. Click the Applications icon on the title bar, and then click on the Start MAPDL Job template on the
Applications panel. The template is located in Shared Applications.
2. In the Start Job dialog box, accept or specify the job name. You can then specify a working directory if
desired. See Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
3. Click Select Files, then select the input files to be uploaded to the working directory. See Setting Up a
Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
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4. Click Specify execution settings, then specify the job submission settings. Note that you can only change
the input file to one that has been uploaded to the working directory.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
Version
The version of MAPDL that will be launched.
Note
• Features introduced in current or recent releases of EKM, such as live job monitoring,
may not be available in EKM if you choose a solver from an older release.
Queue
The job submission queue
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Managing Jobs
License
Select a license from the available types
Add-on Modules
Possible add-on modules include:
LS-DYNA (-DYN): Enables LS-DYNA. Applicable only for ANSYS Structural and higher license
levels.
ANSYS DesignXplorer (-DVT): Enables the ANSYS DesignXplorer advanced task. The
DesignXplorer module is part of the ANSYS Workbench product and is used to compute
the requested results for the entire range of all design parameters with one solve. See the
DesignXplorer documentation for more information.
For more information about the license and add-on module settings, see Product Settings in
the Mechanical APDL Operations Guide.
File Management
See The File Management Tab in the Mechanical APDL Operations Guide for details.
Customization/Preferences
See The Customization/Preferences Tab in the Mechanical APDL Operations Guide for details.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
If using Distributed Computing, enable the Download Distributed Files check box if the
ability to restart the analysis is required.
For general information about this tab, see The High Performance Computing Setup Tab in the
Mechanical APDL Operations Guide. For information about shared-memory parallel processing,
see Using Shared Memory in the ANSYS Mechanical APDL Parallel Processing Guide.
Note
5. Click Execute to execute the job. During the solution you can view live convergence and solution monitors,
and interact with MAPDL to steer the solution. See Working with Mechanical APDL Server-mode Jobs (p. 314)
for details.
You can upload projects created in ANSYS Electronics Desktop, as well as legacy projects created in
Simplorer, Maxwell, HFSS, Designer, and Q3D. Note, however, that legacy projects will be converted to
.aedt files and submitted to ANSYS Electronics Desktop for execution.
When the Start Electronics Job template is used, ANSYS Electronics Desktop is launched in server
mode, which enables you to perform live monitoring of the solution in EKM.
Note
For successful use of the Electronics template, the EKM administrator must specify the install-
ation directory of Electronics Desktop in the ekm.xml configuration file. See the emagIn-
stallationDirectory setting in Specifying Remote Process Policies (<remotePro-
cess>) (p. ?).
1. Click the Applications icon on the title bar, and then click on the Start Electronics Job template on
the Applications panel. The template is located in Shared Applications.
2. In the Start Job dialog box, accept or specify the job name. You can then specify a working directory if
desired. See Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
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3. Click Select files, then select the input files to be uploaded to the working directory. See Setting Up a
Batch Job (p. 247) for details.
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Starting a Batch Job from a Job Template
4. Click Specify execution settings, then specify the job submission settings:
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Queue
The job submission queue.
Note
Electronics jobs will fail if submitted to a queue that uses a local scratch directory.
Ensure that you select a queue that uses a shared scratch directory.
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Creating a Custom Job Template
Version
The version of Electronics Desktop that will be launched.
Note
• Features introduced in current or recent releases of EKM may not be available in EKM if
you choose a solver from an older release.
Analysis Specification
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Analysis Specification tab in the Submit Job
To dialog box in ANSYS EM products. See RSM Integration with Job Management UI in the Electronics
Desktop Online Help for details.
Compute Resources
The settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Compute Resources tab in the Submit Job
To dialog box in ANSYS EM products. See RSM Integration with Job Management UI in the Electronics
Desktop Online Help for details.
Scheduler Options
This tab is displayed when the selected Queue is not a Native RSM queue, and the Show advanced
options check box is enabled. Here you can enter scheduler-specific job submission settings. The
settings on this tab correspond to settings on the Scheduler Options tab in the Submit Job To dialog
box in ANSYS EM products. For more information, see High Performance Computing (HPC) Integration
in the Electronics Desktop Online Help.
5. Click Execute to execute the job. While the Electronics application is solving, you can monitor the solution
in EKM. See Working with Electronics Server-mode Jobs (p. 318) for details.
• Applications to be launched
• Queues
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• Variables
2. Specify a name for the job template and select the location where you would like to save it. My Applica-
tions is a personal page in the Home section which can only be accessed by you. Shared Applications
is located in the Administration section and contains applications that will be accessible to all users.
Note
• You cannot use the name of a job template that already exists in the target location.
• The Shared Applications option is only available if you have Modify permission on the
Administration/Shared Applications page.
3. Click OK. The template is saved in the target location, and the Edit Job Template dialog box appears:
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Creating a Custom Job Template
The Edit Job Template dialog box has four tabs: General, Variables, Script and UI. The settings
on the General tab correspond to settings in the Start Job dialog box when running a batch or
interactive job. The variables that you define on the Variables tab can be used to define settings
on the General tab, such as Command line arguments and Environment variables, so you may
want to define your variables first. On the Script tab you can define a script macro and optionally
specify a macro for validating variable values. On the UI tab you can specify the name of a macro
that defines a custom dialog box for running the job. Note that the UI tab is only available when
Batch is the selected job type.
4. Referring to the sections that follow, specify the job template settings (p. 291) and define any vari-
ables (p. 294) that you want to use when specifying settings.
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Environment variables and a Transcript file name. For interactive jobs you can specify Remote
visualization options.
To specify Application keys, Queues, Command line arguments, Environment variables, or Remote
visualization options, click to add an entry to the list, and then define the entry. To delete an
entry that you have added to a list, click the trash can icon in the last column. If you need help with
any of the settings, click the help icon next to the setting that you need help with.
• Job type. Choose either Batch or Interactive. A Batch job contains a sequence of commands to be executed
by the operating system, and is submitted for execution as a single unit. Once a batch job has been submitted
it can run to completion without any intervention from you. The commands are submitted from the EKM
server to the Remote Solve Manager (RSM), which queues the request, allocates processors, and starts and
manages the job. Batch jobs are ideal when you want to run longer processes, or when you are not available
to provide input. An Interactive job, on the other hand, is processed in real time. You are prompted to input
data and interact with the system as the job executes. A remote desktop application is used during interactive
sessions to connect your computer to the compute server.
• Application keys. Create a list of external applications that are to be available for selection when the job
is executed. Enable the Default radio button next to the application that you want to be selected by default
when the job is executed. This is required even if there is only one application listed.
• Queues. Optionally create a list of job submission queues that are to be available when the job is executed.
Add an entry to the list, and then select the desired queue in the drop box. The available queues in the drop
list will depend on whether the job type is batch or interactive. If there are two or more queues in the list,
enable the Default radio button next to the queue that you want to be selected by default when the job is
executed. If no queues are specified then all queues that contain the application will be available for selection.
Note
Ensure that you make available only those queues that support the type of job being
submitted. For example, when defining a Fluent job template, ensure that you enable only
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those queues that use a shared staging directory. For guidelines refer to Important Con-
siderations and Recommendations for Job Submission in the Administration Guide.
• Command line arguments. Define command line arguments for the applications that will be used during
job execution. Add an entry to the list and then define the argument using text and/or variables. To add a
variable to the definition, press the spacebar to display a list of available variables, and then select the variable
to add. Variables are displayed using the {$var} notation. Variables are defined on the Variables tab of the
Edit Job Template dialog box. For details see Defining Variables for Job Template Settings (p. 294).
Note
The cores variable is a built-in variable that can be used to automatically specify the
number of processing cores to be reserved if the number is greater than 1.
• Environment variables. (batch jobs only) Define environment variables that will communicate data to
processes. Add an entry to the list, and then define the parameter using text and/or variables.
Note
You can define environment variables for an interactive job by editing the template’s xml
file.
• Remote visualization options. (interactive jobs only) Define options to map property names and values
for the remote visualization tool being used (for example VNC, DCV or HP RGS). These options can be used,
for example, to specify screen resolution. For VNC and DCV you can specify resolution using the
vnc_geometry property, as shown in the following figure:
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"<width>x<height>[:<full-screen>[:<use-all-monitors>]]"
The <width> and <height> parameters are mandatory, whereas the <full-screen> and <use-all-mon-
itors> flags are optional. For example:
• Job submission options. Define settings for the batch submission system. Leave this blank if you do not
have any options to specify.
• Transcript file. (batch jobs only) Enter a name for the transcript file that is written during job execution.
You can use variables if you wish. The transcript is displayed on the Transcript tab when viewing a job on
the Job Monitor page, and provides feedback about the job execution. If a name is not specified, the
standard output and error streams of the batch job are taken as transcripts.
• Close session when application exits. (interactive jobs only) Specify whether or not you want the interactive
session to close as soon as the launched application exits. By default, this setting is enabled. If you are running
applications from a script, you should disable this setting so that the script can continue to run after the
application exits. Note that this setting only works for interactive jobs started in Linux.
On the Variables tab of the Edit Job Template dialog box, define the variables to be used when spe-
cifying job template settings. Click to add a variable to the list in the left pane, and then define
the variable in the right pane.
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• Name. Initially variables are assigned a default name with the format var #, where # is a number that incre-
ments each time a variable is added. You can edit the default name to suit your needs. Names cannot begin
with a number, and they cannot contain spaces or any of the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
If you have edited the name, click to update the name in the variable list.
• Label. Enter a label for displaying the variable in the Start Job dialog box.
• Type. Choose one of the following variables types: String, Long, Double, File, Boolean and Expres-
sion. Different options are displayed depending on the type you choose. See Defining Options for Different
Variable Types (p. 296) below.
• Default. The default value that you want the variable to have.
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You can control the order in which variables appear in the list using the and buttons
below the list pane. The order specified here will also be reflected in the variable drop list when defining
job template settings on the General tab.
To remove a variable from the list, select it in the list and then click below the list pane.
Note
The cores variable is a built-in variable that can be used in a command line argument to
automatically specify the number of processing cores to be reserved if the number is greater
than 1.
Double variables can contain any valid real number such as 0.0, 123.456. You can also use scientific
notation such as 1.235E6 or 1.235E-6.
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For File variables, all files in the parent folder of the working directory will be available as options
unless a pattern is supplied in the Pattern edit box. If specifying multiple patterns, you must use a
regular expression. This means that the patterns must be separated by a vertical bar “|”. Commas, spaces
or other characters are not acceptable separators. For example, to list all files in the working directory
that have an .inp or .dat extension, you would enter *.inp|*.dat in the Pattern edit box. To
create a vertical bar “|”, press Shift + \.
Boolean variables can only be True or False. You can define values for each state if you wish. In this
case, if the Boolean variable is true, the value specified in the True value edit box is used as the value.
Otherwise, the False value is used.
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Expression variables can be used to specify variables whose value depends on other variables. Ex-
pressions can access the value of non-expression variables. These variables will not be shown in the
Start Job dialog box as their value is automatically calculated based on other variables. Expression
variables can be used anywhere in the job template where other variables are specified, such command
line arguments and environment variables.
The value of an Expression variable must be expressed in the language (Python or BeanShell) that
is selected on the Script tab.
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Note
Variable names can only contain letters, numbers or underscores, and must start with a letter.
• Define a script containing macros that can access the value of non-expression variables defined on the
Variables tab.
• Define a script containing macros that will display a custom interface when a batch job is executed.
The sample script in the figure below contains two macros that can access the elems and defFile
variables defined on the Variables tab.
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Note
If a macro accesses a Long or Double variable, the variable’s value will be typed as ‘String’.
It may need to be converted to an appropriate type before being processed.
If a validation macro is specified in the template, it will be executed when a user clicks Execute in the
Start Job dialog box. A validation macro can be used to validate the values specified by a user, and
produce error warnings if needed. Warnings will appear in red in the Start Job dialog box, as shown
in the figure below.
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• The name of the XHTML file that defines the content of the custom interface
• The name of the action macro that is used when the Start Job dialog box is launched
• The variables used to store inputs specified by the user in the custom interface
2. An action macro that is called when the user clicks Execute in the Start Job dialog box. This macro processes
user inputs and executes commands.
3. An ajax macro (if required) for communicating with the server in the background. An ajax macro is used
to update a portion of the interface when a user interacts with it. For example, if the user enables a check-
box or radio button, different content may be displayed as a result of his or her choice.
Refer to Example: Creating a Custom Interface for Fluent Batch Jobs in the Administration Guide for a
detailed example of the code used and steps taken to create a job execution interface. In order for the
custom interface to be used when the job template is executed, the initial macro and resource archive
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for the custom interface must be specified on the UI tab. See Using a Custom Interface for Job Execu-
tion (p. 302) for details.
The four built-in job templates, Start Fluent Job (p. 275), Start CFX Job (p. 269), Start MAPDL Job (p. 280),
and Start Electronics Job (p. 285), are excellent examples of the types of comprehensive dialog boxes
that can be developed for job execution.
1. On the UI tab of the Edit Job Template dialog box, enter the name of the initial macro that creates the
custom interface. (The macro name is specified in the script defined on the Script tab. See Defining a
Script for a Custom Interface (p. 301) for details.)
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2. Under Resource archive click Browse to select the archive (.zip, .tar, .tar.gz or .tgz file) on your
local computer that contains the resource files for the custom interface.
3. From the Job status view drop box, select the type of view that you would like displayed in the Job
Monitor when this template is used to run a job. Selecting Fluent, MAPDL or Electronics will show ad-
vanced monitoring and control options when the specified solver is started in server (aas) mode.
Note
To launch the solver in server (aas) mode, you must specify appropriate command line
parameters.
To execute a job using a custom interface, you must do one of the following:
• Execute the job template in which the custom interface is specified. See Starting a Batch Job from a Job
Template (p. 268) for details.
• Launch the Start Batch Job application and select the appropriate job template at the top of the Start Job
dialog box. See Starting a Batch Job Using the Job Launch Application (p. 247) for details. The dialog box will
update to show the components defined in the custom interface.
In the example below, the default contents of the Start Job dialog box have been replaced with custom
components, options and images.
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Refer to Example: Creating a Custom Interface for Fluent Batch Jobs in the Administration Guide for a
detailed example of the code used and steps taken to create a job execution interface.
1. Navigate to the location where the template is saved (for example, Home/My Applications or Adminis-
tration/Shared Applications). Or, click the Applications icon on the title bar, and on the applications
panel click the gear icon and select either Manage My Applications or Manage Shared Applications.
2. Right-click the job template and select Edit > Job Template.
3. Edit the settings in the Edit Job Template dialog box. For more information on the available settings,
see:
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Note
If you copy or move a job template to a location other than Home/My Applications or Ad-
ministration/Shared Applications, the template will not appear as a selection in the Start
Job dialog box unless the job is started directly from that template.
For batch jobs, the Status updates at regular intervals as the job is queued and executed. You can also
refresh the status at any time by clicking the refresh button on the toolbar. Typical Status messages
include Not Started, Queued, Executing or Executed. Interactive jobs will have only an Ex-
ecuting status during the interactive session. When an interactive session is closed or cancelled, the
corresponding job object will be automatically removed from Job Monitor.
You can sort the list of jobs by Name, Application, Queue, Status and so on by clicking the appropriate
column header in the job details view. You can also filter the list according to any of the properties
shown. For example, you can filter the list to show only jobs with Executing status. For more inform-
ation, see Filtering the View (p. 170).
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You can click a job on the Job Monitor page to display all of the job’s details:
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• The Status tab displays the job status (Queued, Executing, and so on) and the job submission settings
(for example the Application and Queue). If the job is part of a process, the inputs and outputs for the job
are listed. Direct links to the input files and output folder are also provided.
If running a Workbench job, additional panes are displayed below the Job Details pane. The Progress
pane displays the status, details and progress of Workbench processes, while the Messages pane
displays warnings and errors. If the job is a design point run, a Design Points pane is also displayed.
Each pane can be collapsed or expanded as needed.
For more information about working with Workbench projects, see the Working With ANSYS Workbench
Projects (p. 493) chapter. For more information about performing design point runs, see Design Point
Studies (p. 509)
If the job involves a Fluent, MAPDL or Electronics solver running in server mode, additional actions
are available that enable you to interact with the application being run. Live monitors may also be
available depending on the type of job being run. For more information, see the following:
• The Working Directory tab lists all of the files that have been uploaded to the working directory for the
purposes of job execution. The working directory is a location on the EKM server where job files are gathered.
While on this tab you can upload more files to the working directory, download the job files to your local
computer, or download the job files to a location on the EKM server (for example My Data or Shared Data).
• The Transcript tab displays a detailed log of what has occurred during a job run.
Note
• The Discussions tab lets you start a discussion about the job, and invite others to join the discussion.
Note
To maximize performance, the job Status updates at regular intervals rather than every
second. If a job executes very quickly, you may see the status go right from Queued to Ex-
ecuted on the Status tab.
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Residual monitors are always displayed. Surface monitors or volume monitors may also be displayed if
they are defined in the case file.
Note
• EKM will only display surface or volume monitors if the case file specifies that data from these
monitors is to be written to a file. If the case file specifies that data from surface or volume
monitors is to be plotted in the graphics window or printed to the console, those monitors will
not be displayed in the Monitors pane in EKM.
For more information about these options see Monitoring Surface Integrals and Monitoring
Volume Integrals in the Fluent User’s Guide.
• In Fluent, when you are defining the file to which monitor data will be written, ensure that you
specify a filename only (for example, surf-monitor-1.out) — not a path. Fluent sets an ab-
solute path for this file. If this path does not exist on the EKM server, the monitor data will not
be written, and the monitor will not be displayed in EKM.
• Monitor data is not overwritten in the monitor data file. Rather, it is appended to the file.
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Hiding/Showing Monitors
By default, all available monitors are displayed in the Monitors panel during calculations. You can
hide/show monitors by clicking the chart icon in the top right corner of the Monitors panel and dis-
abling/enabling monitor check boxes, as shown in the example below:
Monitors remain displayed in the job view even after a job has been executed, or has failed. They do
not remain displayed if you cancel the job.
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When you pause the solution, the toolbar changes to reveal Set Autosave Frequency, Resume, Save,
Command Window, and Complete actions:
To interrupt calculations, click on the Fluent actions toolbar. This stops the execution of the job.
You can subsequently restart the job if desired. See Resuming or Restarting a Fluent Solution (p. 312)
for details.
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If you have paused or interrupted a Fluent solution, you can resume it by clicking on the Fluent
actions toolbar.
When you resume a paused solution, calculations will continue from the point at which they were
paused.
When you resume a stopped solution, you will be prompted to specify the desired number of iterations
for a steady case, or the number of time steps and time step size for transient case.
3. In the Set Autosave Frequency dialog box, specify an autosave interval in the edit box:
• For a steady case, the value for the autosave interval is based on iterations.
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4. Click OK.
3. At the prompt, enter the desired command. The appropriate action will occur in Fluent.
4. When finished specifying command inputs, click Close in the command input window.
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2. Click to save the case and data files in the working directory.
While the solution is running, you can also interact with the MAPDL application using actions in the
job view window. When you are viewing the job’s status on the Job Monitor page, an MAPDL actions
toolbar is displayed at the top of the job status window. Initially the toolbar displays Pause and Interrupt
actions. If you pause the solution, additional actions become available. For example, you can open the
command window, or save changes to the input file in the working directory.
Note
• On the Status tab, the job Status will update to Solving only for analysis types that iterate —
for example, non-linear static and full transient analysis types. For other analysis types, the Status
will remain Connecting to MAPDL until the solution is almost finished.
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• To maximize performance, the job Status updates at regular intervals rather than every second.
If a job executes very quickly, you may see the status go right from Queued to Executed on the
Status tab.
The Progress panel displays information about the solver’s current activity:
• Current step
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For more information about MAPDL solution monitoring, see the Monitor command in the Mechanical
APDL Command Reference.
Note
• Monitors remain displayed in the job view even after a job has been executed, or has failed. They
do not remain displayed if you cancel the job.
• The Progress panel is only available if the solver version is 17.0 or later.
• When using the MAPDL job template, the job will not run in server mode if the solution is running
in a pre-16.1 version of MAPDL on Linux, and Distributed Computing is being used. Live monit-
oring will not be available, and you will not be able to steer the solution from the Job Monitor.
To pause the solution, click on the MAPDL actions toolbar. When you pause the solution, the
toolbar changes to reveal Resume, Command Window, and Save actions:
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To interrupt the solution, click on the MAPDL actions toolbar. This stops the execution of the job.
You can subsequently restart the job if desired. See Resuming or Restarting an MAPDL Solution (p. 317)
for details.
Note
You can only pause MAPDL jobs that involve static or transient analyses. Other types of
analyses, such as modal and harmonic, cannot be paused.
If you have paused an MAPDL solution using the Pause action, you can resume it by clicking on
the MAPDL actions toolbar. When you resume calculations, they will continue from the point at which
they were paused.
If you have stopped an MAPDL solution using the Interrupt action, you can restart the job by clicking
Execute on the main toolbar when the job is open or selected on the Job Monitor page.
• Use NEQIT to give the solution more equilibrium iterations to obtain convergence
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For information about all available MAPDL commands, refer to the Mechanical APDL Command Reference.
3. At the prompt, enter the desired command. The appropriate action will occur in MAPDL.
4. When finished specifying command inputs, click Close in the command input window.
The Progress panel shows the details and status of each step, as well as individual progress bars.
The Monitoring panel lets you choose a Setup and Design Variation. The Profile tab displays the
computing resources — or profile data — that were being used by the ANSYS Electronics Desktop
solvers during the analysis. For details see Viewing a Solution Profile in the Electronics Desktop Online
Help.
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Figure 12.22: Messages, Progress and Profile Data for an Electronics Solution
The Convergence tab displays convergence information during or after the solution process:
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For more information see Viewing Convergence Data in the Electronics Desktop Online Help.
Monitors remain displayed in the job view even after a job has been executed, or has failed. They do
not remain displayed if you cancel the job.
Note
When the DSO option is used, job monitoring during or after job execution is not available
in EKM.
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You can perform various data management tasks while in the working directory. See the topics below
for more information.
12.9.1. Creating a New Folder in the Working Directory
12.9.2. Uploading Files to the Working Directory
12.9.3. Downloading Working Directory Files to the Repository
12.9.4. Downloading Working Directory Files to Your Computer
12.9.5. Renaming Files in the Working Directory
12.9.6. Editing the Content of Files in the Working Directory
12.9.7. Moving Working Directory Files to the Server
12.9.8. Copying Working Directory Files to the Server
12.9.9. Deleting Files in a Job’s Working Directory
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Note
• If the job is part of a process, the Working Directory tab will not be displayed if Working Directory
access has been disabled for the job in the process template. See Editing a Batch Node (p. 377)
for details.
• If you select a text or image file in the working directory and its content is not displayed, it is
likely that you entered a partial URL instead of the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) when
launching EKM. For details see Launching the EKM Web Client (p. 29).
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
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• To upload files from your local computer, select the Local System tab. If the files are currently displayed
in a window such as Windows Explorer, or are on your desktop, you can drag them into the dialog.
Otherwise, click Add and select the files in the Open dialog box. In Firefox and Chrome browsers you
can select multiple files simultaneously. To select consecutive files, hold down the Shift key while se-
lecting files. To select non-consecutive files, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting files. (In Internet
Explorer you can only select a single file.)
If you would like to use the File Transfer Client to upload files, click the Launch File Transfer
Client link. See Uploading Files Using the File Transfer Client (p. 88) for more information.
• To upload files from another location on the EKM server, select the Server tab. Click Add to display a
pop-up search window. In the address bar, enter the path of the folder that you want to search in, and
then click Go. The contents of the selected folder are displayed below the address bar. To search a
folder within the currently selected folder, click on the folder in the list. The path in the address bar will
change accordingly. To move up a level in the folder structure, click the up arrow next to the Go button.
Select the files and/or folders that you want to upload. You can select multiple items if you wish.
To select consecutive files, hold down the Shift key while selecting files. To select non-consecutive
files, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting files.
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Click OK to add the selected items to the upload list. Clicking Cancel in the pop-up window will
cancel your selections and close the pop-up window.
• To upload files from the EKM repository, select the Repository tab. Click Add to display the repository
file system in a pop-up window. Select the files that you want to upload by enabling their check boxes,
then click OK to add the selected files to the upload list.
Files selected for download are displayed below the Add button on each tab.
4. Once files have been added to the upload list, review the list and uncheck any items that you do not want
to upload.
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
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2. Select the files and folders that you want to download. You can Shift+click to select multiple consecutive
items, or CTRL+click to select multiple non-consecutive files.
5. If the files/folders with the same name already exist in the target location, check the Overwrite existing
files box. Otherwise, the files will not be transferred.
6. Click OK to download the items to the repository. A Message dialog box displays the status of the transfer.
7. Once the transfer is complete, you can check the Edit properties of added file/folders box to edit the
properties of the files/folders immediately. If you leave this option unchecked, you can edit properties
later by selecting (Edit) > Properties.
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
2. Select the files and folders that you want to download. You can Shift+click to select multiple consecutive
items, or CTRL+click to select multiple non-consecutive files.
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4. Click Browse and then select the target folder for the files/folders that you are downloading.
5. To calculate the total size of the download, click Transfer Details. The Transfer Details dialog box appears
and begins calculating the download size. This calculation takes some time to perform, but you can still
interact with the Download From EKM dialog without affecting the ongoing calculation. You can even
start the download. When the calculation is finished, the total size of the files to be downloaded is displayed
in the Transfer Details dialog box:
6. Click OK to download the items to your computer. You can monitor the progress of the transfer in the
File Transfer Client. For more information see Downloading Files/Folders Using the EKM File Transfer
Client (p. 110).
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Note
Due to a limitation of the Java interface, tooltips are not automatically displayed on the
buttons in the Actions column. To activate tooltips, simply click on any disabled button
in the Actions column.
When the transfer is complete, the Stage column will read Complete.
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
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Managing Jobs
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
2. Select the text file that you want to edit, then click on the working directory toolbar.
3. In the Edit File Content dialog box, edit the file content as desired, then click OK.
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
2. Select the files and folders that you want to move. You can Shift+click to select multiple consecutive
items, or CTRL+click to select multiple non-consecutive files.
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Accessing a Job’s Working Directory
5. Click OK to move the items to the server. They will no longer appear in the working directory.
1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
2. Select the files and folders that you want to copy. You can Shift+click to select multiple consecutive items,
or CTRL+click to select multiple non-consecutive files.
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1. Display the job’s working directory. See Accessing a Job’s Working Directory (p. 320) for more information.
2. Select the files and folders that you want to delete. You can Shift+click to select multiple consecutive
items, or CTRL+click to select multiple non-consecutive files.
4. Click OK to confirm that you want to delete the selected files. The files are deleted from the working dir-
ectory.
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Accessing the RSM Job Log
• Start a new job using a job launch application such as Start Batch Job (p. 247) or Start Interactive Job (p. 256),
or using a job template (p. 266). In the Start Job dialog box, enable the Choose a working directory for
this job check box, then select the Choose working directory of an existing job option. For details see
Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247) or Setting Up an Interactive Job (p. 258).
• Select the previously started job on the Job Monitor page. If the job is a batch job, select (More) >
Create interactive job sharing this working directory. If the job is an interactive job, select (More) >
Create batch job sharing this working directory.
The working directory of the existing job will be automatically pre-selected in the Start Job dialog
box:
Note
The selected working directory will not be deleted until the last job that is using that directory
is deleted.
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Managing Jobs
1. Select the batch job on the Jobs/Job Monitor page if not already selected.
2. Select (More) > Show RSM Job Log. The log is displayed in the RSM Job Log window:
3. To display more detail in the job log, enable the Include debug messages check box.
4. To save or display the job log as an HTML file, click Download as HTML. You will be prompted to either
open the log in a browser or save the file on your machine. Capturing the job log in an HTML file enables
you to share it with others for troubleshooting purposes.
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Cluster Monitoring
Information about individual node arrays is gathered from CycleCloud and displayed in graphs on the
HPC tab:
• Starting: Nodes that are being brought up but are not yet ready to use.
• Started: Nodes that have been brought up and are ready to use.
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The number of Available nodes is displayed at the center of each graph. This value is the combined
sum of nodes that are Not Started, Starting and Started.
Note
Cluster monitors will not be displayed if the administrator has not specified credentials for
accessing CycleCloud. If you encounter this issue, contact your administrator.
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Cluster Monitoring
• Started: Nodes that have been brought up and are ready to use.
To monitor usage in busy visualization instances, click in the upper right corner of the view window.
This displays the Busy Visualization Instances dialog box, where you can see who is using each instance:
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Chapter 13: Using EKM Mobile
EKM Mobile is an application designed for cell phones and tablets. For information on configuring EKM
Mobile, see Configuring EKM Mobile in the Administration Guide.
The EKM Mobile home page provides access to the main features available in the web application (My
Data, the Repository, your Work Items, and your My Jobs view). From those pages you can:
See Managing Repository Data for details on how to perform these operations.
1. Enter the following address in your mobile browser, substituting the appropriate server host name and
server port.
http://server_hostname:server_port/ekm/m/
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Using EKM Mobile
3. Click Log In. The EKM Mobile home page is displayed. You will be automatically signed into the workspace
that your EKM administrator has specified as your default. You can access a different workspace by selecting
it from the Workspace drop box.
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Launching EKM Mobile
Refer to the following sections for information on the tasks that you can perform from the EKM mobile
home page.
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Below the title bar the breadcrumbs show the parent folders of the object currently being viewed.
Tapping a parent folder navigates to that folder.
There is a view selector with the options List and Properties. The List view displays objects in the
current folder; tap them to navigate to a particular object. The Properties view displays the properties
for the object.
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Launching EKM Mobile
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Using EKM Mobile
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Launching EKM Mobile
Tap on an object to navigate to that object. Tap the Edit Query button to change the search query.
Note
The Edit Query option is not available for saved search queries. It is only available for queries
defined in EKM Mobile.
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Using EKM Mobile
Job Details
To view the details for a particular job, tap its link. This will display the Job Details page for the job.
Buttons are displayed for available job-related actions, and the available views are shown.
Refresh
Refresh the page with the current job information.
Note
Automatic refreshing is not available in EKM Mobile. When a job is being executed, you
may need to refresh the screen periodically to update the display of progress information.
Cancel
Cancel the job.
Update
Start an update of the Workbench project.
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Launching EKM Mobile
Report
View the simulation details report if one is associated with the job.
Save
Save the open Workbench project to disk.
Commands
Open the Interactive Commands page.
The Status view displays information about the job, possibly including start/end times, status, application,
and queue. In the case of some currently executing Workbench jobs there may be additional information
such as progress status and messages. If the job is a currently executing Workbench job with an open
project, there is an additional Design Points view that enables the editing and updating of design
points.
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Design Points
Tap the Design Points button to view, edit or update design points. Each design point is displayed in
its own collapsible pane. To edit a design point, tap the Edit button in the design’s point’s window
pane.
On the Edit Design Point page you can edit the values for input parameters.
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Launching EKM Mobile
To update design points, tap the Selected button for each design point that you want to update, and
then tap Update Selected DPs at the bottom of the screen. The Update Selected DPs button will be
disabled while design points are being updated.
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Commands
Tap the Commands button to display the Interactive Commands page, where you can enter commands
that will be executed by Workbench. Type in the Command Input field and tap Send. Responses appear
in the Command Output field. Command output is read-only.
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Chapter 14: Defining Process Templates in EKM Studio
This chapter presents information on how to define process templates using EKM Studio (p. 352). If you
want to define or edit process templates using XML, see Appendix A (p. 553).
EKM processes are defined in terms of variable (p. 363), node (p. 361), and transition (p. 363) elements.
Nodes can take a set of user or predefined inputs, perform a simple task, and provide outputs, or they
can involve more complex tasks such as batch processing, iterative processes, automation and monitoring.
You begin defining your process template by adding variables and then inserting different types of
nodes and transitions to the diagram. See Defining Process Templates in EKM Studio (p. 360) for details
on defining process templates using EKM Studio.
EKM Studio does the work of generating the XML source code behind the scenes for your process dia-
gram, and you save this file to an EKM repository or local location and open it when modifications are
needed. When you want to use a process template that you define in EKM Studio to run a process on
an EKM server, you will need to create a new process for it using the EKM web client and execute it on
the server-side. For details, see Starting a Process (p. 427).
There are several ways in which you can launch EKM Studio:
• Select an existing process template in My Applications or Shared Applications and select Edit > Process
Template in EKM Studio.
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Note
If you see a pop-up that gives you the option of opening LaunchStudio.jnlp or saving
the file, select Open with Java(TM) Web Start Launcher (default), check the Do this
automatically for files like this from now on box, and then click OK.
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The EKM Studio Environment
You can insert a node into a process diagram either by clicking on the Insert Node menu button on
the toolbar (p. 359) (see below), or by right-clicking in the diagram where you want to insert the node,
and selecting Insert Node from the context menu. The Insert Node menu button has a drop-down list
containing all of the different node types you can add. You can insert a transition between two nodes
by selecting the nodes and then clicking the Insert Transition button in the toolbar. To add a variable
to the process, click the New Variable button on the toolbar.
For lifecycle diagrams, you can add a stage into the diagram either by clicking the Insert Stage button
on the toolbar (p. 359) (see below), or by right-clicking in the diagram where you want to insert the
stage, and selecting Insert Stage from the context menu. You can insert a transition between two
stages by selecting the stages and then clicking the Insert Transition button on the toolbar.
Figure 14.2: Sample Process Diagram (p. 353) and Figure 14.3: Sample Lifecycle Diagram (p. 354) show
some sample diagram views.
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When you double-click a node, stage, or transition in the diagram, the corresponding Edit dialog box
will open. A single click on an element in the diagram will select it in the diagram and in the Elements
window, and display its properties in the Properties (p. 354) pane. Right-clicking an element in the diagram
opens a context menu.
You can move individual or multiple elements by dragging them, or by using the arrow keys on the
keyboard.
You can change the way the Elements window is displayed. See Customizing the Window Layout in
EKM Studio (p. 356) for details.
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If you are editing a process template, the Properties window has two tabbed panes: Properties and
Errors. The Properties pane displays element properties as described above.
Errors Pane
The Errors pane displays any errors associated with elements in your process. Every time an action
results in change to the process model, it is validated and the Errors pane is refreshed. If there are any
errors with your process, the text on the Errors tab will be red.
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Important
If a process contains errors, you can save it to your local computer, but you cannot save it
to the repository.
You can change the way the Properties window is displayed. See Customizing the Window Layout in
EKM Studio (p. 356) for details.
You can customize the display of windows using the controls in the upper right corner of each window.
• To minimize a window, click the minimize button . This displays the window in minimized form at the
edge of the EKM Studio application window. You can then click and drag the window to another location,
pin it to the current location, restore the previous display, maximize it, disconnect it, or close it.
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The EKM Studio Environment
• To maximize a window so that it is the only window displayed, click the maximize button .
• To disconnect a window so that it floats in front of the main application window, click the disconnect button
.
• To restore a minimized window to the previous expanded display, click the restore button .
You can also resize windows by clicking and dragging their edges, or move them by clicking and
dragging their title bars.
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New
Enables you to create a new process template or lifecycle definition. All existing data is cleared and the
new definition is not attached to any existing file. The title bar at the top of the application window will
display New Definition, and is replaced by the file name once you save the process template or lifecycle.
Open
Enables you to open an existing repository file or local file for editing. The title bar at the top of the applic-
ation window will display the name of the file being edited.
Important
You cannot open a process template or lifecycle file in EKM Studio on tablet devices
(such as an iPad or Android).
Save
Enables you to save changes to the existing process template (p. 400) or lifecycle file. If the file is new, by
default the Save As dialog box opens prompting you to save the file to your local file system.
Important
• You cannot save a process template or lifecycle file in EKM Studio on tablet devices (such as
an iPad or Android)
• If you want to save to the repository, use the Save As action instead.
Save As
Enables you to save a new process template or lifecycle to a location on your local system or in the repos-
itory.
Important
Recent Files
Enables you to open files that you have recently accessed.
Exit
Enables you to save the existing changes to the file and closes the EKM Studio application.
Script
Enables you to dynamically assign a signoff request or a task in a process to a user and/or group. See Using
Macros in Process Templates (p. 406) for details.
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About
Opens a dialog box containing product information such as version number and build date of the EKM
Studio version you are running, as well as legal descriptions. The version and build date may be helpful if
you are reporting a problem to an ANSYS technical support representative.
14.3.4. Toolbar
The EKM Studio toolbar contains actions that enable you to update resource definitions, orient the
diagram, and add elements to your process template/lifecycle.
Synchronize
The Synchronize action synchronizes the users, types, units, applications, job templates and so on in
the current process with those currently defined on the EKM server.
Alignment controls
The alignment controls align elements in a lifecycle or process diagram, horizontally and vertically,
respectively.
Element actions
Element actions add elements to a process or lifecycle diagram. Process actions include: New Variable,
Insert Node, and Insert Transition. Lifecycle actions include Insert Stage and Insert Transition.
• Context-sensitive help (p. 360) provides targeted help within a dialog box or wizard.
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Context-sensitive Help
Context help is invoked when you click the button in selected dialog boxes and opens the page in
a user documentation guide that provides an explanation of the dialog. The ANSYS Help viewer will
open displaying the appropriate pages in HTML from the EKM Studio chapter. You can browse from
the opened page using Next and Prev links, or go directly to a referenced section on the page by
clicking the link. You can also access any other guide by clicking the Contents link at the bottom of
the page to open the table of contents.
Online Help
The Help menu provides links to the EKM User’s Guide and EKM Studio Chapter. The About option
contains information about the EKM Studio product such as version number, build date of the version
you are running, and legal descriptions.
When you select one of the user documentation options in the Help menu, the guide will open in the
ANSYS Help viewer and display the appropriate pages in HTML. You can browse through the online
document using Next and Prev links, or go directly to a referenced section on a page by clicking the
link. You can also access any other guide by clicking the Contents link at the bottom of any page to
open the table of contents.
When a process template has been created and saved, you can start a process from that template. See
Starting and Managing Processes (p. 427) for details. If necessary, administrators can use the scripting
interface to test and debug a process template. For more information, see Testing or Debugging a
Process Template in the Administration Guide.
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Nodes
Nodes are used to define tasks that a person or machine will perform as part of a process. In addition
to the simple node, there are the following specialized nodes that can be utilized in an EKM process:
auto node, batch node, DOE node, iteration node, monitor node, optimization node, update analysis
project node, and custom dialog node.
Application
An external application that is defined for an EKM server, and that is launched by a batch node.
Node
A node is the simplest type of node element and can be used to model a manual task. For
example, you could use a node when you want to assign a task to a particular user or
group, or when you want it to be completed when an assignee marks it as complete. On
completion, the assignee may be prompted to enter some variables that could be used as
inputs for other nodes, or in deciding the paths taken by the process. Nodes are represented
in a process diagram with the icon shown above. See Editing a Node (p. 374).
Auto Node
An auto node can be used to model an automated task such as generating a report,
archiving data, or performing a validation. It is executed automatically by a process when
it is encountered. Auto nodes are represented in a process diagram with the icon shown
above. See Editing an Auto Node (p. 385).
Batch Node
A batch node can be used to model long-running automated steps such as executing ex-
ternal applications for preprocessing, running simulations, and postprocessing. Batch nodes
are represented in a process diagram with the icon shown above. See Editing a Batch
Node (p. 377).
DOE Node
A DOE node executes ANSYS DesignXplorer to obtain design points or optimal design points
given input parameters. You can supply the input parameters in a Design of Experiments
(DOE) input file and simply have DX execute without running a simulation to obtain the
design points. Or you can supply the DOE node with an ANSYS Workbench project and
have DX run any number of simulations within Workbench that you defined, to obtain the
optimal design points given optimization goals specified in the Workbench project.
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A batch node can also be defined for a DOE node. The batch node will execute any number
of times that you define, with inputs corresponding to the calculated design points to
generate completed results. The design points will be written to a file in an output folder.
DOE nodes are represented in a process diagram with the icon shown above. See Editing
a DOE Node (p. 387).
Iteration Node
An iteration node can be used to model an iterative process such as approvals and iterative
simulations. It defines an iteration condition that holds until it is not satisfied. Iteration
nodes are represented in a process diagram with the icon shown above. See Editing an It-
eration Node (p. 384). You can also create nested iterations. See Creating and Editing Nested
Iterations (p. 396) for details.
Monitor Node
A monitor node can be used to monitor external processes or batch tasks. A monitor node
will wait until all the monitored processes are completed and only then will it go to the
next stage. You can open the monitor node while it is running to view the status of all
monitored processes. Monitor nodes are represented in a process diagram with the icon
shown above. See Editing a Monitor Node (p. 387).
Optimization Node
An update analysis project node can be used to update the analysis contained within an
Analysis project folder. Analysis projects may reference external files that may change, and
this also requires the project to update itself, so update is required even if the project
contents have not changed. A simulation details report is created when this node is invoked,
which contains extracted metadata of CAE files contained within the Analysis Project folder.
If the Analysis Project folder contains a Workbench Project archive file (.wbpz), then in
addition to generating a simulation details report, metadata will be extracted from all CAE
files contained within the Workbench project and added to the Workbench Project archive
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Defining Process Templates in EKM Studio
file properties. Update analysis project nodes are represented in a process diagram with
the icon shown above. See Editing an Update Analysis Project Node (p. 393).
Custom Dialog Editor is a dialog box or wizard you create or modify and add to a process.
You can interactively define all aspects of the custom dialog box (user interface elements,
macros, and so on) in the Custom Dialog Editor, then save the resulting .pt.xml file on your
local file system and publish the definition to EKM. For details on the Custom Dialog Editor,
see Defining Custom Dialog Boxes and Wizards in EKM Studio.
A process template node enables you to nest an existing process template within the current
process template. When the process reaches the process template node, the first task
defined in the nested template begins to execute. When the last task in the nested template
has been completed, the process advances to the next node in the main process. When
inserting a process template node you will be prompted to select a process template to
insert. See Inserting a Process Template Node (p. 372) for details. Once inserted you can
edit the node’s properties and specify input/output variables. For details see Editing a
Process Template Node (p. 394).
Transitions
Transitions are links between a starting node (source) and an ending node (destination). A transition
can have a trigger expression associated with it or it can just progress to the next nodes based on
previous node completion. A trigger expression will determine whether the transition will be traversed
in a process. If no trigger expression is specified, then the transition is always triggered. Transitions
are represented in a process diagram as arrows. See Defining and Editing Process Transitions (p. 397).
Variables
Variables are used to store the state of a process once it has started, and must be defined in a process
template. You can assign default values to the variables or specify other values that must be entered
when the process is being executed. The value of a variable is also used to determine transitions that
are triggered when an iteration is completed. See Defining Process Variables (p. 366).
2. Add all of the necessary variables using the New Variable action on the toolbar. See Defining New Vari-
ables (p. 367).
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3. Insert a start node and add additional nodes (except Iteration Nodes) to build your diagram. See Inserting
New Nodes (p. 371).
4. Add transitions between nodes using the Insert Transitions action. See Editing Transitions (p. 397).
5. Edit the nodes and transitions to further define them. See Editing Nodes (p. 374).
6. To create an iteration loop in your process, add an Iteration Node (see Editing an Iteration Node (p. 384))
and insert other nodes that are needed for the iteration. Now create an iteration loop by inserting transitions
between the end node and Iteration Node. If any condition of the iteration loop is not fulfilled, you will
get an error message and you will need to correct the error. Once a loop is created, if you attempt to delete
a node or transition that is part of the iteration, the iteration loop will break and you will be prompted to
confirm deletion before action is taken. Other restrictions apply if you are creating a nested iteration loop.
See Creating and Editing Nested Iterations (p. 396) for full details.
7. Optionally select Edit > Process Template Attributes if you want to define validation expressions and
error messages for the process. See Editing Process Attributes (p. 404).
8. Save the template file to your local file system or to a shared connected EKM repository using File > Save
As. The process template will be saved as an XML file with the .pt.xml extension. See Saving Process
Template Files (p. 400).
Note
If you have a process template open from a repository and the connection to the repos-
itory server goes down, you cannot exit from Studio until you save that process template
to your local system.
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Expressions are evaluated using variable values and are defined using a scripting language such as Python
(default) or BeanShell. The scripting language for a process is set in your process template attrib-
utes (p. 404). Table 14.1: Syntax for Logical Operations (p. 365) shows the syntax for logical expressions
that you can use in scripts, and Table 14.2: Syntax for Arithmetic Operations (p. 365) shows arithmetic
expressions syntax.
Arithmetic Syntax
Operation
addition +
multiplication *
integer or real /
division
modulo %
When you utilize expressions in process templates, you should be aware of how the values of variables
are represented and the operations that are supported on them.
For example if x and y are two Boolean variables then the expression x @and y will evaluate to
true only if both x and y are true. The expression x @or !y will evaluate to true if either x is true
or y is false. The previous expression can also be specified as: x == true @or y == false.
• For Long and Double values @gt, @gteq, @lt, @lteq, +, *, / and % operations are allowed.
For example if x and y are two Long variables then the expression x @lt 2*y will evaluate to
true if the value of x is less than double of y.
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• String variables are represented as instances of java.lang.String, which do not support any opera-
tions.
For string comparisons you should use the equals() method instead of logical operators such as
== or !=. For example if x and y are two String variables then the expression x == y will not
evaluate to true even if the value of x and y are the same. You must use the expression:
x.equals(y). String literals can also be used in expressions by putting them under double quotes
(“”). If you use literals within the expression then you must use single quotes for the expression. For
example the expression 'x.equals(“Hello World”)' will evaluate to true if the value of x is
Hello World.
• Date variables are represented as instances of java.util.Date class. You cannot use logical operations
such as <, > or == with dates. However, you can use after(), before() or equals() methods of the
Date class to compare one date with another.
• Multivalued variables are represented as an array of objects. Each object can be of type Boolean, Long,
Double, String, Date or ModelObjectInterface.
For example, if x is a multivalued String variable that has values a, b and c then in expressions
this variable is available as the list: [“a”, “b”, “c”]. Usually you will use multivalued variables in expres-
sions under the following conditions:
For example, the expression x.length > 2 evaluates to true if x has more than two values
specified.
Because Java arrays do not provide a direct method for checking whether an element is con-
tained within the array, you could use a macro in this case. An example of this is provided
later.
You can also use parentheses for grouping sub-expressions, for example:
Actions associated with process variables are presented in the following sections. These topics include:
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To define a new variable, click on the toolbar. Fill in the fields in the New Variable dialog
box as described below. Once a variable is created, it will be listed under the Variables node in the
Elements tree and its properties displayed on the Properties tab. Variables can be edited using the
Edit context menu. See Editing Variables (p. 369) for details.
Name
The name of the variable. This will be displayed in the diagram and the Elements tree.
Id
An identifier for the variable that must be unique. This will be used to reference the variable in an expression
and can consist of any letter, digit, or the underscore (_) character. The following characters cannot be
used:
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/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the variable. It can help you understand the meaning of the variable and the
value it contains. The description will be displayed on the Properties tab when the variable is selected in
the Elements window.
Type
The type of the variable. Choose from the available options in the drop-down list: Boolean, Date, Double,
Long, Reference, or String. The type you choose will dictate the additional options that can be set
for the variable. For example, if you create a Boolean variable, then the Default Value choices will be
“true” and “false”, and the Multi-valued, Enumeration and Constraint options will be grayed out as they
do not apply. You can enter an enumerated list for String variables. Constraints are required for Long,
Double and Reference types. For Long and Double types, you will need to enter the value of the
minimum and maximum fields as constraints. For a Reference type you will need to enter the value of
the baseType.
Multi-line value
For String variables, enables you to create a multi-line string. For example, you may need to specify two
or more lines of text inside a text box.
Default value
The value that the variable is initialized to when the process is created. For Long and Double variables,
the value should be expressed in accordance with the default unit system specified in your Preferences
(for example SI units). This is conveniently indicated in the Default value field, as shown below.
Multi-valued
Specifies whether the variable is single or multi-valued. If you check this box, then you will be able to add
multiple values through type-specific editor dialog boxes.
Enumeration
This list specifies one or more values that a variable can have (depending on whether it is single or multi-
valued). For example, a single-valued variable (Multi-valued =false) named Solver Version may
take only one of these values ['v160', 'v161', 'v162',‘v170’] as its value. In this case, you can specify an
enumeration list for the values. A multi-valued variable may take more than one value, but it only be selected
from the enumeration list that you specify. An enumeration can be specified for any variable type (such
as Double, Integer, String) except Boolean.
Constraint
For variables of type Double/Long, you can optionally specify Min/Max values that the variable can
take. The value should be expressed in accordance with the default unit system specified in your Preferences.
The default unit system is indicated in the Constraint field for your convenience.
For Reference type variables, you can optionally specify the baseType of the variable (such as
for a File or FluentCase type).
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Quantity
For variables of type Double, you can specify the Quantity of the variable only if the connection to the
repository is opened (because this value depends on the connection).
Unit
For variables of type Double, you can specify the Unit of the variable only if the connection to the repos-
itory is opened (because this value depends on the connection). See the Units: Defining and Configuring
Using XML chapter in the EKM Administration Guide for more details on specifying units.
Public
If the process template will be used as a nested process in other process templates, enabling this option
will make the variable available when mapping process template variables to nested process template
variables.
Refer to the section on Defining Variables in the EKM User's Guide for more details on these settings.
The figure below shows a variable named Geometry File that is defined in the sample run-simu-
lation.pt.xml template supplied in the /Data/Shared Data/Sample Files/process
templates folder.
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Actions associated with process nodes are presented in the following sections.
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To add a node of any type (p. 360) to a process diagram, expand the action menu
on the toolbar and select the type of node that you want to insert. You can also access the Insert Node
menu by right-clicking in the editing window.
Nodes are created in sequence unless you specify otherwise. When you insert a node it becomes the
currently selected node, and the next node that you insert will automatically be placed next to it unless
you specify otherwise. Also, a transition will be automatically created between the two nodes. If you
want a new node to be connected to a specific node that is not the currently selected node, make sure
that you select the existing node before adding the new node. Nodes are automatically named for your
convenience. For example, if you add two simple Node elements to a diagram, they will be named
“Node 1” and “Node 2” as shown below.
If an existing node is currently selected when you insert a new node, the new node will be placed next
to the existing node, and a transition will be automatically inserted between the two nodes. If no node
is selected when you insert a new node, the new node will be placed at the beginning of the diagram
and can then be dragged to the desired position within the diagram. In the latter scenario you will
need to manually insert a transition (p. 397) between an existing node and the new node.
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You can drag and drop nodes to arrange them in a particular order. This is particularly necessary when
a new node inserts on top of an existing node.
Note
You cannot insert a node if the current selection is a transition. If you attempt to do this,
the following dialog will be displayed:
In this case, click OK and then either click in blank space or select an existing node to connect
the new node to.
Nodes can be edited using the Edit context menu. See Editing Nodes (p. 374) for details on the settings
for each node type.
1. Select Insert Node > Process Template Node. the following dialog box appears:
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2. Select the process template to insert. By default, process templates in My Applications and Shared Ap-
plications are shown. You can also display templates in a specified repository folder by enabling the
Repository Folder check box, and then clicking Browse to select the folder. Once you have selected the
desired folder, click Apply to display the folder’s contents in the selection window.
To filter the list of templates, simply disable the check box of the folder that contains the templates
that you want to hide.
Note
Ensure that the selected process template file exists in a location that the intended as-
signee of the nested process has permission to access. For example, a process template
saved in a user’s My Data or My Applications folder is not accessible to other users,
and therefore can only be executed by the owner of the personal folder in which it
resides. In this case it is recommended that you copy the template file to a shared loca-
tion such as Data/Shared Data or Administration/Shared Applications and use the
shared version when defining the process template node.
3. Click OK.
4. If any of the templates that you selected are single-node templates, they are listed in the following dialog
box:
You will need to specify how you would like to insert single-node process templates. Select one
of the following options:
• Insert a process template that references the process template file. Inserts a node named Process
template node # that is linked to the process template file (for example, the .pt.xml file) currently
saved in the repository.
or
• Insert a copy of the node contained in the process template. Inserts the actual node contained in
the process template. There is no link to the original template.
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5. You can now define the node. See Editing a Process Template Node (p. 394).
Note
For properties that require an object path, you can obtain an object’s path from its Details
page (More > Display > Details). The Path is reported in the EKM Object Properties section
of that page. You can then use Ctrl + C to copy the path to your clipboard, and Ctrl + V to
paste it into the appropriate field.
Edit dialog boxes for each node type are discussed in the following sections:
14.4.5.2.1. Editing a Node
14.4.5.2.2. Editing a Batch Node
14.4.5.2.3. Editing an Iteration Node
14.4.5.2.4. Editing an Auto Node
14.4.5.2.5. Editing a Monitor Node
14.4.5.2.6. Editing a DOE Node
14.4.5.2.7. Editing an Optimization Node
14.4.5.2.8. Editing an Update Analysis Project Node
14.4.5.2.9. Editing a Custom Dialog Node
14.4.5.2.10. Editing a Process Template Node
To edit a node:
1. Double-click the node element in the process diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or tree and
select Edit from the context menu. The Edit Node dialog box will appear. In Figure 14.11: Edit Node Dialog
Box (p. 375), the properties of a node named Perform Flow Simulation are displayed. This node is
part of the sample file run-simulation.pt.xml. This file is supplied in the /Data/Shared Data/Sample
Files/process templates folder.
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Name
The name of the node as it appears in the process diagram and in the Elements tree. Names cannot
contain these characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over the node
in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
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Assignee
The user or group to whom the task will be assigned.
• To specify the assignee explicitly, select a user or group from the drop box, or type their name in
the Assignee field.
• To assign the user who has started the process, enter an asterisk (*).
• To assign the user who is the assignee of another node in the process, enter * followed by the node
name. For example, if you were currently defining node2, and wanted to assign it to the user who
is the assignee of node1, you would enter *node1 in the Assignee field.
• To use a macro to specify the assignee, enter $ followed by the macro name. For example, if a macro
named foo were designed to extract the name of an assignee from a previous node in the process,
you would specify $foo in the Assignee field. For information about defining macros, see Using
Macros in Process Templates (p. 406).
Note
The Assignee list contains the names of users who currently have accounts on the
EKM server that you are connected to.
Completion macro
The macro that will initialize a custom dialog box and the XHTML file (or files if there are multiple inputs)
that defines the custom user interface. By default, when a task is completed the assigned user is
prompted to enter the values of all output variables in a standard dialog box. A user interface dialog
box is automatically generated based on the output variables specified in the definition of the node
that corresponds to the task. You can use a macro to customize the dialog box that is presented to a
user on task completion using this attribute. For example, you may want the user to provide inputs
that would be processed and actions executed in the background before the task completes. The
completion macro must have the following two arguments:
• an instance of ModelObjectInterface that specifies the task object from which the dialog
box is spawned.
• an instance of DialogInterface that specifies the dialog box that must be initialized.
You must initialize the dialog box and specify the XHTML file associated with each step in the body
of the macro as shown in the following listing:
completionMacro(object, dialog) {
dialog.addStep("Dialog header", "ui-file.xhtml", "");
}
The macro shown above adds a single step to the dialog box and specifies the user interface file that
goes along with it. The third argument of the addStep() method of the DialogInterface is
the name of an action macro that will be called when the dialog box is submitted by the user. If required
you can specify the name of another macro that you have defined as this argument, otherwise you
can specify an empty string in its place. That macro must take an instance of DialogInterface as
argument. For the Task Completion dialog box, you do not need to define the variables in the dialog
box initialization macro because EKM will automatically add all the output variables of the node as
variables of the dialog box. When the dialog box is submitted by the user, the action macro if specified
in the addStep() method will be executed. Finally all the values of the dialog’s variables will be
stored in the process and the process will advance to the next tasks. See Assigning Custom Dialog
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Resource Files to a Process Template (p. 426) for details on how to upload process templates that also
have resource files for custom user interfaces.
Input/Output variables
The list of input and output variables that are used by the node. Select a variable from the All variables
list and click Add to add it to the Input variables or Output variables list on the right. Use Remove
to remove a variable from the list. Input and output variables are variables that are input and output
to the node, and correspond to variables that have already been defined for the process. See Defining
New Variables (p. 367).
Validation expressions
Used when you want a validation to be performed before the node task can be completed. They are
used to validate the values entered by the user who is completing the task. Click the Add command
link to insert an expression and associated error message. The error message that is entered will be
displayed if validation fails. See Using Expressions in Process Elements (p. 364) for syntax you can use
in expressions.
You can edit an expression by selecting it and clicking the Edit command link. This will open
the Edit Expression dialog box. See Editing Validation Expressions (p. 399) for details.
3. Click OK.
1. Double-click the batch node element in the process diagram, or right-click the Batch Node in the diagram
or tree and select Edit from the context menu. The Edit Batch Node dialog box will appear. This dialog
box is actually a wizard that will step you through the definition of the batch node.
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2. On the General Settings page, define the settings that control the batch process. These are described
below.
Name
The name of the batch node as it will appear in the process diagram and in the tree.
Description
An optional description of the batch node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over
the batch node in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
Assignee
The user or group to whom the task will be assigned.
• To specify the assignee explicitly, select a user or group from the drop box, or type their name in
the Assignee field.
• To assign the user who has started the process, enter an asterisk (*).
• To assign the user who is the assignee of another node in the process, enter * followed by the node
name. For example, if you were currently defining node2, and wanted to assign it to the user who
is the assignee of node1, you would enter *node1 in the Assignee field.
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• To use a macro to specify the assignee, enter $ followed by the macro name. For example, if a macro
named foo were designed to extract the name of an assignee from a previous node in the process,
you would specify $foo in the Assignee field. For information about defining macros, see Using
Macros in Process Templates (p. 406).
Note
The Assignee list contains the names of users who currently have accounts on the
EKM server that you are connected to.
Explicitly. This default option enables you to explicitly specify a value for each job submission
setting shown: Application, Command line arguments, Number of cores and Transcript.
Using template. Select this option if you want to use the job submission settings defined in
an existing job template when executing the job. Custom interface settings may also be used
if such settings are defined in the template.
The drop box displays private and shared job templates as well as process variables. Alternatively
you can enter the path to a template that resides in the repository. When you select the Using
template option, the Application, Command line arguments, Number of cores and Transcript
fields become disabled. These values will be extracted from the template when the job is ex-
ecuted. If the template defines a custom interface, and the Start job automatically option is
disabled, a custom Execute Batch Job dialog box will be displayed when the user executes
the job. For more information about job templates, see Creating a Custom Job Template (p. 289).
Application
The external application that will be used to perform the job. The comprehensive list contains all ap-
plications defined for all job submission queues.
Number of cores
The number of central processing units to reserve on the compute server.
Transcript
The name of the file in the working directory that stores the transcript of the job. The transcript is
used to monitor the execution of the job. If a name is not specified, the standard output and error
streams of the batch job are taken as transcripts.
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3. When you have defined the batch node’s general settings, click Next >. The Input Settings page is dis-
played:
4. Specify the files and folders that will be exported from EKM and used as inputs for the job. You can select
files and folders from the following sources:
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• A location on the EKM server that is outside the EKM file system
Each source has an associated window pane on the Input Settings page. To add an input file or
folder, click Add below the appropriate window pane. To remove a file from any pane, select the
file and then click Remove below the pane.
All variables are formatted as ${variablename}. This formatting enables you to differentiate a
variable from a user-entered value. If you want to enter any value with a literal meaning, then you
will need to input it without any formatting around it. If you want to edit the value of an existing
variable, select it in a table or drop-down list and edit it directly.
You can use patterns to include or exclude specific input files/folders. Patterns are simply strings
of text and may contain the * and ? wildcard characters. A ? matches any single character and *
matches any sequence of characters.
Note
• If no include or exclude patterns are specified, then by default EKM will import all
files/folders produced by the batch execution.
• If Java Runtime Environment 8 is used to launch EKM Studio, you must press Enter after
typing a value in the Path or Exported Name cell in order to retain the typed value.
• Path. The path to a single file or folder in EKM. The path cannot contain wildcard characters. You can
specify an absolute path to any file/folder in EKM which you have permission to access. The Path of an
object is reported on its Details page. You can select the path and press Ctrl + C to copy the path to
your clipboard.
• Exported Name. The name of the exported file/folder when it is written to disk. If blank, the exported
file/folder will have the same name as what was entered in the Path field.
• Template. Specifies whether the file is a template or not. If it is a template, the file must be an ASCII
file and “templatized” using the syntax {$var}, where var is the name of a variable defined in the
batch application. When a template is exported, all instances of {$var} are replaced by the actual
value of var variable. This enables you to specify a generic file as input and have the actual contents
of the file be different for different process instances. You can only check this setting for files and not
folders.
• Batch Node Name (upstream batch node only). The name of the upstream batch node from which
input files/folders will be taken.
• Includes Pattern. Enables you to target specific files/folders within a folder by specifying a comma- or
space-separated list of patterns (p. 381). Any file/folder whose name includes any of the patterns is
considered a match and will be selected as an input for the job. This setting is optional and is valid only
when the value entered in the Path field is a folder. If the value in the Path field is a file, any patterns
that have been defined will be ignored.
• Excludes Pattern. Enables you to exclude specific files/folders within a folder by specifying a comma-
or space-separated list of patterns (p. 381). This setting is optional and is valid only when the value
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entered in the Path field is a folder. If the value entered in the Path field is a file, any patterns that have
been defined will be ignored.
Important
5. When you are finished specifying input settings, click Next >. The Output Settings page is displayed:
6. Specify an output folder for the job, then specify the names that you would like output files to have.
Output settings are described below.
Note
If Java Runtime Environment 8 is used to launch EKM Studio, you must press Enter after
typing a path on this page in order to retain the typed value.
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• Path Pattern. This is an optional setting that provides for backward-compatibility with previous
EKM releases. Path pattern is a pattern matching string that may contain wildcards. It can be
used to specify which output files produced by the batch node should be imported back into
the EKM repository. For example, if a batch execution creates a folder on disk named myfolder
and Path Pattern is set to myfolder, then the folder myfolder will be imported into the
EKM repository.
Note
It is recommended not to specify a value for Path Pattern and instead use
Includes Pattern. In the above example, leaving Path Pattern blank and
specifying myfolder as an Include Pattern would have the same result.
• Includes Pattern. Enables you to target specific output files/folders by specifying a comma-
or space-separated list of patterns (p. 381). Any file/folder whose name includes any of the
patterns is considered a match and will be imported into the EKM repository. This setting is
optional.
• Excludes Pattern. Enables you to exclude specific output files/folders by specifying a comma
or space-separated list of patterns (p. 381). Any file/folder whose name includes any of the
patterns is considered a match and will be not be imported into the EKM repository. This setting
is optional.
Important
• Retrieve on Failure. If a batch job fails or is cancelled, this will export any matching files that
are produced by the batch process to EKM. If this setting is not checked, no files will be exported
to EKM even if matches exist.
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is not specified in this setting, EKM will use the default type association defined in the Preferences
of the user who is assigned to the batch node.
• Path Pattern: specifies the relative path pattern of files or folders in the working directory that
you want to associate with a type. You can use wildcards ? and * to match a single or multiple
arbitrary characters. For example: *.dat will match all files whose extension is dat no matter
where they occur in the folder where the batch application is launched, while fluent-
files/*.dat will match only files with extension dat in a sub-folder named fluent-
files.
7. When you have finished specifying the output settings, click Finish in the wizard.
1. Double-click the iteration node in the process diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or in the
tree and select Edit from the context menu. This will open the Edit Iteration Node dialog box.
The iteration node shown in the example is named Check Mesh Approval and is defined in
the sample file named run-simulation.pt.xml. This file is supplied in the /Data/Shared
Data/Sample Files/process templates folder.
Name
The name of the iteration node as it appears in the process diagram and in the Elements window. The
name cannot contain the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Iteration expression
The condition that must be satisfied for the iteration to continue. See Using Expressions in Process
Elements (p. 364) for syntax you can utilize in expressions.
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Description
An optional description of the iteration node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over
the node in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
3. Click OK.
1. Double-click the auto node in the process diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or in the tree
and select Edit from the context menu. This will open the Edit Auto Node dialog box.
The example below shows the settings for a node named Iteration End Node. This node is
part of the sample file run-simulation.pt.xml that is supplied in the /Data/Shared
Data/Sample Files/process templates folder.
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Name
The name of the auto node as it appears in the diagram and in the Elements window. The name cannot
contain the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Macro
The name of the macro that defines the logic needed to be executed for the auto node. If this setting
is not specified then the auto node does nothing and immediately proceeds to the next step. See
Using Macros in Process Templates (p. 406) for information on how you define macros in EKM Studio.
There may be scenarios where you want the process to wait for concurrent activities to complete
before making a decision on the next paths to take. You can use an auto node to model this
wait stage. The auto node does nothing and simply waits for all the preceding paths to complete.
Then, using trigger expressions on the transitions leading out from the auto node, you can
decide the next paths to take.
If you specify a macro for an auto node, the following rules apply:
• The macro can directly access any process variable as a global variable
• If the macro needs to change the value of a process variable, it should return a map of variable
names and their new values. If it does not need to change the value of any variable; it can
simply return null.
Description
An optional description of the auto node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over
the node in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
Input variables
Defines a macro that is used by more than one auto node in a process, or by auto nodes in more than
one process. Because auto nodes require variable values to execute the logic and because the variable
names may be different in different contexts, you may want to define the macro using a particular
set of variable names. The Input variables setting can be used to provide a mapping between the
names of variables in the process (process variables) and the names of variables used by the macro
(item variables). You can specify any number of input variables.
Click Add to add a new process variable to the table. Click in the Process Variable cell and
select an existing process variable from the drop-down list. Either use the existing name, or
enter a new name for the variable in the Item Variable cell. You can remove variables from
the table by clicking Remove.
Output variables
Used when you want the auto node to set the values of process variables after execution.
Click Add to add a new variable to the table. Click in the Process Variable cell and select an
existing process variable from the drop-down list. Either use the existing name, or enter a new
name for the variable in the Item Variable cell. You can remove variables from the table by
clicking Remove.
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To edit a monitor node, select the node in the process diagram or tree, and then select Edit from the
context menu. This opens the Edit Monitor Node dialog box (Figure 14.17: Edit Monitor Node Dialog
Box (p. 387)).
Name
The name of the monitor node as it appears in the diagram and in the Elements window. The name cannot
contain the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over the node in
the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
1. Double-click the node in the process diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or tree and select
Edit from the context menu. The Edit DOE Node dialog box will appear.
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Name
The name of the DOE node as it appears in the diagram and in the Elements window. The name cannot
contain the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over the node
in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
Batch Node
Specifies that the DOE node should calculate the design points and then perform simulations using
the calculated inputs and the specified batch node. This setting is an optional string setting. If it is
specified, it should contain the name of the batch node to execute.
Run Simulations in WB
Specifies that the DOE node should calculate the design points and then perform simulations using
the calculated inputs within ANSYS Workbench. If this box is checked then a Workbench Project setting
must be specified.
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WB Application
The name of the application (p. 361) that will be launched by the DOE node. This application must be
ANSYS Workbench (version 13.0 or newer). If the setting is not specified, the default Workbench ap-
plication will be used. Note that this value must match the external application that is configured for
the EKM repository. See Defining External Applications Using XML and Defining External Applications
Using UI in the EKM Administration Guide for more details on defining external applications.
The input file first contains a list of all parameters where the first entry is the parameter name,
the second entry is the parameter usage, and the third entry is the parameter display text.
Following the list of all parameters, specific settings are provided for input parameters. These
include the parameter lower bound, the parameter upper bound, and the parameter status
(enabled or not enabled). Refer to the Design Exploration User’s Guide for further information
on these parameter settings.
Workbench Project
Specifies the ANSYS Workbench project to be used by the DOE node. This is an optional setting, but
if it is not specified then the DOE Input File setting must be. If the value is specified, then the Work-
bench Project is taken as the path to the Workbench project in the connected EKM repository.
Perform Optimization
Specifies whether optimization should be performed within ANSYS Workbench. This value is only
relevant if the value of Run Simulation in WB is set to “true”. In this case, the Workbench project
should be configured for optimization with optimization goals specified. Refer to the Design Exploration
User’s Guide for further information on configuring a Workbench project for Goal Driven Optimization.
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Input Parameters
Sets the input parameters for the batch tasks to be executed by the DOE node. This is a String value
that is only relevant if the value of the Batch Node has been specified. In this case, you should explicitly
set the value of Input Parameters, which corresponds to the name of a multi-valued EKM process
variable. The enumerated values of the variable referenced by Input Parameters must contain the
names of the input parameters. The following shows an example of a multi-valued variable corres-
ponding to the Input Parameters element:
<variable name="Input Parameters" id="inputParameters" description="Input Parameters for Batch Node"
default="P1,P2,P3,P4"
type="String" multivalued="true" />
Process Template
This setting is not used.
1. Double-click the node in the diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or tree and select Edit from
the context menu. This will open the Edit Optimization Node dialog box (Figure 14.19: Edit Optimization
Node (p. 391)).
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Name
The name of the optimization node as it appears in the diagram and in the Elements window. The
name cannot contain the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over the node
in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
WB Application
The name of the application (p. 361) that will be launched by the optimization node. This application
must be ANSYS Workbench (version 13.0 or newer). If the setting is not specified, the default Workbench
application will be used. Note that this key must match the external application that is configured for
the connected EKM server. See Defining External Applications Using XML and Defining External Ap-
plications Using UI in the EKM Administration Guide for more details on defining external applications.
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The input file first contains a list of all parameters where the first entry is the parameter name,
the second entry is the parameter usage, and the third entry is the parameter display text.
Following the list of all parameters, specific settings are provided for input parameters. These
include the parameter lower bound, the parameter upper bound, and the parameter status
(enabled or not enabled). Refer to the ANSYS Design Exploration documentation for further
information on these parameter settings.
This example corresponds to the example DOE input file shown above. Note that this tab de-
limited file contains values for the four input and three output parameters.
This example corresponds to the example DOE input file shown above. Following the Optim-
ization: heading, the optimization goals for each parameter are listed. These goals in the
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file should be consistent with those shown in the ANSYS DesignXplorer interface. Refer to the
Design Exploration User’s Guide for further information on specifying optimization goals.
Workbench Project
The ANSYS Workbench project that is to be used by the optimization node. This is an optional setting,
but if it is not specified then the DOE Input File setting must be specified. If the value is specified,
the Workbench project is taken as the path to the Workbench project in the connected EKM repository.
Process template
This setting is not used.
1. Double-click the node in the process diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or the tree and select
Edit from the context menu. The Edit Update Analysis Project Node dialog box will appear.
Name
The name of the node as it appears in the diagram and in the Elements window. The name cannot
contain the following characters:
/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over the node
in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
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1. Double-click the node in the process diagram, or right-click the node in the diagram or the tree and select
Edit. The following dialog box appears:
Name
The name of the node as it appears in the diagram and in the Elements window. The name cannot
contain the following characters:
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/ \ : [ ] % * ' " |
Description
An optional description of the node. The description will be displayed when you mouse over the node
in the editing window, and in the Properties window when the node is selected.
Input variables
Provides a way to map the names of variables in the current process template to the names of variables
used by the nested process template. You can specify any number of input variables.
Click Add to add a new process variable to the table. Click in the Process Template Variable
cell and select an existing process variable from the drop-down list. Either use the existing
name, or enter a new name for the variable in the Nested Process Template Variable cell.
You can remove variables from the table by clicking Remove.
Output variables
Use when you want the nested process template to set the values of process variables after execution.
Click Add to add a new variable to the table. Click in the Process Template Variable cell and
select an existing process variable from the drop-down list. Either use the existing name, or
enter a new name for the variable in the Nested Process Template Variable cell. You can re-
move variables from the table by clicking Remove.
Note
Output files generated from batch nodes in nested process templates are not accessible.
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To duplicate a node:
1. Select the node that you want to copy, then right-click and select Duplicate. A copy of the node is created,
and the phrase "Copy of" will be appended to the node name.
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To insert a transition:
2. Shift+click or Ctrl+click to select the node where you want the transition to end.
To edit a transition:
• Double-click the transition in the diagram. This opens the Edit Transition dialog box.
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Name
The name of the transition. There are no restrictions on the characters you can use in a transition
name.
Source
The name of the node that the transition originates from. This property is read-only and the value
cannot be edited.
Destination
The name of the node that the transition terminates at. This property is read-only and the value cannot
be edited.
Trigger expression
The condition under which the transition is triggered (or traversed) in a process. If the trigger expression
is not specified then the transition is always traversed. A sample trigger expression is shown in Fig-
ure 14.21: Edit Transition Dialog Box for a Process (p. 398). See Using Expressions in Process Ele-
ments (p. 364) for syntax you can use in trigger expressions.
When a transition has a trigger expression, a diamond is displayed on the transition line:
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2. In the Edit Node dialog box, either double-click the expression in the Expressions list, or select the ex-
pression and click the Edit command link.
3. Edit the properties in the Edit Expression dialog. These are described below.
Expression
The condition under which the node will be validated in a process. If an expression is not specified
then no error will be thrown. See Using Expressions in Process Elements (p. 364) for syntax you can
use to define expressions. If the validation fails, the Error Message defined below will be displayed
in the user interface. Press Ctrl to display the variables you can choose. Available variables for a sample
process are shown below.
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Error Message
The text you want to have displayed when validation fails.
Note
You cannot save a process template to an EKM repository if it contains errors, but you can
save it locally.
1. Select File > Save. If the current template has been saved previously, and you want to save it under a
different name, select File > Save As > Local File.
EKM will notify you if the process contains any errors. Otherwise, the Save As dialog box will appear.
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If you see this warning message you can click OK and still save the template to your local computer
if you wish. However, you will need to correct the errors in order to save the template to the repos-
itory.
2. In the Save As dialog, navigate to the folder where you want to save the file.
3. In the File name edit box, enter a name for the template file.
4. Click Save.
1. Select File > Save As > Repository File. If the process contains any errors, you will be notified of this
immediately (seeFigure 14.23: Invalid Process Template Error Message (p. 401)).
If the process template is error-free, the Save Process Template dialog box will appear.
2. In the File name edit box, enter a name for the template.
3. Select the location where you want to save the template. You can save it as a private file on your Home/My
Applications page, as a shared file on the Administration/Shared Applications page, or on the Data/My
Data or Data/Shared Data page.
4. Click Save.
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To open a process template that is located on your local file system, select File > Open > Local File,
then choose the location in the Open dialog box.
To open a process template that is located in a connected EKM repository, choose File > Open > Re-
pository File. The Open Process Template dialog box opens.
Select the process template to open. By default, process templates in My Applications and Shared
Applications are shown. You can also display templates in a specified repository folder by enabling
the Repository Folder check box, and then clicking Browse to select the folder. Once you have selected
the desired folder, click Apply to display the folder’s contents in the selection window. To filter the list
of templates, simply disable the check box of the folder that contains the templates that you want to
hide.
If you attempt to open a process template that contains errors, the following message appears:
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If you attempt to open a process template (previously called a workflow) from an earlier version of EKM,
and it contains layout information that is incompatible with the current release, the following message
appears:
EKM Studio began using a grid system in Release 15.0 to lay out nodes and transitions. Therefore, dia-
grams in Release 15.0 and later are slightly different than those created in previous versions. To correct
the invalid layout of an older template, you can take advantage of the "Automatic Layout" feature in
newer releases. For details see Correcting an Invalid Layout (p. 403).
3. Remove the <layout> section from the XML and save the file.
4. Reopen the saved file in EKM Studio. The Automatic Layout feature arranges the nodes/stage positions
correctly in a graphical view.
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1. Select Edit > Process Template Attributes. The Edit Process Template Attributes dialog box appears:
Name
Name of the process.
Description
An optional description of the process.
Height
For templates that contain a custom dialog node, this is the height of the custom dialog box that is
displayed when the node is reached during process execution.
Width
The width of the custom dialog box displayed when a process contains a custom dialog node.
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The Height and Width settings can be ignored if the template does not contain a custom
dialog node.
Language
The scripting language that will be used for macros and expressions. Choices are Python and Bean-
Shell.
Python is a powerful and easy-to-use scripting language that is becoming very popular. EKM
uses Jython 2.2.1 to handle Python syntax. To learn more about Jython, refer to http://
www.jython.org/index.html. To learn more about Python, refer to http://www.python.org. Jython
2.2.1 allows the use of Python 2.2 language features. In addition you can use any Java classes
offered by JDK 1.7.
BeanShell is a scripting language that can execute code written in standard Java syntax while
providing scripting conveniences such as loose types. For more information on BeanShell and
to see its detailed documentation, refer to http://www.beanshell.org. With BeanShell you have
full access to all classes provided by Java’s JDK. EKM uses JDK 1.7, so you can use any of its
classes in macros defined using BeanShell.
If you change the Language setting, you will be prompted to edit any existing macros and
expressions after you click OK in the Edit Process Template Attributes dialog:
All expressions and scripts in the process template should be consistent with the Language
specified in your process attributes. If you have not defined any macros or expressions in the
current process template, you can disregard this warning message.
Required variables
Variables that you must specify when you create a process template. You are prompted to add these
variables when you create a new process template in a connected EKM repository. The list of available
variables for your process will be listed under All variables. Select each one that you want and click
Add>> to add them to the Required variables list on the right. To remove a variable from the Required
variables list, select it and then click Remove.
Note
For a process with a single custom node, a required variable is not a valid input.
Validation
Validates the required variables. You can insert an expression for each required variable by clicking
Insert and then edit it using the Edit Expressions dialog box that opens when you click Edit. See
Using Expressions in Process Elements (p. 364) for syntax you can use to define process expressions.
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• Define logic that must be used in an expression but cannot be defined within the expression either because
of complexity or because you want to use this logic in more than one place.
• Define logic for auto nodes. The auto nodes will execute the associated macro upon activation.
Defining a Macro
To define a macro, select Edit > Script, and then type your script in the Edit Script dialog box. Note
that you do not insert the <script> tag in the macro definition; this is added automatically by EKM
Studio.
You should define the macro using the scripting language (Python or Beanshell) displayed above the
editing window. The scripting language for a process is set in your process attributes (p. 404).
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Using Macros in Process Templates
The name that you define for the macro in the script can then be entered in the process template
definition dialog box so that it can be utilized.
Note
Jython imposes a limit of 100 KB per script file. To avoid process errors it is recommended
that you create scripts using the EKM scripting interface and store them in the /Adminis-
tration/Configuration/Scripts folder. For details see Using EKM's Scripting Interface
in the Administration Guide. Storing scripts in a centralized library makes them available for
any process template, lifecycle, or custom type. See Configuring a Common Scripts Library
in the Administration Guide for details.
The macro increments a variable named index by one and will be used by an auto node in a process.
Once the code is entered in the Edit Script dialog box, the macro can be utilized in the auto node
definition. Figure 14.30: Edit Auto Node With Macro (p. 408) shows where incrementMacro macro
name is entered in the Edit Auto Node dialog box.
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If you are defining a macro that will extract the name of an assignee from a previous node in the process,
the macro must take an argument that is the node name, and must return a string that is the name of
the assignee. For example, you would specify foo(Run Analysis) when defining a macro named
foo that will extract the assignee from a node named Run Analysis.
When specifying an assignee in the Edit Node or Edit Batch Node dialog box, use $ followed by the
macro name in the Assignee field. For example, if the macro is named foo, you would enter $foo in
the Assignee field.
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Displaying a Process Template
Once you have selected the executable, the script opens in the selected application. The application
that you chose will be remembered as the default external editor.
With a default editor specified you can click the Open with external editor link when editing any script
to automatically open the script in the selected editor.
If you edit a script in an external editor, and then return to the script editor in EKM Studio, you will be
asked if you want to load the edited script in EKM Studio’s editing window:
• To display a process diagram along with the tasks, transitions and variables defined in the process template,
select (More) > Display > Process Template.
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• To display the content (code) of the XML file, select (More) > Display > Content.
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Chapter 15: Defining Custom Dialog Boxes and Wizards in EKM
Studio
The Custom Dialog Editor enables you to create or modify a custom dialog box or wizard and add it to
a process template. You can interactively define all aspects of the custom dialog box (user interface
elements, macros, and so on) in the editor, then save the resulting .pt.xml file on your local file system
and publish the definition to EKM.
Important
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3. In the Properties area on the right, give the custom node a unique Name, optionally add a Description,
and name an Assignee. When you click outside of the Name text box, the Custom Dialog Node panel
updates automatically.
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Defining a Sample Dialog Box
• The first row contains the label Fluids Simulation Based Data Mining.
• The second row contains the image and the labelled text boxes. The image in this example is a screen
capture from a simulation.
2. Add a new step in the custom dialog node by clicking the "plus sign" icon in the Custom Dialog Node
toolbar. The Grid Properties dialog box appears.
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3. In the Grid Properties dialog box, specify Rows as 2 and Cols as 1, then click OK.
4. From the Widgets panel, drag a Grid into the bottom of the white field in the Editor panel.
Tip
You can also add and remove grid elements by right-clicking on an existing grid cell.
All actions performed in the Editor panel can be undone and redone by clicking the
appropriate icons in the Custom Dialog Node panel.
Click OK.
5. From the Widgets panel, drag a Label into the top field in the Editor panel.
6. From the Widgets panel, drag an Image into the bottom-left field in the Editor panel. When prompted,
select the Upload image option.
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Defining a Sample Dialog Box
In the Open dialog box, select the image in your local file system and click Open.
7. In the Repository path text box, enter the path of a repository folder in which the image will be saved
(for example, /Data/Shared Data), then press the Tab key or click outside of the text box to set the
value.
8. From the Widgets panel, drag a Grid into the bottom-right field in the Editor panel. Specify Rows as 10
and Cols as 1. Click OK.
9. Drag Label widgets into alternating rows on the grid, starting at the first row.
10. Drag Reference widgets into the second, fourth, and eighth rows on the grid.
11. Drag a Dropdown List widget into the sixth row on the grid.
12. Drag a Text Box widget into the tenth row on the grid. The editor looks like this:
Now that the structure of the custom dialog is complete, add the values that you want to see:
1. Click in the top row (Label), then in the Properties > Default Value text box, type Fluids Simulation
Based Data Mining. For Display Style, type text-align: center; font-size: large;
width: 100%.
2. Provide the other labels as shown in the initial design for the Custom Dialog Box:
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Important
The values you specify for References are validated when uploaded to the repository.
Thus, if there is a reference that does not exist in the repository, the upload will fail.
4. Specify the names and IDs for the variables from the script you created. (The values that follow are only
examples.)
• For Case File > Reference > Name: type Case File
• For Data File > Reference > Name: type Data File
• For Result Type > DropDown List > Name: type Result Type List
• For Result Type > DropDown List > Id: type resultTypeList
• For Output Folder > Reference > Name: type Output Folder
• For Output CVS File > Text Box > Name: type Output File
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Setting the Operation of the Custom Dialog Box
• For Output CVS File > Text Box > Id: type outputFile
When you click outside the text box after typing in a value, the software performs syntax checks
and warns you of any syntax errors in the values you gave.
a. Give the node a descriptive name: in the Custom Dialog Node panel, click New Step 1 and in the
Properties panel change the Name to Step 1 — Take User Information.
b. Set the Step completion macro to action (the name of an existing macro).
6. Your custom dialog node is defined; you will set its operation in the next section.
7. Save your custom dialog node by clicking OK. The Variables list updates in EKM Studio.
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1. Open a copy of the action macro that you previously defined in a flat-text editor and insert it in the EKM
Studio Edit Script dialog box.
Click OK.
• To save your template in the repository, select File > Save As > Repository File.
Alternatively, the graphical editor enables you to make a copy of an existing step by selecting it and
using the copy button from the Custom Dialog Node toolbar. You can then edit the properties of the
step as required.
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Custom Dialog Node Reference
When you have created a series of steps, you can reorder them by using the up arrow and down arrows
in the Custom Dialog Node toolbar.
Add
To add a step, click the "plus sign".
Delete
To delete a step, select it and click delete. (This operation can be undone.)
Copy
To make a copy of an existing step, select it and click the copy button. This is a quick way to create steps
that share common features.
Move Up/Down
When you have created a series of steps, you can reorder them by using the up arrow and down arrows.
Undo/Redo
Only the following actions can be undone or redone. Any action related to an update of properties cannot
be undone.
• Addition/Deletion of a step.
• Copy/Move of a step.
• Addition/Deletion of a widget.
Description
Optional text about the custom dialog node.
Assignee
User or Group to which this custom dialog node should be assigned for completion.
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Description
Optional text.
Assignee
User or Group to which this custom dialog node should be assigned for completion.
Label Widget
This widget creates static text anywhere in a step. For example, you can use this to place a label in front
of widget that takes input. You can apply the following attributes:
Binding Variable
You can bind a widget to an existing variable or create a new variable. If you are creating a new variable
as a binding variable, then a variable of type string with the specified properties is created when you click
OK.
ID
The ID of the variable.
Name
The name of the variable. (This is editable only for new variables.)
Type
The type of variable. Default: String
Default value
The text that displays.
Display Style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the text in the Default value.
Reference Widget
Binding Variable
You can bind a widget to an existing variable or create a new variable. If you are creating a new variable
as a binding variable, then a variable of type Reference is created when you click OK.
ID
The ID of the variable. Default: reference
Name
The name of the variable. Default: Reference
Type
Default: Reference
Default value
Default reference path of an object that is present in repository. This value would appear in text box present
in the reference widget.
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Custom Dialog Node Reference
Multi-Valued
Enables selection of multiple entries. The XML output will be a comma-separated list.
Constraint
Base Type
The base type for the reference.
Display Style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the text in the Default value.
Update On Change
A comma-separated list of widget IDs that needs to be refreshed if value of the reference widget changes.
On-change macro
The macro that executes when the user changes the reference path.
Binding Variable
You can bind a widget to an existing variable or create a new variable. When you click OK, you create a
variable of Name (label) ID (label) and Type.
ID
The ID of the variable. Default: dropDownList
Name
The name of the variable. Default: DropDownList
Type
Can be of type String, Long, or Double. Default: String
Default value
The default item displayed in the drop-down list.
Multi-Valued
Enables selection of multiple entries. The XML output will be a comma-separated list.
Enumeration
The items to be available in the drop-down list.
Display Style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the text in the Default value.
Update on change
A comma-separated list of widget IDs that needs to be refreshed if the value of the dropdown list changes.
On-change macro
The macro that executes when the user selects a different value in the dropdown list.
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Image Widget
This widget displays an image in the step. You can select the image either from your local disk or use
a bound variable to reference an image.
Upload image
If you choose the Upload image option, the Open dialog box will appear, enabling you to select an
image from your local file system. Once you have selected a file, the image widget will have the following
attributes:
ID
The identifier for the image.
Local path
The location of the image on the local system.
Repository path
The location of the image in the repository. When you click OK to save the custom dialog node, the image
specified in the Local Path text box is automatically uploaded to this location in the repository.
Alternatively, you can just give the path of an already existing image in the repository as the value
for the Repository path and that will be picked up when the custom dialog task is displayed in
the process view.
Height / Width
The size of the image.
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the image.
If you choose the Use variable to reference image option, an image placeholder is displayed, and the
image widget will have the following attributes:
Binding Variable
You can bind a widget to an existing variable or create a new variable. If you are creating a new variable
as a binding variable, then a variable of type reference with a base type of image is created with the specified
properties when you click OK.
Name
The name of the variable that references the image. If creating a new variable, the default is Reference.
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ID
The ID of the variable. If creating a new variable, the default is reference.
Default value
Default reference path of an image that is present in repository. For example, /Data/Shared
Data/image.png
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the image.
Spacer Widget
This widget places empty cells between widgets and is used to manage layouts. It has the following
attributes:
ID
The identifier for the image. Default: image
Height / Width
The size of the spacer.
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the spacer. For example, a spacer with the display
style "border:2px solid blue" would render as a spacer with a blue border of 2px thickness.
ID
The identifier for the command button or link. Default: commandButton, commandLink
Name
The name of the command button or link. Default: Command Button, Command Link
On-click macro
The macro that executes when the button or link is clicked.
Update on change
A comma-separated list of widget IDs that needs to be refreshed on the click of a command button or a
command link.
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the button or link text.
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Binding Variable
You can bind a widget to an existing variable or create a new variable. If you are creating a new variable
as a binding variable, then a variable of type string with the specified properties is created when you click
OK.
ID
The ID of the variable. Default: textBox
Name
The name of the variable. (This is editable only for new variables.) Default: Text Box
Type
Can be of type String, Double, or Long. Default: String
Multi-line value
Enables you to create a multi-line string in the text box.
Default value
The text that displays in the text box by default.
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the text box.
Update on change
The IDs that need to be updated.
On-change macro
The macro that executes when the user edits the value in the text box.
Binding Variable
You can bind a widget to an existing variable or create a new variable. If you are creating a new variable
as a binding variable, then a variable of type string with the specified properties is created when you click
OK.
ID
The ID of the variable. Default: checkBox
Name
The name of the variable. (This is editable only for new variables.) Default: Check Box
Type
Default: Boolean
Default value
true or false. If multivalued, multiple Boolean values can be specified in a comma-separated list.
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the check box widget.
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Setting the Dimensions of a Custom Dialog Box
Update on change
The IDs that need to be updated when the value changes.
On-change macro
The macro that executes when the user changes the value of the check box.
ID
The ID of the variable. Default: uploadFile
Name
The name of the variable. Default: Upload File
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the upload file widget.
ID
The ID of the variable. Default: dataTable
Name
The name of the variable. Default: Data Table
Display style
This area accepts CSS markup that changes the display of the data table widget.
2. In the Edit Process Template Attributes dialog box, specify the desired pixel values in the Height and
Width fields.
3. Click OK.
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To add resource files to a process template file, or update the currently assigned resource files:
1. Select the process template file, right-click, and select Edit > Resource. This will open the Edit Process
Template Resource dialog box.
2. Click Browse to select the resource archive (in .zip, .tar or .tar.gz format) from your local file system.
3. Click OK.
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Chapter 16: Starting and Managing Processes
This chapter presents information on how to execute a process, manage process tasks, and monitor
the status of an active process.
For information on creating or editing templates from which processes are launched, see Defining
Process Templates in EKM Studio (p. 360).
Note
You cannot start or manage processes if you have been assigned Basic access.
Process templates have the file extension .pt.xml file (or .wfxml or .wf.xml for previous EKM ver-
sions). With the default EKM configuration (/Administration/Configuration/Lifecycles/Work-
flowApprove.lc.xml), process templates are not executable on upload or creation. This is indicated
by a icon next to the template file name in the file list window, as shown below:
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You must have approval from an EKM administrator to make a template executable (see Requesting
Approval to Make a Process Template Executable (p. 428)). Once the request has been approved, you
can proceed with creating a new process from that template (see Creating a New Process (p. 432)).
To request approval:
• Click on the process template file in the file list window, then in the Message box that appears, click
the Request approval now link.
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• Select or right-click the process template file and select (Edit) > Lifecycle > Promote.
This requests that the Signoff committee review and promote the template from the initial Draft
stage to the Executable stage. The Promote Lifecycle Stage dialog box appears.
Note
• You cannot promote a process template if it is under version control and currently checked
out by a user, or if a user has exclusive control of it.
• If a request for approval has already been initiated, you will be notified of this as follows:
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2. Optionally, add comments for the Signoff Committee regarding the approval. The process template is
now exclusively controlled by a system user with the name ekm_lifecycle_user, and is not modifiable.
3. Click OK in the Promote Lifecycle Stage dialog box. The Signoff Committee receives the process approval
request. It appears on their My Tasks page. After review, the Signoff Committee will start the signoff
Clicking on a signoff request displays it in the Processes section, where you can view details such
as who requested the signoff, when it was requested, and when it is due.
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As part of review process, the Administrator checks the process content, including any scripts. After
the review, the Administrator will either approve or reject process execution. This is done by
clicking or on the toolbar. If the Administrator chooses to approve the signoff request, he
or she may enter comments regarding the signoff in the Approve Signoff Request dialog box,
and then click OK to submit the approval.
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Once the administrator approves the process template, the lifecycle stage is changed from 'Draft'
to 'Executable'. In the Executable stage, non-administrators cannot edit or modify the process object.
If non-administrators need to edit the process object, an administrator can Demote the process
object to the Draft stage or set the stage back to 'Draft'.
If the request is rejected, the icon remains displayed next to the process file name and you
cannot execute the process. However, you may edit the process object and resubmit for approval.
1. From the main drop box, select Processes, then click in the Processes section. In the ap-
plications window, click on the process template that you want to use.
You can also navigate to a process template in the repository and simply click on it to start a process
from it.
Note
You must have both Access and Download permission on a process template to be
able to start a process from it.
For all single-node/single user processes that are not custom dialog nodes, the New Process dialog
box opens where you define the process and provide any custom inputs (if applicable).
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Note
The New Process menu and dialog will not be available for a process that has a single
custom node.
2. In the Name edit box, enter a new name for the process or keep the default name that is defined in the
template. The default name includes a date and time stamp, as shown in the sample above.
3. In the Description edit box, enter an optional description for the process or keep the default one that is
defined in the template.
5. Click OK.
When the dialog is submitted, a process is added to the Process Monitor page, and the process view
is displayed in the main window. You can monitor and control the process from this view. For more
information see Managing Processes (p. 434).
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• Access an interactive view of the process. See Accessing the Process View (p. 435).
• Monitor the status of tasks in the process (started, complete, incomplete, and so on). See Monitoring the
Status of Tasks (p. 436).
• View and edit the users assigned to tasks. See Managing Assignees (p. 437).
• View a process diagram and variable definitions. See Viewing the Status and Details of a Process (p. 437).
• Complete tasks that are assigned to you. See Managing Tasks Assigned to You (p. 441).
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The process view has two panes: the left pane displays a list of the tasks in the process, and the right
pane displays details and actions for the currently selected task.
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Note that if the process contains a nested process template, the individual tasks defined in the nested
process are also listed in the process view. Nested processes can be expanded and collapsed to aid in
navigation.
You can hide the left pane by clicking in the top left corner of the pane, and expand it again by
clicking .
If you have navigated away from the process view, you can display it at any time by selecting the process
on the Processes/Process Monitor page.
If multiple processes are listed on the Process Monitor page, you can sort the list by Name, Status
and so on by clicking the appropriate column header in the file list window. You can also filter the list
according to any of the properties shown. For example, you can filter the list to show only processes
with Active status. For more information, see Filtering the View (p. 170).
If you are assigned to the first node in the process, you will be allowed to complete the task. If another
user is assigned the first task in the process, they will receive an email notifying them that the process
is ready. See Managing Tasks Assigned to You (p. 441) for details.
The status of tasks updates as the process progresses and tasks are completed.
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drop box. If the task is one that has been started, you can also select the task and click in
the details pane.
Note
If a task is assigned to a user that does not exist, a warning icon appears next to the as-
signee drop box. If a task remains assigned to an invalid user, it will be executed by the
process creator.
If you are not the process creator, but a task has been assigned to you, you can reassign the task to
another user if necessary. See Reassigning a Task (p. 451) for details.
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This read-only view displays a diagram of the process, variables defined in the process template, and
an audit trail of completed tasks.
Note that if the process has another process nested within it, the Status tab will show diagrams, variables,
and audit trails for both the main process and the nested process.
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When you cancel a process, the process object remains in its source folder, enabling you to retain and
view process properties and details about tasks.
To cancel a process:
3. Click OK to confirm that you want to cancel the process. The Status of the process changes from Active
to Cancelled, and all active tasks related to the process are cancelled.
Note that if you open the cancelled process, you will not be able to perform any tasks.
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To delete a process:
2. Click the delete button on the toolbar. The Delete Object dialog box appears:
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3. Click OK to confirm that you want to delete the process. The process is removed from the current folder.
Also, if any assignee had active tasks on their My Tasks page, those tasks are removed.
• Open the process on the Process Monitor page and click on the task in the process
When a task is ready to be started, an email is sent to the Assignee of the task and the item is placed
on the assignee's My Tasks page in the Processes section. An assignee can be a single user or a group.
If it is a group, then the task will be assigned to all users in the group and each member will have the
item placed on their My Tasks page. If the task is assigned to a single user, it will be automatically
started by EKM.
Note
If you are already signed in to EKM and click on an email link that you have received from
EKM, a new EKM session will open in a new browser tab or window.
On the My Tasks page, the Status of the task will be set to In Progress.
If the task had been assigned to multiple users in a group, the first user to start the task will get exclusive
rights to the task and the task will be removed from the My Tasks page of other users. Tasks that are
not used by a process are automatically set to Omitted.
If multiple items are listed in My Tasks you can sort the list by Name, Process, Process Template,
Status and so on by clicking the appropriate column header in the file list window. You can also filter
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the list according to any of the properties shown. For example, you can filter the list to show only tasks
with In Progress status. For more information, see Filtering the View (p. 170).
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The details and actions that are displayed for a task depend on the type of task and what state the
process is in.
Some tasks require data input. Variables that are defined in a particular order in a process template will
display in that order in the details pane. When variables are not assigned a display order, they will display
in alphabetical order. For details on specifying a display order for variables, see Editing a Node (p. 374).
If defining variables using XML, refer to the outputVar element description in Node Type (p. 564).
For input variables that refer to a specific file, the process view displays a link to the file. You can
download the file directly by clicking the download icon next to the link.
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Actions in the details pane can include: Complete (p. 450), Reassign (p. 451), Cancel (p. 449) (Batch task
only), and Execute (p. 444) (Batch task only).
Note
• Any data that you enter for a task may be lost if you do not complete the task before leaving the
process view.
• If you are the assignee of a nested process and are unable to execute it, contact the process cre-
ator to determine whether or not you have permission to access the location where the nested
process template file is saved.
If the item is a batch job, it will need to be executed. See Executing a Batch Job (p. 444) for details.
Once you have executed a task you can specify that it is complete, at which time the process will advance
to the next stage. See Completing a Task (p. 450) for details.
For batch jobs that do not start automatically, the status of the job will read Not Started in the
execution details, as shown in the example below. In this case you will need to initiate the execution
manually.
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Before executing the batch job you can upload additional files to the job’s working directory by clicking
in the details pane. For more information about uploading files, see Uploading Files to
the Working Directory (p. 322) in the Managing Jobs chapter.
To execute a batch job in the process view, click in the details pane.
Note that if the job cannot start for some reason, such as an incorrect password set for the selected
queue, an error message will be displayed in the task pane. Once you have rectified the issue, you can
click at the bottom of the task pane to start the job again.
When you click , the Execute Batch Job dialog box will appear. Here you can select an
application to use and specify other job submission settings.
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If values for the Application, Command line arguments, Number of Cores and Transcript
settings were explicitly specified in the batch node definition, those values will be prefilled in the Execute
Batch Job dialog box. Alternatively, if a job template was selected in the batch node definition, the
values for these settings are taken from the selected template. In the case where the template defines
a custom interface, the Execute Batch Job dialog box will have a custom appearance and settings. For
details about the default job submission settings, see Setting Up a Batch Job (p. 247) in the Managing
Jobs chapter.
When you click OK, the job will be queued and then begin to execute. You can monitor its progress
within the process view, or from the Job Monitor page. The status of the job will go from Queued to
Executing to Executed. To view the current status, click Refresh at the bottom of the task pane.
You can cancel the job if desired by clicking Cancel. For more information about monitoring and
managing jobs, see the Managing Jobs chapter.
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Re-executing a Job
If the execution fails, or if the batch job is not set to complete automatically after execution, a
button will be displayed, providing you with an opportunity to execute the job again.
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The Working Directory view displays the contents of the job’s Working Directory on the computer
server, and provides actions for managing the content of the Working Directory.
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Similarly, the Transcript view displays the same information that you would see when viewing the job
object on the Job Monitor page.
For more information about a job’s Working Directory or Transcript, see the Managing Jobs chapter.
Note
The Working Directory icon will not be displayed if Working Directory access has been disabled
for the batch job in the process template. See Editing a Batch Node (p. 377) for details.
If the batch job is not set to complete automatically, you will need to complete it by clicking
in the details pane. Once complete, the process will move on to the next stage.
If a batch job is currently executing, you can stop it by clicking in the task pane of the
process view. You can also cancel the job from the Job Monitor page. You will be prompted to confirm
that you want to cancel the task.
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You can complete a task that is assigned to you and whose status is In Progress by clicking
in the task pane of the process view. If any final input is required, it will appear in the task pane.
Variables that are associated with nodes and batch nodes that were assigned a particular order when
they were defined will display in that order in the task pane. When variables are not assigned a display
order, they will display in alphabetical order. For details on specifying a display order for variables, see
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Editing a Node (p. 374). If defining variables using XML, refer to the outputVar element description
in Node Type (p. 564).
Note
If the creator of the process has set a task to complete automatically, the action
will not be available, and the process will automatically proceed to the next stage. For more
information about the auto-complete option in process template definitions, see Editing a
Batch Node (p. 377).
You can reassign an active task that has been assigned to you using the action in the
process view. Once you have reassigned the item, it will be placed on the reassigned users' My Tasks
page and an email message will be sent notifying the assignee.
To reassign a task:
1. Open the task from the email that you received, or go to the Processes section and open it there.
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3. From the drop box, select the user to whom you would like to reassign the item.
4. If you would like to provide the user with instructions or information about the task, enter the desired
text in the Note edit box. This step is optional.
5. Click OK to reassign the task. The item will be placed on the reassigned user’s My Tasks page and an
email message will be sent notifying the assignee. When the user clicks on the link to the task, or starts
the task from My Tasks, the user will be prompted to accept (p. 454) the task. Any notes that were entered
during reassignment appear at this time.
Note
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When you are viewing a task in the process view that belongs to another assignee, you will see the
message "There are no tasks for you to perform at this time" in the details pane.
To reassign a started or future task that belongs to another user, click the task’s assignee drop box and
select a different user. Or, if the task’s status is In Progress, click in the details pane if you
want to include a note that the new user will see when he or she views the task.
Note
• If a task is assigned to a user that does not exist, a warning icon appears next to the assignee
drop box. If a task remains assigned to an invalid user, it will be executed by the process creator.
• If a user is part of the admin group but not part of the process, they can access the process by
pasting the address of the process view in the browser address bar.
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Automatic Email Notifications Sent From Processes
Note
• The repository in which the process resides must be one that you are allowed to access.
• If you are signed in to EKM and you are in the process of performing any action in the
workspace, clicking on an email link to a task in the same workspace will not load the task.
You must first complete or cancel the previous action.
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Note
If you are already signed in to EKM via a web browser, and click on an email link that you
have received from EKM, a new EKM session will open in a new browser tab or window.
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Chapter 17: Discussion Boards
A discussion board is an area where users can start and participate in discussions. Users carry out dis-
cussions by posting text messages on the discussion board. Messages can include links to objects in
EKM.
• At the folder level: Any user who has Create or Full Control permission on a shared folder can create
one or more discussion boards in that folder. The discussion board can be general-purpose in nature and
is not tied to any particular object.
• At the object level: Every object in EKM has a built-in discussion board that you can access by selecting the
Discussions tab when viewing an object. The discussions on this board relate specifically to the object at
hand. Any user who can access the object can start and participate in discussions about the object, even if
they do not have Modify permission on the object.
When you create a discussion board or start a discussion, you can invite others to view it. The users
that you invite will receive an email with a link to the discussion board. Users can also subscribe to receive
email notifications every time a discussion changes.
This chapter presents information on how you can use discussion boards to collaborate with other
users. The following topics are discussed:
17.1. Creating a Discussion Board
17.2. Opening a Discussion Board
17.3. Starting a Discussion
17.4. Inviting People to Join Discussions
17.5. Subscribing to Email Notifications
17.6. Unsubscribing from Email Notifications
17.7. Adding Comments to a Discussion
Note
If you want to start a discussion about a particular object in EKM, you can do so directly
when viewing the object, and do not need to create a discussion board for it. See Starting
a Discussion (p. 459) for details.
1. Select a shared EKM folder, and then select (New) > Discussion Board.
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2. In the New Discussion Board dialog box, type a name for the discussion board.
Note
The creator of a discussion board has full control over the board, and may grant privileges
such as Delete or Full Control to other users by selecting (Edit) > Permissions. However,
all users will be able to start and add comments to discussions regardless of the permissions
specified for the discussion board.
To open the built-in discussion board for a particular object, select or open the object, then select
(More) > Display > Discussions, or select the Discussions tab.
If no discussions have been started yet, the board will be blank. If discussions have been started, they
will be listed by subject in the top pane. Selecting a discussion in the list displays its messages in the
lower pane.
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Starting a Discussion
1. Open the discussion board on which you would like to start a discussion (see Opening a Discussion
Board (p. 458)).
2. Click the new discussion button. A panel is displayed where you can set up a new discussion:
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3. In the Subject field, enter the subject of the discussion. The subject is mandatory as it will be used to
reference the discussion on the board and in emails.
4. In the editing pane, enter a message. You can apply formatting to selected text using the formatting options
at the top of the editing pane. To remove formatting that you have applied, select the formatted text and
click on the editing toolbar.
To insert a link to an object that resides in EKM, click below the editing pane. See Adding Links
to EKM Objects (p. 461) for more information.
5. Click to post the discussion. The discussion will be listed in the top pane of the discussion
board, and its contents will be visible to any user who has access to the board.
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Inviting People to Join Discussions
1. Click below the editing pane. A pop-up panel appears, providing access to the EKM file system. A
sample is shown below.
2. Select the object that you want to link to. The file is listed as a reference below the editing pane.
When the comment has been posted, a link to the object will be displayed at the bottom of the message,
as shown below:
1. If not already open, open the discussion board (see Opening a Discussion Board (p. 458)).
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Discussion Boards
2. Click .
3. In the Invite People dialog box, select a user or group from the drop box, then click Add to add them to
the list. You can add multiple users and groups to the list.
Note
The groups and users available in the list depend on the permissions that have been
set for the discussion board. If the default permissions are being used, all users are eligible
to receive an invitation.
4. Optionally add a custom message in the lower pane. This message will appear in the email that invited
users receive.
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Adding Comments to a Discussion
1. If not already open, open the discussion board (see Opening a Discussion Board (p. 458)).
2. Click .
1. If not already open, open the discussion board (see Opening a Discussion Board (p. 458)).
2. Click .
1. Open the discussion board where the discussion resides (see Opening a Discussion Board (p. 458)). If you
received an invitation to join a discussion, you can access the discussion by clicking a link in the email.
2. In the top pane, select the discussion to which you would like to add a comment. The messages for the
selected discussion are displayed in the lower pane.
3. Click inside the blank message box that appears below the other messages:
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Discussion Boards
4. In the editing pane, enter a message. You can apply formatting to selected text using the formatting options
at the top of the editing pane.
To remove formatting that you have applied, select the formatted text and click on the toolbar.
To insert a link to an object that resides in EKM, click below the editing pane. See Adding Links
to EKM Objects (p. 461) for more information.
An email will be sent to all users who have requested notifications on discussion board changes. The
email message will contain the text of the message, indicate who posted the message, and provide a
link directly to the discussion in EKM.
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Chapter 18: Catalogs
A catalog is a custom container that is designed to hold large numbers of similar objects. For example,
suppose you have thousands of objects that are similar except for a few properties. If the objects were
stored in a standard folder in EKM, you would have to wait until all of the objects were loaded in the
file list window every time you wanted to view the contents of the folder. If there were thousands of
objects, this would take a long time. Catalogs can be useful in these situations because they act like
regular folders in that they can hold objects, but instead of displaying and browsing through the entire
list of objects, you can narrow down the number of objects that are displayed by searching the catalog
first. This way, you will be presented with a targeted group of objects, and a manageable number to
browse. Objects in a catalog are automatically assigned names by EKM so that no two objects share
the same name.
To help you quickly learn the basics of creating and using catalogs in EKM, a step-by-step tutorial is
provided at the end of this chapter. References to this tutorial are made frequently throughout this
chapter. The two sample files needed to complete the tutorial are included in the EKM installation, so
you do not need to download anything. See Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog (p. 479).
Note
The creation of catalogs typically involves the utilization of custom types. Refer to the Defining
Custom Types chapter in the EKM Administration Guide for details.
To create a catalog:
1. In the Data section, locate the folder in the EKM repository where you want the catalog to reside, then
select (New) > Folder. The New Folder dialog box appears:
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Catalogs
2. In the Name edit box, enter a name for the catalog (for example, My Widget Catalog)
3. From the Type drop box, select a catalog type (for example, Widget Catalog). You must have a custom
folder type defined for your workspace that is an extension of the built-in Catalog type. Refer to the
tutorial (p. 479) for details.
5. If you want to immediately set up permissions on the new folder, enable the Edit permissions check box.
6. Click OK.
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Automatic Naming of Catalog Objects
1. Select (New) > Widget (or whatever object you are adding). If you completed the tutorial, this option
is available because there is a custom widget type defined in your workspace. A dialog appears prompting
you to specify the object’s properties. In this example, the New Widget dialog box appears:
If a specific display order for the properties is defined for the custom type, as is the case in this
example, then the properties will be listed in that order. Otherwise, they will appear alphabetically
by name. See Defining Properties in the Administration Guide for more details on defining custom
properties.
2. Specify the object’s properties. Required properties are marked with a red asterisk (*). Note that objects
are named for you automatically. See Automatic Naming of Catalog Objects (p. 467) for details.
3. Click OK to add the object to the catalog. Note that the object will not be visible in the file list window.
Remember that catalogs are special containers that do not show all of their content every time you select
them. You must perform a search on the catalog to display objects in it. See Searching a Catalog (p. 469).
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Catalogs
To move a catalog:
1. Right-click the catalog in the file list window and select Edit > Cut. The catalog is copied to the clipboard.
2. Navigate to the folder to which you want to move the catalog, then select (Edit) > Paste.
Note
When you move a catalog, public and private views are copied with the catalog. Executing
a saved view from within the catalog will yield the same results as before. However, any
queries that were saved outside of the catalog will need to be updated so that they reference
the new catalog location.
To copy a catalog:
1. Right-click the catalog in the file list window and select Edit > Copy. The catalog is copied to the clipboard.
2. Navigate to the folder to which you want to copy the catalog, then select (Edit) > Paste.
Note
When you copy a catalog, only Shared Views are copied with the catalog. Personal views are
not copied. If you edit a Shared View in either catalog, the query changes will be applicable
in both the original and copied catalog. When you execute a Shared View, however, the
results shown are from the catalog in which the Shared View was executed.
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Searching a Catalog
Note
If the catalog being searched includes items that are subtypes of the container and contain
other objects:
• You cannot perform a search on an object in the catalog, only on the catalog itself.
• In certain tree views (for example, when picking the target of a new shortcut), a catalog item
cannot be expanded. This prevents the selection of the catalog item's children.
Important
Keyword searches are case-sensitive, and there are limitations on the way certain characters
can be used. For a complete list of limitations see Rules and Restrictions for Keyword
Searches (p. 197).
To search a catalog:
1. Select the catalog in the file list window. When a catalog is selected, the Advanced Search dialog box
appears automatically (see Figure 18.4: Advanced Search - Defining a Search Expression (p. 471)). You can
also start a search directly from the Catalog Contents tab in the file list window by clicking on the
Views toolbar, as shown below.
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Catalogs
2. In the Advanced Search dialog box, select the object type that you want to search for from the Select
object type drop box.
3. Next you will need to define a search expression. A search expression can contain one or more conditions
that you want to be met in your search. In the Property pane, select a property that you would like to
use in your search. If any of the catalog objects contain other objects, and you want to be able to use the
properties of those child objects in your search expressions, check the Show child properties box to
update the Property list. In the figure below, the Diameter property is selected in the list. The property
is added to the Expression window along with suitable operators and fields for defining the condition.
4. In the Expression pane, define a condition for the selected property. For example, if we wanted to find
objects whose diameter is greater than 1.2, you would select Greater Than from the operator drop box
and then type 1.2 in the value field.
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Searching a Catalog
Note
For detailed information on defining search expressions, including the available data
types and permissible characters, see Specifying Search Criteria (p. 200).
5. You can define additional conditions based on any property to further narrow the search. If multiple ex-
pressions are defined, you can specify that you want all of the following or any of the following criteria
to be met by making a selection from the Matches drop box.
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Catalogs
You can also define sub-expressions. These are expressions that are nested under existing expres-
sions, and will be considered after the results of the first expression have been obtained. In our
example we want to find all the widgets that are aluminum and have a diameter greater than 1.2.
In this case, the Matches field is set to all of the following to ensure that both conditions are
met. Let’s say that after those are found, we only want to find widgets that were created by either
John, Susan, or Mike. We would add a sub-expression to the current expression and set the Matches
field to any of the following. We would then define a Created By condition for each user, as
shown below.
6. If you would like to define a sub-expression, check the Allow sub-expression box below the Expression
window. An Add sub-exp link is displayed next to the Matches drop box. Click the Add sub-exp link to
add a sub-expression to the list, and then specify the conditions for that expression.
7. To delete a condition, click Remove next to the condition. To delete all conditions from a search expression,
click Clear All.
8. When you are ready to execute the search, click OK. The results of the search are displayed in the file list
window. In our example, only one widget was found that met the search criteria:
At this point you may want to save the view for future use.
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Searching a Catalog
2. Select My View to save the view as a private one in Home/My Queries. If you are an admin user you
also have the option of selecting Shared View to save it as a public view in Administration/Shared
Queries.
3. In the Name edit box, specify a name for the view. The names of previously saved views are available in
a drop list if necessary.
4. If a saved view of the same name already exists in the target location, and you would like to overwrite it,
check the Overwrite box. If you do not want to overwrite it, specify a different name in the Name edit
box before saving.
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Note
If the current catalog has been copied from another location, only Shared Views will be
available. Personal views are not copied.
1. From the Views drop box, select the view that you would like to edit. The view is loaded.
2. Click on the Views toolbar. The Advanced Search dialog box appears.
3. Add, edit or delete expressions in the Advanced Search dialog box, then click OK to perform the new
search. Note that you will need to save the view again if you want to use the edited search expressions
again. See Saving a View (p. 473).
1. From the Views drop box, select the view that you would like to set as the default.
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Searching a Catalog
1. From the Views drop box, select the saved view that you would like to copy.
2. Click on the Views toolbar. The Copy View dialog box appears:
3. Select My View to make the query private (viewable only by you), or Shared View to make it viewable
by others.
4. If you would like the copy to have a different name, enter the desired name in the Name edit box.
5. If a saved view of the same name already exists in the target location, and you would like to overwrite it,
check the Overwrite box. If you do not want to overwrite it, specify a different name in the Name edit
box before saving.
1. If the view is not the current one, select it from the Views drop box.
2. Click on the Views toolbar. Details about the view are displayed:
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1. From the Views drop box, select the saved view that you would like to delete.
2. Click on the Views toolbar. The Delete View dialog box appears:
3. By default, the view will only be removed from the Views list. If you want to delete the saved view from
the file system as well, check the Delete saved query associated with this view box.
When browsing for a target for the reference property, catalog objects will have a Search link displayed
next to them in the tree, as shown in the figure below.
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Selecting an Object in a Catalog as a Reference Property Value
Clicking the Search link will provide access to your saved catalog views. Select the view that you want
to use from the Views drop box and then click Apply View to perform the search. The search results
will be displayed in the bottom pane, as shown in Figure 18.9: Executing a Saved Catalog Search (p. 478).
To return to the folders tree, click the Back button.
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Catalogs
Clicking on a returned search object (for example, widget-1) will display the selected object in the
tree as shown below.
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
When you select the object in the tree, the full path to the file will be displayed in the reference property’s
edit box.
Scenario
Your company produces “widgets”. Currently there are 10,000 widgets that are all fairly similar, except
they have different diameters, lengths, materials, and pressure ratings. All of your widgets are stored
in a single folder in the EKM repository. Every time you try to browse that folder, it takes a long time
for all 10,000 widgets to load. Also, browsing through a list of 10,000 widgets is tedious and time-con-
suming. Rather than loading the entire list of widgets every time you browse this folder, you would like
to be able to specify certain criteria beforehand so that only a targeted list of widgets is displayed. This
will decrease load time and make it easier to find the widgets that you are looking for.
Goals
Using the sample files you will:
1. Add a custom catalog type and object type to your workspace configuration.
Because the definition and configuration of custom types is beyond the scope of this User’s Guide, we
have defined these custom types for you. All you need to do is add the sample files to your workspace
configuration. For information about defining custom types, see Defining a New Custom Type in the
EKM Administration Guide.
Note
In order to configure custom types for your workspace, you must perform a restricted con-
figuration, which can only be done by the user designated as the Root User. Starting a re-
stricted configuration logs out other users and locks down the workspace while you are
configuring it. You may need to notify other users that the workspace will be inaccessible
while you perform this configuration.
1. Sign in to the workspace that you want to configure. You must be the designated Root User for the
workspace.
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Catalogs
2. Go to the Administration section. Click the Configure button and select Begin Workspace Configuration.
3. Click OK to continue.
5. Upload the following two sample files from the EKM_HOME\examples\conf\customTypes folder:
Widget.type.xml
WidgetCatalog.type.xml
To view the definition of the Widget Catalog type, right-click the WidgetCatalog.type.xml
file and select Edit > Custom Type. The Edit Custom Type dialog box appears:
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
On the General tab we can see that the file defines a folder type named Widget Catalog, which
is an extension of the built-in Catalog type. This means that Widget Catalog will be one of the
available folder types when you create a new folder in the repository.
On the Children tab there is one child defined whose type is Widget. This means that Widget
will be an available choice when adding content to a folder whose type is Widget Catalog.
The Name field is left blank because each widget will have a unique name. The Is List check box
is enabled to specify that widgets will be displayed in a list.
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On the Type Attributes tab, a widget- prefix has been assigned to the child, which means that
the name of each widget created will start with widget- (for example, widget-1, widget-2,
and so forth).
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
To view the definition of the Widget object type, right-click the Widget.type.xml file and select
Edit > Custom Type. On the General tab of the Edit Custom Type dialog box, an object type
named Widget is defined. The Widget object type extends from the Folder type so that widget
objects can contain all the files related to the widget.
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Select the Properties tab to view all of the properties that are to be associated with widgets. When
you create a new widget object in the catalog, you will be prompted to define its Diameter, Length,
Material and Pressure Rating.
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
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Note
1. Navigate to the folder in the repository where you would like the catalog to reside.
3. In the New Folder dialog box, type My Widget Catalog in the Name edit box, and then select Widget
Catalog from the Type drop box. (Widget Catalog is available in this drop box because you added the
custom Widget Catalog type to your workspace configuration.)
4. Click OK. A new, empty widget catalog is created. Notice that the catalog has a unique icon next to its
name to differentiate it from standard folders.
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
Note
Selecting the catalog in the file list window or breadcrumb will launch the Advanced
Search dialog box. If this occurs, click Cancel in the dialog box to continue.
1. In the file list window, right-click the new My Widget Catalog item and select New > Widget. This tool
is available because it is defined in the WidgetCatalog.type.xml file. The New Widget dialog box
appears. Notice that the fields in this dialog box (Material, Diameter, Pressure Rating, and Length), are
all items that are defined in the Widget.type.xml file.
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Catalogs
2. Define the following three widgets by filling out the Material, Diameter and Length fields for each
widget. Note that the widgets will be named for you automatically based on the childObject-Prefix
type attribute in the Widget Catalog type definition.
Note
Material: aluminum
Diameter: greater than 1.2
Follow the steps below to find the widgets that meet the above criteria.
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
1. In the file list window, select My Widget Catalog. The Advanced Search dialog box appears.
3. In the Property pane, select Material. Then, in the Expression pane, define the condition for the Mater-
ial property, as shown below.
4. In the Property pane, select Diameter, and then define an expression with a condition of Greater
Than and a value of 1.2.
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5. Click OK. The catalog is searched. The search results are displayed in the file list window. In this case you
can see that widget-1 meets your search criteria.
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Tutorial: Creating a Widget Catalog
2. In the Save View dialog box, select My View to save the view as a private view, and then type My Widget
Search Results in the Name edit box.
3. Click OK. The saved view now appears in the drop box on the Views toolbar, as shown below:
You will now be able to load the saved view at any time by simply selecting it in the drop box.
Loading a saved view executes the search again.
Summary
By completing this tutorial you have learned how to:
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Chapter 19: Working With ANSYS Workbench Projects
A Workbench project archive file is a compressed file that you can save your current project to when
you are working in ANSYS Workbench. An archive file contains data pertaining to a Workbench project
and has a Workbench Project File (.wbpj) and its associated _files folder. When you save your
current project to an EKM repository from Workbench, the project is automatically converted to a
Workbench Project Archive File type with extension .wbpz when it is added. This also happens if
you upload an existing Workbench project to the EKM repository. This is done so that you can act on
a Workbench project by operating on a single object in EKM, rather than on a set of objects. If a
Workbench project is stored in a repository as separate objects—that is a .wbpj file and its associated
_files folder—then you can use the Save As Workbench Archive action to create an archive file
from within EKM. See Saving Workbench Project Archives in EKM (p. 503).
Note that the size of the .wbpz in the List view is the sum of the sizes of all of the project files, not
the size of the archived project.
When a Workbench archive file is added to a repository, EKM automatically generates a Workbench
project report for it as a child object that contains key information about the project. When you click
on the archive file, the report is displayed in the file list window and you can download it in several
different file formats.
In addition to these actions, you can also update a Workbench project from within EKM and conduct
parametric Design Point (DP) and Design Exploration (DX) studies on the archive file. When these actions
are initiated, a batch task is created by EKM that launches Workbench in the background. You can
monitor the task by going to the Jobs/Job Monitor page. Being able to initiate DP and DX runs from
within EKM saves you the time of having to launch Workbench, perform the action, and then send your
changes back to EKM for repository storage once the results are obtained.
Begin by seeing how Workbench projects are displayed (p. 493) in EKM. Then, you should familiarize
yourself with Workbench parameters (p. 504) that are key to the actions presented in subsequent sections.
Refer to Working with Parameters and Design Points in the ANSYS Workbench User's Guide for more details.
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Navigation Pane
When you view a Workbench Project Report, a navigation pane is displayed to the left of the report.
This pane contains a table of contents that provides an overview of the sections in the report. You can
click on a section in the table of contents to instantly jump to that section. You can hide the navigation
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Displaying Workbench Project Reports
pane from view by clicking in the top left corner of the pane. You can then redisplay the navigation
pane at any time by clicking in the top left corner of the report window.
Report Actions
Two actions are displayed in the top-right corner of the report window: Copy Report and Download
Report.
The Copy Report feature enables you to save a copy of the report in another location in EKM. If you
click the Copy Report icon , the report is copied to the clipboard. You can then navigate to
the folder to which you want to copy the report and select Edit > Paste. The report with have the name
of the parent CAE file with a Simulation Details Report suffix.
The Download Report feature enables you to save the report as an Excel, Word, PDF or XML file on your
local computer. To use this feature, click the Download Report icon and then select either Excel,
PDF, XML, or Word Document from the menu. Depending on your browser settings, you may be
prompted to specify a save location for the file or to open the file upon download. If your browser is
set to download files automatically, the report is instantly downloaded in the selected format to the
default download location specified in your browser settings. A link to the file may be displayed on a
download bar or in a download window for easy access. For example, if you are running on Google
Chrome, a download bar is displayed at the bottom of the EKM window:
Report Content
The Workbench project report is divided into sections, and the title of each section is displayed in a
table of contents in the navigation pane. Section titles may include Summary, Project Schematic View,
Files, Design Points, and Outline of All Parameters. The report may also contain additional subsections,
depending on the setup, solution, and results in the Workbench project. Some examples are shown
below when Design Exploration is set up.
Summary
The Summary table contains project properties. These include Project, Date, Time, Product
Version, and Last Saved Version. These properties can be used as search criteria to retrieve
the project.
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A project schematic is made up of all the systems defined for the project. Each system has individual
cells that show the project flow. Each cell has an application or Workbench workspace associated with
it. Some cells are associated with data-integrated applications such as Fluent or Mechanical APDL ap-
plications. Some cells represent Engineering Data or Parameters. In some cases, multiple cells in a system
will be associated with the same application. A visual indication of a cell's state (for example, attention
required, up to date) is presented as an icon on the right side of each cell. Refer to Understanding Cell
States in the ANSYS Workbench User's Guide for details.
Files
The Files table is the Workbench-exported list of all files included in the project. A sample is shown
below.
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Displaying Workbench Project Reports
Design Points
The Design Points table contains the Workbench-exported list of Design Points for the project. A sample
is shown below. Refer to Using Six Sigma Analysis in the Design Exploration User’s Guide for more details
on using Six Sigma Analysis.
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Working With ANSYS Workbench Projects
Parameters Correlation
Parameters Correlation is provided when Design Exploration is set up and describes the selected input
parameters and their variation range, the chosen Correlation type, and the generated Correlation Matrix
and charts. A sample is shown below. Refer to Using Six Sigma Analysis in the Design Exploration User’s
Guide for more details on Parameters Correlation.
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Displaying Workbench Project Reports
Response Surface
Response Surface is provided when Design Exploration is set up and describes the selected type of
meta-model, including its properties, the obtained quality, and the generated Response Points and
charts. A sample is shown below. Refer to Using Response Surfaces in the Design Exploration User’s Guide
for more details on Response Surface.
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Displaying Workbench Project Reports
Appendix
The Appendix is provided when Design Exploration is set up and contains tables and other information
that is referenced in other parts of the report. A sample is shown below.
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Systems
The last section of a Workbench project report contains details for each system that is defined for the
Workbench project. For each system, it provides details for all CAE model files that are referenced by
cells contained within the system. Content can include a model image, geometry data, mesh data,
boundary conditions, and so on. The figure below shows some of the details of a sample FLUENT system.
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Saving Workbench Project Archives in EKM
When you save a Workbench project as an archive file, metadata will be automatically extracted from
the file. You can monitor extraction status by selecting the Data/Extraction Monitor folder. See Monit-
oring Data Extraction (p. 104) for details.
To save a Workbench project as an archive file, select the .wbpj file (or files), right-click, and select
Edit > Save As Workbench Archive from the context menu. If the projects already exist, you can choose
to overwrite the archive files that will be created.
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All parameters have a type, preferably a quantity with a quantity name. The quantity name is used to
define preferred and available units for the quantity. If the value is not a quantity or does not have a
quantity name set, it will be displayed as unit-less throughout the user interface. Refer to Working with
Parameters and Design Points in the ANSYS Workbench User's Guide for more details.
The figure that follows shows tables of Design Points and Outline of All Parameters in a Workbench
project report for a sample project. Workbench stores and coordinates all of the parameters and design
points that are produced or consumed by components of the project.
Figure 19.3: Workbench Project Report: Design Points and Outline of All Parameters
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Updating Workbench Projects
Input Parameters
Input parameters are those parameters that define the inputs to the analysis for the model under in-
vestigation. Input parameters have predefined ranges that can be changed. These include (and are not
limited to) CAD parameters, Analysis parameters, ANSYS DesignModeler parameters and Mesh parameters.
CAD and DesignModeler input parameters may include length, radius, and so on; analysis input para-
meters may include pressure, material properties, materials, sheet thickness, and so on.
Output Parameters
Output parameters are those parameters that result from the geometry or are the response outputs
from the analysis. These include (and are not limited to) volume, mass, frequency, stress, heat flux,
number of elements, and so forth.
Out-of-Date Parameters
Output parameters that are shown in the Design Points table have an associated state. Output parameters
that are up-to-date are shown with only the value of the output parameter. Output parameters that
are out-of-date are shown with an icon indicating that the parameter requires an update ( ). During a
design point update, the output parameters are updated. Changes elsewhere in the project could cause
the state of some, but not all, output parameters to go out-of-date and require update. In those cases,
only those output parameters affected by the changes are shown as update required. Output parameters
that are not affected by the changes remain up-to-date.
If a project requires updating, this will be indicated visually in the Project Schematic view. The following
icons are displayed next to cells that need refreshing or updating:
When you are updating a project that contains a cell where refresh is required, the Refresh operation
is performed and then the Update operation is performed.
Refer to Understanding Cell States in the ANSYS Workbench User's Guide for more details.
The project schematic in the sample project archive presented in Figure 19.1: Sample Workbench Project
Report (p. 494) indicates that refresh is required for the Results cell of the Fluid Flow (CFX) system.
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2. Select (Edit) > Update Project. The Update Project dialog box appears.
3. From the Queue drop box, select the job submission queue that you want to use for the update task.
Only queues that contain the Workbench application are shown. See the chapter on Defining EKM Servers,
Queues and External Applications in the Administration Guide for details on defining a queue’s job sub-
mission settings.
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Updating Workbench Projects
4. From the Number of cores drop box, select the number of central processing units to reserve on the
compute server.
5. Click OK to submit the job. A job named "Update ProjectName - Date - Time" is added to the
Jobs/Job Monitor page, where you can monitor its progress.
If you want to view a transcript of the job, select the Transcript tab, or select (More) > Display >
Transcript on the toolbar. A transcript provides details about what happened during the update, includ-
ing any errors that occurred. A sample transcript is shown below.
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When you display the Workbench project report after the project update is completed, you will see
that the status of the cell in the Project Schematic that previously required refreshing is now up-to-date,
as shown in the example below.
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Design Point Studies
You can also verify that the Output parameter for the Current design point has been updated in the
Design Points and Outline of All Parameters tables in the Workbench project report. This is shown below
for the sample project.
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You can add new design points to a Workbench project directly from EKM. You can then update the
design point and save it to your project in one step. When adding a new design point, you cannot edit
or delete the Current design point (DP0), or any previously saved design point. When you create a new
design point you have the option of retaining its calculated data.
Note
The Design Point Run action is not available for ANSYS AIM projects stored in EKM.
Note
This action is unavailable if you do not have Download permission on the .wbpz file.
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Design Point Studies
3. To add a new design point to the table, click Add and then enter the desired parametric values into the
cells. If there is anything that you would like to note about the design point, you can enter it in the Note
cell.
4. To create a new design point by duplicating an existing one, click on the one that you want to copy and
then click Duplicate. When you duplicate a design point, all input parameter values and design point
states, as well as the design point’s Update and Retain settings are copied. You can then modify any of
the input parameter values as required.
Note
When you create new design points, either by adding or duplicating, they are automat-
ically named and numbered in a sequential manner.
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5. To delete a newly added or duplicated design point, select it in the table and then click Delete.
6. To update a design point, enable its Update check box. When Workbench updates a design point, it takes
the given set of input parameter values for the design point, and calculates output parameter values.
In the example below, a new design point named DP5 has been added to the table. Notice that
the Update Required icon is displayed in one of the cells, indicating that the design point requires
updating. See Project Schematic View (p. 495) for more details on out-of-state parameters.
7. To retain a design point’s calculated data within the project, enable its Retain check box. Once data is
retained for a design point other than Current, you can view its associated design in Workbench by activ-
ating it. Refer to Retaining and Exporting Design Points in the Workbench User’s Guide for details.
8. From the Queue drop box, select the queue where you want to submit the design point run. (That is, the
queue where Workbench will run.) Only queues that contain the Workbench application are shown. See
the chapter on Defining EKM Servers, Queues and External Applications in the Administration Guide for
details on defining a queue’s job submission settings.
9. From the Number of cores drop box, select the number of central processing units to reserve on the
compute server.
10. By default, the updated project will be saved in the same folder where the Workbench project is currently
stored. This means that the original project will be overwritten. If you want to save the updated project
and any newly created projects in a different folder, click Browse under Output folder and then select
the desired folder. You must have write permission on this folder in order to execute the design point
run.
11. Click OK to submit the job. A job named "DP run for ProjectName - Date - Time" is added to the
Jobs/Job Monitor page, where you can monitor its progress (p. 512).
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Design Point Studies
If you are updating multiple design points and the update for one of the design points fails, the next
design point update will begin immediately.
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Once the design points have been calculated, the Status then changes from Executing to Executed
when you refresh the display. Once the job has been executed, you can view a transcript of the job, or
go directly to the folder where outputs were saved.
Note
If you selected the Parallel option when defining the component execution settings, and
you cancel the design point run from EKM, the job running on the parallel queue will not
be cancelled, and will continue to run until completed. This is particularly important to note
if the maximum number of jobs in RSM is limited, as these unwanted jobs are still being ac-
counted for.
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When you display the Workbench project report after the update is completed you can verify that the
Design Points table has been updated with the newly-computed design points that you added.
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Design Exploration (DX) Studies
Design of Experiments is a technique used to determine the location of sampling points. It does this
by either exploring the space of random input parameters in the most efficient way, or obtaining the
required information with a minimum of sampling points. Sample points in efficient locations not only
reduces the required number of sampling points, but also increases the accuracy of the response surface
that is derived from the results of the sampling points. Refer to the Using Design of Experiments section
in the Design Exploration User’s Guide for more details.
If a Workbench project contains a Design of Experiments (DOE) or Optimization system and goals are
defined for the project, then you can update the DOE and Optimization from within EKM, without
having to open the project in Workbench. Note that when you conduct Design Exploration studies on
Workbench projects from within EKM, default values for DOE and optimization are used. (p. 518) These
settings cannot be changed. Make sure you review these default values before running DX from EKM.
Using the New Design Exploration dialog box, you can specify upper and lower bounds of input
parameters and other settings for the design exploration. When the update is invoked, a design explor-
ation system creates Design Points in the Parameter Set and requests Workbench to update them in
order to obtain the corresponding output parameter values. These solved Design Points are the input
data used by ANSYS DesignXplorer to calculate its own parametric results (for example response surface,
sensitivities, optimum designs, and so on). Design Points are solved simultaneously if the analysis system
is set up to do this.
If you choose not to perform optimization in the New DX Run, Workbench first runs Design of Experiments
to determine the design points to be executed and then executes these design points to calculate
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output parameters. The calculated design points are written to a file named doe_outputs.txt in
the EKM repository. If you choose to perform optimization also, then Workbench runs optimization and
three optimal candidates are determined. Additionally, if you choose to run the optimal design points,
Workbench also runs simulations using optimal candidates and calculates optimal design points. In all
cases, the final Workbench project named NAME-final.wbpz (where NAME is the name of the project
archive file) is imported back into EKM and stored in the specified output folder.
Defaults for Design of Experiments when Perform optimization is selected include the following:
Defaults used when Run optimal design points is selected include the following:
• For a design variable, the upper and lower levels of the DOE range coincide with the bounds specified
for the input parameter.
It often happens in optimization that the optimum point is at one end of the range specified
for one or more input parameters.
• For an uncertainty variable, the upper and lower levels of the DOE range are the quantile values corres-
ponding to a probability of 0.1% and 99.9%, respectively.
This is the standard procedure whether the input parameter follows a bounded (for example,
uniform) or unbounded (for example, Normal) distribution, because the probability that the input
variable value will exactly coincide with the upper or lower bound (for a bounded distribution)
is exactly zero. That is, failure can never occur when the value of the input variable is equal to
the upper or lower bound. Failure typically occurs in the tails of a distribution, so the DOE points
should be located there, but not at the very end of the distribution.
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Setting Up a DX Run
If a Workbench project contains a Design of Experiments (DOE) or Optimization system, and goals are
defined for the project, you can update the DOE and Optimization from within EKM, without having to
open the project in Workbench. Make sure that you review the default values that are used for DOE
and optimization (p. 518) before performing a DX run from EKM.
1. Select the Workbench Project Archive File (.wbpz) that you want to update.
2. Right-click and select New > Design Exploration, or use the toolbar if preferred.
Note
Design exploration is only available for Workbench projects that contain predefined
goals. Design exploration is not available if a .wbpz file has one or more discrete input
parameters, or if you do not have Download permission on a .wbpz file.
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3. In the Parameter table, select the parameters that you want to include in the DX run by enabling their
Enabled check box. The dialog shows the Lower Bound and Upper Bound for each parameter. These
are the minimum and maximum input values allowed. See Upper and Lower Bounds of DOE Points (p. 518)
for more details.
4. In the Number of design points edit box, enter the number of design points to be provided by the DOE
run.
5. To perform optimization during the run, enable the Perform optimization check box. By default, this
check box is disabled, which means that only the DOE run will be executed and the recommended design
points will be written to the doe_outputs.txt file. A batch task named run-simulations will ex-
ecute the DOE and it will open in the file list window when you click OK in the dialog box. The design
points will be stored in doe_outputs.txt file and the final Workbench project archive file (named
ProjectName-final.wbpz) will be saved in the specified output folder.
6. To run simulations using optimal candidates, and calculate optimal design points, enable the Run optimal
design points check box. This option is only available when Perform optimization is selected. For the
example shown above, 5 simulations will be run for the DOE design points, and 3 simulations for the 3
optimal candidates. A batch task named run-optimal-designs will execute to compute the optimal
design points. Default values are used for Design of Experiments when this option is selected. These
settings cannot be changed. See Default Values Used By EKM For DOE and Optimization (p. 518) for details.
7. Select the folder where you want the Design Exploration outputs to be saved. By default, this is the folder
in which the Workbench project archive file is saved. To select a different folder, click Browse under
Output folder, and then select the desired folder. If you want to the DX run outputs to be saved in a
separate folder under the main output folder, enable the Create a new sub-folder for saving DX run
outputs check box, and then specify a name for the folder in the Sub-folder name edit box.
8. If DX outputs already exist in the output folder and you want to overwrite them with the new outputs,
enable the Overwrite previous DX run data in the output folder check box.
9. From the Queue drop box, select the job submission queue that you would like to use for the job. See
the chapter on Defining EKM Servers, Queues and External Applications in the Administration Guide for
details on defining a queue’s job submission settings.
10. Click OK to submit the job. A batch task is added to the Jobs/Job Monitor page, where you can monitor
its progress (p. 520).
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Design Exploration (DX) Studies
Once the job is executed, you can view a transcript (p. 522) of the run. You can also go to the output
folder directly from the Status tab to view the results (p. 523).
When you start a Design Exploration run, a process is also created on the Processes/Process Monitor
page. The object is named using the format "DX run for" filename timestamp, as shown in Fig-
ure 19.11: DX Run in Process Monitor (p. 522). If desired you can create a process report from the process
object. Clicking on the process object displays the interactive process view.
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To view information about the updated project, simply click on the project archive file in the output
folder. A sample is shown below.
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You can also open the doe_outputs.txt file that is written to the output folder.
You can use the (More) > Execute action menu to start a batch or interactive job directly from a
Workbench archive (.wbpz file) residing in the EKM repository. This is more efficient than setting up a
job through a job launch application because you do not need to name the job or select input files.
Note
You cannot run a job from an ANSYS AIM project stored in EKM.
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Running Jobs Directly from Stored Workbench Projects
1. Select the .wbpz file and select (More) > Execute > Batch Job.
Note
This action is unavailable if you do not have Download permission on the .wbpz file.
2. From the Queue drop box, select the queue that you want to use for the job run, and then click OK. The
job is queued on the Workbench server. Also, a job object is created on the Jobs/Job Monitor page,
where you can monitor the job’s status and progress. See Monitoring and Controlling Jobs (p. 305) for
more information.
1. Select the .wbpz file and select (More) > Execute > Interactive Job.
2. Follow the steps described in Setting Up an Interactive Job (p. 258). As soon as you accept or specify the
job name, the view switches to the Job Monitor page, and the .wbpz file that you selected is displayed
on the job’s Working Directory tab.
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Chapter 20: Working With Analysis Projects
An Analysis Project folder is a special type of folder that can be used to store all of the data pertaining
to a simulation. You can track dependencies of objects contained within the project or across multiple
projects, and update the analysis if an upstream dependency has changed.
Using an Analysis Project folder to manage your data offers the following advantages:
• Like any other folder, an Analysis Project folder allows you to manage all the inputs, outputs, reports and
other documents that are associated with an analysis in a single container. If you have some input files that
are common to multiple analyses, for example, you can create a shortcut to these files and place the shortcut
in the project folder. When you download the project, the files or folders referenced by the shortcut will
also be downloaded. This means that EKM maintains only one instance of the input files even if they are
used in multiple places. When you download a project, you will receive all of the dependent files required
to run the analysis.
• You can specify inputs and outputs for an analysis, or its pedigree, and track the dependencies graphically.
The dependency graph will clearly indicate the upstream files that have been modified and make the current
analysis out-of-date. This gives you added confidence when you are using the data to perform further ana-
lysis or make design decisions. See Specifying Analysis Project Pedigree (Inputs and Outputs) (p. 528) to
specify the pedigree for the project and Specifying File Dependencies (p. 531) for a file contained within the
project.
• You can execute an analysis automatically using a process template that you have defined. EKM will create
a process and start it. You can view the progress of the process on the Processes/Process Monitor page.
See Updating an Analysis Project Folder (p. 535).
You can either use the built-in Analysis Project type or create a new custom data type that extends
from it to define your particular analysis project. If you use the built-in type, you will need to manually
specify the inputs, outputs, and execution settings (for automatic execution) of each analysis “instance”,
as explained above. If instead, you create a custom type, you can predefine this information for the
custom type so that it can be used by all instances of that type. This eliminates the need to enter this
information for each analysis. Furthermore, you can specify the project folder structure and custom
metadata for the analysis using a custom type. See the Defining Custom Analysis Types chapter in the
Administration Guide for details on creating custom analysis projects in EKM.
This chapter presents information on how to create an Analysis Project folder, manage your simulation-
based analysis data that is contained within it, and conduct ANSYS Design of Experiments (DOE) studies
on the project from within EKM. Topics include:
20.1. Creating an Analysis Project Folder
20.2. Specifying Analysis Project Pedigree (Inputs and Outputs)
20.3. Specifying File Dependencies
20.4. Displaying Dependencies
20.5. Specifying Analysis Execution Settings
20.6. Updating an Analysis Project Folder
20.7. Conducting DOE Studies on Analysis Projects
20.8.Tutorial: Creating a Custom Analysis Project
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1. From the main drop box, select Data. Select the folder in which you want the Analysis Project folder to
be contained, then select (New) > Folder. This will open the New Folder dialog box.
3. From the Type drop box, select Analysis Project. Or, if you are creating a custom Analysis Project type
folder that has been predefined and configured for your workspace, select this type from the drop-down
list. See the Defining Custom Analysis Projects chapter in the EKM Administration Guide for information
on creating custom analysis projects in EKM.
4. Click OK.
Once the folder is created, you can upload files to it that are associated with the analysis project. Or,
you can upload an archive file (for example, .zip, .tgz) containing the analysis project data.
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Specifying Analysis Project Pedigree (Inputs and Outputs)
dependencies. This information can also be predefined for custom analysis project folders. See Defining
Custom Analysis Projects in the Administration Guide for details.
You can also specify upstream dependencies for a file contained within an Analysis Project folder. See
Specifying File Dependencies (p. 531).
To specify the pedigree (the inputs and outputs) for an analysis project:
1. Select the Analysis Project folder, then select (Edit) > Pedigree. This will open the Edit Analysis
Pedigree dialog box.
a. Click the Add input parameter link to add a row to the table.
b. Move your cursor to the newly-added row and enter the relative path of your input files in the text
box. Follow these rules for specifying the path:
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• All the inputs that are used by an analysis must be present within the analysis project. If the inputs
are present outside the project, you can create a shortcut to them and place the shortcut within
your analysis project. When creating shortcuts to files under version control, you can either select
the current file in the repository or a particular version of the file. When you select a file in the re-
pository, the dependency graph will indicate if the file has been modified (and the analysis is out-
of-date). When you select a particular version of the file, it will be shown as modified only when a
new version of the file exists and when the file contents have been modified in the new version.
• The path is relative to the current analysis project. For example, specifying file.dat for the input
location means that you want to use a file named file.dat at the top level of the analysis project
folder as the input. Specifying an input location as inputs/file.dat means that the file named
file.dat within the inputs folder in the analysis project folder should be taken as the input.
You cannot use “..” to reference objects outside the current project.
• You can specify either a file or a folder, or a shortcut to a file or folder as an Input location. If you
specify a file, it will be taken as an input for the analysis. If you specify a folder, all files contained
within that folder or its sub folders will be inputs. If you specify a shortcut to a file, that file will be
an input. If you specify a shortcut to a folder, all files contained within that folder and its sub folders
will be inputs.
• If the input location points to a folder or a shortcut to a folder, and that folder contains shortcuts,
then all those shortcuts will be traversed recursively and all files found will be taken as inputs.
• You can specify wildcards * and ?. * denotes multiple occurrences of any character and ? denotes
a single occurrence of any character. For example, file-?.dat will match file-1.dat, file-
2.dat, and so on, but will not match file-12.dat. file-*.dat will match any relative path
that starts with file- and ends with dat, for example, file-12.dat, file-abcd.dat, file-
1/file-2.dat, and so on.
c. Optionally click the Preview button next to the input table to display all the files that have been se-
lected to be added as inputs. To remove any input, just click Remove next to the input that you want
to remove.
3. To specify outputs, follow the same procedure that is defined in Step 2 above, using the Add output
parameter link instead. The rules for specifying the path location are the same for both inputs and outputs.
Because the dependencies are updated only when the analysis is updated, you may specify files and
folders as outputs, even if they do not currently exist.
Note
• Dependencies are updated only when you update the analysis using the Update Analysis (p. 535)
action and not when you submit this dialog box. This is done to ensure that the dependency
graph displays only the dependencies that existed when the analysis was last updated. Con-
sequently, the files that you see in the Inputs and Outputs table of this dialog box may not
match the files that are displayed in the dependency graph. See Updating an Analysis Project
Folder (p. 535) for details.
• If you attempt to update an analysis project that contains a process template that is in the draft
stage, an error message appears because the process template is not executable. Right-click the
process template and select Edit > Lifecycle > Promote to request promotion to the executable
stage.
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Displaying Dependencies
For example, suppose you have raw CAD geometry that you have cleaned up or modified to create a
geometry file that is suitable for analysis. The new geometry file is dependent on the original CAD
geometry. You could define an analysis project that specifies the original CAD geometry as an input
and the new analysis geometry as an output. But for simplicity, you can directly specify the original
CAD geometry as an upstream dependency of the analysis geometry without specifying an analysis
project. This allows you to easily monitor file dependencies, especially when you are not interested in
other benefits of the analysis project (such as data encapsulation, automatic execution, and so on). The
dependency graph of the analysis geometry will indicate whether the original CAD geometry has been
modified, making the current file out of date.
1. Select the file, then select (Edit) > Pedigree. This will open the Edit File Pedigree dialog box.
2. To add a new dependency to the file, click Add… and then select a file or an analysis project you want
to specify as an upstream dependency. For objects under version control, you can either select the current
object in the repository or select a particular version. If you specify a particular version, the dependency
graph will show the file as modified when a new version is added that modifies the content of the file.
3. To remove an existing dependency, click on any dependency in the Upstream dependencies list box
and click on the Remove button.
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original CAD geometry from which it was created (wing-original.sat). The following image shows
the dependency graph of the analysis.
In the graph, the current object being viewed (Flow Analysis in this case) is shown in a white box
and the other objects are shown shaded in. The objects to the left of the current object are the upstream
dependencies and the objects to the right are downstream dependencies. The Analysis Projects are
shown in a rectangular box and the files are shown in an oval box. If any object is a stored version, its
version number will also be specified in the box (for example wing.sat [1.3]). The full path to the
object is shown as a tool-tip when you place the mouse on a graph node. You can click on the graph
node to go directly to that object. Dependencies are also listed in a table below the graph, similar to
the folders List display. You can click on any row to open the object. Or you can right-click on any row
to view the pop-up action menus. You can also multi-select rows and right click to view pop-up action
menus that can operate on multiple objects.
All levels of upstream dependencies are shown in the graph, but only the first level of downstream
dependencies is displayed. The reason for this is twofold. First, you need to look at all the upstream
dependencies to determine whether the current object is out-of-date or not. Second, an object will
typically have a small number of upstream dependencies that can be shown easily in a graph. However,
it is possible for an object to have numerous downstream dependencies which may in turn have numer-
ous downstream dependencies of their own. Therefore, if all levels of downstream dependencies are
visible, it may make the graph too large and unwieldy to display it given the constraints of the window.
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Displaying Dependencies
In the example provided above, the graph clearly shows that the Flow Analysis object is dependent on
version 1.3 of wing.sat, which is dependent on version 1.2 of wing-original.sat. The analysis
also has two outputs: airfoil-2.cas and airfoil-2.dat. The following image shows the graph
when a new version (1.3) of wing-original.sat is added.
The box of wing-original.sat [1.2] contains an asterisk (*) and its status in the table is shown
as New version exists. All other boxes show the warning icon and their status is reported as Out of
date. This helps you easily verify whether the current object is out-of-date or not, and if so, which up-
stream dependency has been modified.
To update the analysis, there are two things you need to do. First update wing.sat. To do this, you
can create a new version of wing.sat using the latest version of wing-original.sat and update
the upstream dependency of wing.sat to point to the latest version of wing-original.sat. As
an example, suppose the new version of wing.sat is 1.4. Then you would need to re-execute the
Flow Analysis using the latest version of wing.sat. Once you have performed these steps, the depend-
ency graph of the analysis will look like the following.
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1. Select the Analysis Project folder, then select (Edit) > Execution Settings. This will open the Edit
Analysis Execution Settings dialog box.
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Updating an Analysis Project Folder
2. To select a process template for executing the analysis, click Browse and then select the template that
you want to execute. If you do not select a template, the analysis will need to be executed manually.
Note
Process templates with required variables should not be used for analysis execution of
analysis projects.
3. Optionally specify a reference variable defined in the process template that will be initialized with the
instance of the analysis project that starts the process.
4. Click OK and follow the instructions below to update the analysis project (p. 535) folder.
1. Select the Analysis Project folder or file, then select (Edit) > Update Analysis.
2. For manual execution (that is, the path to a process template has not been specified), the Update Ana-
lysis dialog box will open.
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The time that you supply should be the last time you downloaded the analysis project for manual
execution. It is not the current time or the time when execution completes. This is because this
value of the time will be used by the dependency graph to determine whether an input file has
been modified since you last used it for execution. If you are creating the project for the first time,
you will need to specify the time when you downloaded any input files required for the analysis.
If the analysis does not have any input files, you can set the time to be the current time. If the
analysis has never been executed, the default time will be displayed as Jan 01, 1970 00:00
GMT. This value may be different based on your time zone. For example, for US Eastern Time this
value will be Dec 31, 1969 19:00.
3. If you selected a process template in your analysis execution settings, a process is automatically created
and opens in the process view where you can monitor its progress. See Managing Processes (p. 434) for
details. When you subsequently update the analysis using the Update Analysis tool, the process view
will open and the current task will be displayed.
While the project is being updated, the Update Analysis tool will be unavailable, and a processing
icon appears next to the Analysis Project folder name in the file list window.
Note
The update will not run if the process template contains any required variables. In this
case an error message similar to the following will appear:
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Conducting DOE Studies on Analysis Projects
Additionally, you can extend the update logic by creating a custom Analysis Project type and specifying
the type attribute updateMacro whose value is the name of the script to be executed when update
analysis is invoked. The actual script is to be specified in the script tag of the custom type definition.
See Defining Custom Analysis Projects in the Administration Guide for details.
1. Select the Analysis Project folder, then select (New) > DOE Run. This will open the New DOE Run
Using Workbench dialog box.
2. Specify the parameters in the New DOE Run Using Workbench dialog box as follows:
Name
specifies the name of the DOE run.
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Output folder
specifies folder where the DOE run outputs will be imported after completion.
Input parameters
specifies the required input parameters for the DOE run.
• For each parameter that is required for the DOE run, click Add input parameter to add the para-
meter to the Parameter table. Specify the lower and upper bound for the parameter. Clear Enabled
to disable a parameter from being used in the run. Click Remove to remote a parameter from the
table.
Output parameters
specifies the required output parameters for the DOE run.
• For each parameter that is required for the DOE run, click Add output parameter to add the
parameter to the Parameter table. Specify the lower and upper bound for the parameter. Clear
Enabled to disable a parameter from being used in the run. Click Remove to remote a parameter
from the table.
On submitting the dialog box, EKM will execute a DOE run using Workbench using the parameters you
defined in the dialog, and write doe_outputs.dat to the specified output folder. The doe_out-
puts.dat file contains the design points calculated by DOE run.
• Add a custom type to the system that defines an analysis project container.
• Add a custom application to the queue where the analysis will be executed.
Note
To be able to use the sample files successfully, you must complete the first two configuration
steps described in the README.txt file in the /Data/Shared Data/Sample Files
folder.
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Tutorial: Creating a Custom Analysis Project
Note
In order to configure custom types for your workspace, you must perform a restricted con-
figuration. This logs out other users and locks down the workspace while you are configuring
it. You may need to notify other users that the workspace will be inaccessible while you
perform this configuration.
1. Sign in to the workspace that you want to configure. You must be the designated Root User for the
workspace.
2. From the main drop box, select Data. Navigate to the /Shared Data/Sample Files/conf/customTypes
folder and select the TestAnalysis.type.xml file.
3. Select (Download) > Using Browser, and then download the file to your desktop.
4. Once the file has been downloaded, check the Users page to see if any users are currently logged in. Such
users are identified with green icons. If any users are logged in, let them know that they will be briefly
logged out of the workspace.
5. To configure the workspace, select Administration from the main drop box. Click and select
Begin Workspace Configuration.
6. Click OK to continue.
7. Navigate to the Configuration/Custom Types folder, then select (Upload) > Files/Archives Using
Browser.
8. In the Upload - Select Files dialog box, click Add, and then select the downloaded TestAnalys-
is.type.xml file on your desktop.
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9. Click Next >. The file is uploaded to the Custom Types folder.
To view the definition of the analysis project type, select the TestAnalysis.type.xml file in the
/Configuration/customTypes folder, and then select (Edit) > Custom Type. The Edit Custom Type
dialog box appears:
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Tutorial: Creating a Custom Analysis Project
On the General tab we can see that the file defines a folder type named TestAnalysis, which is an ex-
tension of the built-in AnalysisContainer type. This means that TestAnalysis will be one of the
available folder types when you create a new folder in the repository.
On the Children tab there are two children defined. This means that inputs and outputs can be added
to the analysis project folder.
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On the Type Attributes tab, the input pattern specified is inputs/*, which means that all files in the
inputs subfolder will be treated as inputs of the analysis. The output pattern specified is outputs/*,
which means that all files in the outputs sub-folder will be treated as outputs of the analysis.
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Tutorial: Creating a Custom Analysis Project
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1. In the Data section, navigate to the /Shared Data/Sample Files/conf/applications folder, and then select
the analysisSolve.app.xml file.
2. Select (Edit) > Copy, and then copy the application to the /Administration/Servers/Master/Local
queue.
The figure below shows the settings for the analysisSolve application:
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Tutorial: Creating a Custom Analysis Project
Note
1. In the Data section, navigate to the folder in the repository where you would like the catalog to reside.
3. In the New Folder dialog box, type My Test Analysis in the Name edit box, and then select Test
Analysis from the Type drop box. (Test Analysis is available in this drop box because you added the
custom TestAnalysis.type.xml file to your workspace configuration.)
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1. Select the new My Test Analysis folder, then select (Edit) > Execution Settings.
2. In the Edit Analysis Execution Settings dialog box, specify the settings shown below:
3. Click OK.
4. Navigate to the /Shared Data/Sample Files/process-templates folder and select the test-analysis.pt.xml
file. Request approval to promote the process template to the executable stage by selecting (Edit) >
Lifecycle > Promote.
The test-analysis.pt.xml process template has two nodes: an auto node named solve, and a
monitor node named monitor. When executed, this process will simulate an analysis.
The execution of an analysis project depends on the analysis-solve.py script. This file can be
found in the /Shared Data/Sample Files/apps folder.
1. Select the My Test Analysis folder, then select (Edit) > Update Analysis.
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Tutorial: Creating a Custom Analysis Project
As mentioned earlier, the process has two tasks: solve and monitor. When the process is executed,
a job is created using the analysisSolve application. When the job has been successfully ex-
ecuted, all files in the inputs subfolder are copied to the outputs subfolder.
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Chapter 21: Displaying 3D Simulation Images Using VCollab
If a simulation file type has been configured to extract CAX files, the extracted 3D image will be displayed
in the VCollab viewer when you open the simulation file in EKM (provided that you have the VCollab
viewer installed on your system).
This chapter shows you how to interact with the 3D image using the tools provided in VCollab. Topics
include:
21.1. Introduction to VCollab
21.2. Interacting with 3D Images in the VCollab Viewer
Note
By default, 3D images are extracted from several Fluent, CFX and MAPDL file types in glTF
format and displayed in a built-in, interactive 3D viewer on the Image tab. (See Interacting
with 3D Images (p. 167) for more information.) If instead you want to extract CAX files from
a CAE file type that VCollab supports, you must configure this behavior for the CAE file type.
For more information see Installing VCollab and Configuring EKM for 3D Visualization in the
Administration Guide.
See http://www.vcollab.com for more information on VCollab products and VMoveCAE supported file
formats.
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Displaying 3D Simulation Images Using VCollab
From here, you can visualize your 3D simulation results using interactive tools that are available in the
VCollab viewer. These tools are discussed below in Interacting with 3D Images in the VCollab View-
er (p. 551).
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Interacting with 3D Images in the VCollab Viewer
Translation
You can translate the 3D simulation image across the plane using the translation tool. Click the desired
arrow to translate the image in that direction.
Rotation
You can rotate the 3D VCollab image about the X-axis, Y-axis or Z-axis using the rotation tool. Click the
desired arrow to rotate the image about the X, Y, or Z axis. You can also click and drag the ball that is
fixed to the outer circle of the tool icon to rotate the image about a point.
Zoom
You can use the zoom tool to expand or reduce the 3D VCollab image in a scaled fashion. To expand,
click the + symbol and to reduce, click -.
Animation
You can use the animation tool to play the animation for the 3D VCollab image. Simply click the play
button to perform the full animation of the object, or step backwards and forwards through the anim-
ation using the forward and backwards arrows, respectively.
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Displaying 3D Simulation Images Using VCollab
When you click the expand button in the bottom right of the viewer, the VCollab viewer will be
extracted from the EKM file list window and expand to fit your monitor's full screen. Click the tool icon
again to restore the viewer to the EKM file list window.
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Appendix A. Defining a Process Template Using XML
This section describes how you can define a process template using XML constructs and syntax. This
serves as an alternative to defining or editing process templates in EKM Studio. Process templates that
you define in XML must be saved with the .pt.xml or .wf.xml file extension. When uploaded to a
repository, the XML file is typed as a Process Template object by EKM.
Process template XML files are defined according to an XML Schema Definition file that describes the
structure or "grammar" that the XML code must adhere to. Schema definitions provide the building
blocks that will enable you to write valid XML files. workflow.xsd is supplied with your installation
in the EKM_HOME/schema folder.
Important
EKM_HOME is the directory where the EKM server application is installed. This is typically
EKM_BASE/ekm-server, where EKM_BASE is the EKM base directory.
This section and the proceeding sections assume that you have a basic understanding of XML constructs
and syntax. If you are unfamiliar with these technologies, you will need to review them before proceeding.
www.w3.org offers extensive tutorials and documentation. In particular, you should review the docu-
mentation on XML schemas found at: www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-0. While creating or editing XML files,
you should use schema-aware XML editors. This will allow you to easily create configuration files that
are syntactically correct and reduce the likelihood of errors.
If necessary, administrators can use the scripting interface to test and debug a process template. For
more information, see Testing or Debugging a Process Template in the Administration Guide.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
Now, let's translate this conceptual diagram to an EKM process implementation. Refer to the modified
diagram shown in Figure 2: Translation of Conceptual Process — Showing Nodes and Block (p. 555).
Because EKM processes are defined by node and transition elements, we will need to translate each
task to a node type. The “Collect Files” task is a simple manual task where a user supplies files for the
CFD analysis. This is modeled as a simple Node type. The “Setup Validation” task is the initial condition
step in an iterative loop and is modeled as an iteration node. Because the iteration loop contains a set
of tasks that are performed if the “Setup Validation” iteration condition is not approved, these tasks are
defined as a block in the EKM process construct, where the block is used to code the logic for the
Evaluate Setup and Modify Setup tasks. Rules for block usage require that a block can have one and
only one start and end node. So, to satisfy this rule, an auto node named End Node must be added to
the end of the block. Note that another difference between these two diagrams is that the Setup Val-
idation task is an iteration node in the EKM model. The iteration node will cause the task to persist
until the iteration condition is satisfied. This eliminates the need to add a transition from the End Node
back up to the Setup Validation (shown as the dotted line in Figure 2: Translation of Conceptual Process
— Showing Nodes and Block (p. 555), because this happens automatically based on built-in logic in the
iteration node. The “CFD Analysis” task is defined by a Batch node.
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Translating a Conceptual Process to an EKM Process
Now the translated diagram is coded in XML, saved as an EKM process template with the .pt.xml
extension and uploaded to an EKM repository. The graph that is displayed in the EKM user interface is
shown in Figure 3: Sample Process Graph — EKM Implementation (p. 556).
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
XSD files are contained in the EKM_HOME/schema folder and are identified by the .xsd extension.
Important
EKM_HOME is the directory where the EKM server application is installed. This is typically
EKM_BASE/ekm-server, where EKM_BASE is the EKM base directory.
Figure 4: Partial Listing of workflow.xsd Schema Definition (p. 557) shows the partial listing for work-
flow.xsd, the XML schema definition (XSD) used for defining process templates in EKM. The complete
listing is provided in the EKM_HOME/schema folder.
The listing shows that a process template consists of a root element named workflow. The workflow
element must contain the following elements:
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Defining an EKM Process Template XML File
• a nodes element that contains one or more node, auto-node, iteration-node, batch-node,
doe-node, optimization-node or monitor-node elements
Variables are used for storing the state of a process. Variables can be assigned default values in the
process definition. When a task gets completed for a process that is being run in EKM, users may be
prompted to enter values of output variables. Validation can be performed on variable values to ensure
that only valid values are entered. The value of a variable can also be used to determine when a transition
is triggered, and when an iteration gets completed.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
Nodes are used to model a single step in an EKM process. The following node types are provided for
modeling various conditions:
• node: This is the simplest node type and can be used to model a manual process. In this case, a task
is assigned to a user or group and the task gets completed only when the assigned user explicitly marks
it as completed. On completion, the assigned user may be prompted to enter values for some variables.
These variables can then be used as inputs to other tasks for deciding the paths taken by the process.
• auto-node: This type of node can be used to model an automated task such as generating a report,
archiving data, or performing detailed validation. When a process reaches an auto node, the node will
automatically execute.
• monitor-node: This type of node can be used to monitor the progress of a process or an asynchronous
batch task that is spawned by an auto node. When a process reaches a monitor-node, it will wait until
all of the processes and tasks monitored by the node are completed before going to the next node.
• iteration-node: This type of node can be used to model an iterative process such as an approval
or iterative simulation. This node defines an iteration condition, and iteration tasks continue while the
condition holds.
• batch-node: This type of node can be used to model long-running automated steps such as executing
external applications for preprocessing, performing simulations, and postprocessing.
Note
Both auto nodes and batch nodes can be used to model automated steps. Auto nodes
should be used for steps that can be executed quickly. Batch nodes should be used
for steps that take much longer to complete.
• workflow-reference-node: This type of node can be used to nest another process template inside
the current one by specifying the path of the process template as the value for the wfReference at-
tribute. The nested process will begin automatically when a process reaches this node.
• doe-node: This type of node executes ANSYS DesignXplorer (DX) to obtain design points or optimal
design points based on input parameters. You can supply the input parameters in a Design of Experi-
ments (DOE) input file and simply have DX execute without running a simulation to obtain the design
points. Or you can supply the DOE node with an ANSYS Workbench project and have DX run any
number of simulations within Workbench that you defined, to obtain the optimal design points given
optimization goals specified in the Workbench project. A batch node can also be defined for a DOE
node. The batch node will execute any number of times that you define, with inputs corresponding to
the calculated design points to generate completed results. The design points will be written to a file
in an output folder.
• optimization-node: This type of node executes ANSYS DesignXplorer (DX) to perform optimization
using completed design points and optimization goals. No simulations are performed. You can either
supply the design points file and optimization goals to the node, or you can provide a Workbench
project that contains it. The optimization results will be written to a file in an output folder.
• update-analysis-project-node: This type of node can be used to update analysis projects (see
Working With Analysis Projects (p. 527)) and Workbench projects (see Working With ANSYS Workbench
Projects (p. 493)). For a Workbench Project:
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Defining an EKM Process Template XML File
– Metadata will be extracted from CAE files contained within the Workbench project _files folder
and added to the Workbench project file (.wbpj) properties.
• custom-dialog-node: This type of node is an extension of the Node type. It can be used in scenarios
when you want to have a customized single-step dialog box or a multistep wizard associated with the
node. You can process variables at the start and end of each step in the dialog/wizard using the start/end
macro. The task that is associated with the node can be assigned to either a user or a group and the
task is completed only when the assigned user explicitly sets it to Complete.
Transitions are used to specify the path of the process. A transition is a connection between a starting
node (source) and an ending node (destination). A transition can have a trigger expression associated
with it. The trigger expression determines whether the transition will be triggered (or traversed) in a
process. If no trigger expression is specified then the transition is always triggered.
• A process or block must have exactly one start node and exactly one end node. A start node is a node
that has no incoming transitions. An end node is a node that has no outgoing transitions.
• “Orphan” node or nodes that have no incoming or outgoing transitions are not allowed.
• Apart from the start node, all other nodes can have any number of incoming transitions.
• Apart from the end node, all other nodes can have any number of outgoing transitions.
• Cycles are not allowed. For example, if you have a transition from node A to node B, then you cannot
have a transition from node B to node A. Similarly, if you have defined transitions from node A to node
B and from node B to node C, you cannot have a transition from node C to node A. In this way, processes
are always Directed Acyclic Graphs. Because iterations are cyclical by nature, a special construct called
a block is used for modeling them.
If a node has more than one outgoing transition, then depending on the trigger expression, any number
of the transitions may be triggered. If more than one transition is triggered, then the tasks will be pro-
cessed concurrently. If a node has more than one incoming transition, then the task corresponding to
that node will wait until all of the incoming transitions have been traversed. For example, suppose a
process has nodes A, B, C and D with transitions from A to B, A to C, B to D and C to D. The start node
is A with two outgoing transitions, and D is the end node with two incoming transitions. In this case,
the task corresponding to node D will be activated only once the tasks corresponding to both nodes
B and D have been completed.
Blocks are used primarily to model iterations and can be used to avoid cycles in the process. Concep-
tually, a block represents the sequence of steps that are executed as part of an iteration. A block can
have nodes and transitions. Variables are not defined at the block level. Variables that are defined at
the process level can be accessed by any node or transition in any block.
• Blocks must contain one, and only one, start node and end node.
• A transition within a block can only use a node within the block as its source or destination. This means
that you cannot define a transition from a node outside a block, to a node inside a block, or vice-versa.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
• The names of all nodes and transitions specified in a process must be unique. Blocks do not act as
namespaces. This means that if you have a node or transition defined elsewhere in the process, you
cannot define another node or transition of the same name within a block.
Expressions are used to evaluate conditions such as whether a variable supplied in a task is valid,
whether an iteration should continue, or whether a transition should be traversed. Like macros, expres-
sions are defined in a supported scripting language in the script element.
Macros are used in process definitions to automate certain tasks. For example, macros can be used to
define complex logic in expressions, tasks that will be executed in an auto node, and custom dialog
boxes for a task. Macros are defined using a supported scripting language in the script element, and
can be referenced in any expression in a process definition.
Now, let's look at the each of these constructs in more detail in the following sections.
• name: can be used to display the variable in the user interface. As with property names, variable names
cannot contain the following special characters: / \ : [ ] % * ' " |
• description: can be used to provide a detailed description of the variable in the user interface. This
allows users to understand the meaning of the variable and the value it contains.
• type: can be used to specify the type of the variable. Valid values are: Boolean, Date, Double, Long,
Reference, or String. These values are same as property types in a custom type definition. See the
Defining Custom Types chapter in the Administration Guide for details on these types.
• id: can be used to reference the variable in an expression. It can consist of any letter, digit, or the un-
derscore (_) character. You only need to specify an id if the name of the variable contains any character
which is not a letter, digit or underscore, for example: -, ?, space character, and so on. Otherwise the
name of the variable is automatically assigned as the ID of the variable.
• multivalued: can be used to specify whether the variable can have a single value or multiple values.
Its value can be either true or false. If it is unspecified, the value is assumed to be false.
• default: can be used to specify the default value of the variable. For multi-valued properties, you
can specify the default as a comma-delimited string (for example, value-1, value-2). If you specify
a default value, then you must make sure that the value is correctly specified for the variable type.
– Boolean types can only contain true or false as valid values. If it is unspecified, then the default
value for a Boolean type is set to false.
– Date types must have default values in either ISO-8601 format or a format that depends on the
locale of the EKM server.
→ For ISO-8601, the format is: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.sTZD, where hh is two hour digits (00
through 23) and TZD is the time zone designator (Z or +hh:mm or -hh:mm)
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→ For the English locale, the format is: month/day/year hour:min AM/PM
– Double types can contain any valid real number such as 0.0, 123.456. You can also use scientific
notation such as 1.235E6 or 1.235E-6. If it is unspecified, the default value for a Double type is
set to 0.0.
– Long types can only contain numbers such as 0, 5, -5 as values. If it is unspecified, the default value
for a Long type is set to 0.
– Reference types can contain the full path to an existing object in EKM as a default value.
If it is unspecified, the default value for a Reference type is an empty string “ ” that denotes
a null reference.
– String can contain any arbitrary text as a value. If it is unspecified, the default value for a String
type is an empty string “ ”.
A variable definition may also contain the following optional child elements:
• enumeration: can be used when you want to choose a variable value from a list of options in the
user interface. This list specifies one or more values that a variable can have (depending on whether it
is single or multi-valued). For example, a single valued variable (Multi-valued = false) named
Solver Version may take only one of these values [‘v160', 'v161', 'v162',‘v170’] as its value. In this
case, you can specify an enumeration list for the values. A multi-valued variable may take more than
one value, but it only be selected from the enumeration list that you specify. Enumerations can be
specified for any variable type (for example, Double, Integer, String) except Boolean.
• constraints: can be used to add constraints to variable values. Constraints are validated whenever
a user provides variable values through the user interface. A validation error message is displayed if a
constraint is violated. A constraint element has a name and a value attribute. A constraints name
must be one of the following:
– min: can be used to specify the minimum value for a Double or Long type. The value for this constraint
denotes the minimum value for the variable.
– max: can be used to specify the maximum value for a Double or Long type. The value for this constraint
denotes the maximum value for the variable.
– quantity: can be used for specifying the unit quantity for a Double type. The value for this constraint
denotes one of the quantities specified in the /Administration/Configuration/Units.xml
file (for example, length, volume, and so on). See the Units: Defining and Configuring Using XML
chapter in the Administration Guide for more details on specifying units.
– unit: can be used for specifying the unit for a Double type. The value for this constraint denotes
one of the units specified in the /Administration/Configuration/Units.xml file for the
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quantity specified above. This constraint should only be used if the quantity constraint has been
used. For example, if the quantity is length, the acceptable unit values are m, cm, ft, and so on. If a
quantity is specified but a unit is not specified, then the chosen unit for this property will be the default
unit of the users preferred unit system. For example, if the users preferred unit system is SI, the unit
will be m, and if it is British it will be ft. Thus you should specify the unit constraint only if you want
to force the property to always be viewed in the specified unit for all users. See the Units: Defining
and Configuring Using XML chapter in the Administration Guide for more details on specifying units.
– baseType: can be used to specify the base type for a Reference type. The value for this constraint
denotes the base type of the referenced object. For example, you can use it to ensure that a reference
always points to an object of type File.
– rows. Can be used to permit multi-line values for a String type. If the number of rows is greater than
1, a text area with the specified number of rows will be rendered instead of a single-line text box.
For example, specifying a value of 5 permits the input of 5 lines of text in a text box.
• displayStyle: can be used to specify the CSS style to a component that will be rendered for this
variable. It can be specified in a similar way in which HTML is specified. For example: "border:2px solid
green"
• updateOnChange: can be used when you want the value of one variable to change when the value
of a corresponding variable is changed. The value of the variable is a comma-separated list of component
IDs that must be re-rendered when the corresponding component value changes.
• readOnly: can be used to specify whether a variable must be rendered as read-only or requiring user
input. When readOnly is set to true, the variable will be rendered as a label for all variable types
except Reference. For Reference, it will be rendered as a command link.
Important
Object type labels that are displayed in the EKM user interface are localized labels. You must
use the non-localized names when referring to built-in types in configuration files. The non-
localized labels are shown in parenthesis next to localized labels in the built-in type description
in Appendix B in the EKM Administration Guide.
Example 1: Mesh Name Variable (p. 563) defines a variable named Mesh Name of type String. Because
the name contains the space character, an ID meshName is also specified. The default value of the
variable is mesh.msh.
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Example 2: Dimension Variable (p. 563) defines a variable named Dimension 1 of type Double and
id dim1. A description is also provided. The default value for this variable is 6.5. Furthermore this
variable has min and max constraints which specify that the value for this variable should lie between
2.0 and 10.0.
Example 3: Mesh Quality Variable (p. 563) defines a variable named Mesh Quality of type String
and id quality. Because enumerations are specified, the value for this variable can only be one of
the specified enumerations: Fine, Medium or Coarse.
Example 4: Disciplines Variable (p. 563) defines a variable named Disciplines of type String. Because
the name does not contain any special characters, no id is specified for this variable. The ID will be
automatically assigned using the name of the variable. Because the multi-valued attribute is set to true
and enumerations are specified, the value can be 0 or more of the specified enumerations: Stress,
Thermal, Flow, and Electromagnetic.
Example 5: Project Variable (p. 563) defines a variable named Project of type Reference. Because
the baseType constraint is specified, the referenced object should be of the same type as or a subtype
of Project.
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name
specifies the name of the node. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Names
cannot contain these characters:
description
specifies a description of the node. It helps a user understand the task that must be done.
assignee
specifies the user or group who will be assigned the task corresponding to the node. You can further
control who gets assigned the task through the following rules:
• If the assignee is not specified or is incorrectly specified, then the person who initiates this node
(usually the assignee of the previous node in the process) is assigned the task. For example
suppose you define a process containing nodes A and B and a transition going from A to B. You
specify joe as the assignee for A but do not specify an assignee for B. joe will automatically
be assigned the task corresponding to B.
• If the assignee is specified as * then the person who starts the process is assigned the task.
• If the assignee is specified as * followed by a node name, then the assignee of that node is
assigned the task. This is typically used to let a user who has executed a previous step in the process
also execute a follow-up step. For example, suppose you define a process containing nodes A, B
and C and transitions going from A to B and from B to C. You specify the assignee of A as group
g1, the assignee of B as group g2, and the assignee of C as *A. Now let's suppose that user joe
belongs to group g1 and starts the task corresponding to node A. When the task corresponding
to node C is created, then joe will be automatically assigned to it.
• If the assignee is specified as $ followed by a macro name, then the assignee of that node will
be determined with the execution of that macro. The macro must take an argument that is the
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node name, and must return a string that is the name of the assignee. For example, you would
specify foo(Run Analysis) when defining a macro named foo that will extract the assignee
from a node named Run Analysis. To use the foo macro for determining an assignee for a task,
you would enter $foo as the value of the assignee attribute.
completionMacro
specifies the macro that will initialize a custom dialog box and the XHTML file (or files if there are
multiple inputs) that defines the custom user interface. By default, when a task is completed the as-
signed user is prompted to enter the values of all output variables in a standard dialog box. A user
interface dialog box is automatically generated based on the output variables specified in the definition
of the node that corresponds to the task. You can use a macro to customize the dialog box that is
presented to a user on task completion using this attribute. For example, you may want the user to
provide inputs that would be processed and actions executed in the background before the task
completes. The completion macro must have the following two arguments:
• instance of ModelObjectInterface that specifies the task object from which the dialog box
is spawned.
• instance of DialogInterface that specifies the dialog box that must be initialized.
You must initialize the dialog box and specify the XHTML file associated with each step in the body
of the macro as shown in the following listing:
completionMacro(object, dialog) {
dialog.addStep("Dialog header", "ui-file.xhtml", "");
}
The macro shown above adds a single step to the dialog box and specifies the user interface file that
goes along with it. The third argument of the addStep() method of the DialogInterface is
the name of an action macro that will be called when the dialog box is submitted by the user. If required
you can specify the name of another macro that you have defined as this argument, otherwise you
can specify an empty string in its place. That macro must take an instance of DialogInterface as
argument. For the Task Completion dialog box, you do not need to define the variables in the dialog
box initialization macro because EKM will automatically add all the output variables of the node as
variables of the dialog box. When the dialog box is submitted by the user, the action macro if specified
in the addStep() method will be executed. Finally all the values of the dialog’s variables will be
stored in the process and the process will advance to the next tasks. See Assigning Custom Dialog
Resource Files to a Process Template (p. 426) for details on how to upload process templates that also
have resource files for custom user interfaces.
The node type definition has the following optional child elements:
inputVar
This element specifies the name of a variable that is an input to this node. The name must correspond
to a variable that you have defined for the process. Input variables are used to allow the assignee of
a task to easily find the values of variables that may be required to complete the task. No checks are
performed to verify whether the value of input variables has been specified or not.
In the following example listing, the Mesh Name variable is defined as an input variable of
the current node. You can specify any number of inputVar elements.
<inputVar>Mesh Name</inputVar>
outputVar
This element specifies the name of variable that is an output of this node. The name must correspond
to a variable that you have defined for the process. When the task is completed, the assigned user is
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prompted to enter the values of all output variables. In the example listing shown below, the Mesh
File variable is defined as an output variable of the current node. You can specify any number of
outputVar elements.
This element contains an optional displayOrder attribute that can be used when you want
the variable to appear in a particular order. If unspecified, the default value is 2147483647,
which will display the property alphabetically by name. Display order values start at 0. Variables
are displayed on the Status tab when viewing a process on the Processes/Process Monitor
page. The listing shown below specifies a display order for the two output variables, with Mesh
File being displayed first, with the Is Mesh Acceptable? variable appearing second.
<outputVar displayOrder="0">Mesh File</outputVar>
<outputVar displayOrder="1">Is Mesh Acceptable?</outputVar>
validation
This element defines a validation that must be performed before the task can be completed. It used
to validate the values entered by the user who is completing the task. This element consists of two
attributes: expression for specifying a validation expression, and errorMessage for specifying
the message that will be displayed if validation fails.
Example: The following listing shows an example of a validation expression. Note that any
number of validation elements can be defined.
<validation expression="dim1 @gt 2*dim2"
errorMessage="Dimension 1 should be more than double of Dimension 2"/>
The following listing shows an example of a node definition. The name of the node is Check Mesh.
It has two input variables named: Mesh Folder and Mesh Name and two output variables named:
Mesh File and Is Mesh Acceptable?. It also has a validation expression for checking whether
the meshFile has been specified when the mesh is acceptable. Because the two output variables have
space character in their names, the IDs of these variables are defined in the expression.
name
specifies the name of the auto node. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same
restrictions apply as for Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
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macro
This attribute specifies the name of the macro that defines the logic needed to be executed. If this
attribute is not specified then the auto node does nothing and immediately proceeds to the next
steps. This can be useful in the following situations:
• Because processes and blocks must contain one and only one end node, you may need to use the
auto node for meeting this restriction. For example suppose your process contains three nodes: A,
B and C with transitions going from A to B and A to C. After node A, either node B or C is executed
and the process completes when either B or C is completed. However, because the process must
contain exactly one end node, you can create an auto node D that does nothing, and define trans-
itions from B to D and C to D.
• There may be scenarios where you want the process to wait for concurrent activities to complete
before making a decision on the next paths to take. You can use an auto node to model this wait
stage. The auto node does nothing and simple waits for all the preceding paths to complete. Then,
using trigger expressions on the transitions leading out from the auto node, you can decide the
next paths to take.
If you do specify a macro for an auto node, you must follow these rules while defining the
macro:
• The macro can directly access any process variable as a global variable
• If the macro needs to change the value of a process variable, it should return a map of variable
names and their new values. If it does not need to change the value of any variable; it can
simply return null.
The following listing shows the example of an auto node macro. This macro is accessing the
process variables v1 and v2 (that are of either Long or Double type), adding them up and
setting the result as the value of another variable v3. Because this macro is changing the value
of a variable, it returns a map containing the name of v3 and its new value.
add() {
result = new HashMap();
result.put("v3", v1+v2);
return result;
}
inputVar
This element has two attributes processVarName and itemVarName. There may be situations
when you want to define a macro that is used by more than one auto node in a process, or by auto
nodes in more than one process. Because auto nodes require variable values to execute the logic and
because the variable names may be different in different contexts, you may want to define the macro
using a particular set of variable names. The inputVar element can be used to providing a mapping
between the names of variables in the process (processVarName) and the names of variables used
by the macro (itemVarName). You can specify any number of inputVar elements.
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outputVar
is used when you may want the auto node to set the values of process variables after execution.
Similar to the inputVar element, outputVar has two attributes processVarName and item-
VarName. You can specify any number of outputVar elements.
The following XML code is example of an auto node named Add Node that calls the add macro defined
above.
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the
node type. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for
Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
block
specifies the name of the block that will be executed while the iteration condition is satisfied. Blocks
are identified by the name of their start node.
iterationExpression
used to specify the condition that must be satisfied for the iteration to continue. See Defining Expres-
sions (p. 586) for syntax you can utilize in expressions.
The following XML code shows an example of an iteration node definition. In this sample listing, an it-
eration block is specified by the node named Get Pre processing Input and the iteration
condition is satisfied while the mesh is not approved.
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the
node type. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for
Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
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monitoredProcessesVar
is the name of the variable that stores references to processes or batch tasks that will be monitored
by the monitor node. This variable must be defined as a Reference type. The variable can be single
valued or multi-valued.
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the
node type. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for
Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
assignee
specifies the name of the user or group, the task corresponding to this node is assigned to. Refer to
the assignee attribute of the node definition (p. 564) for more details. Only the assigned user can
view, execute or cancel the batch task or get notified by email when the batch execution completes.
appKey
specifies the name of the application that will be launched by the batch node. See the Defining EKM
Servers, Queues and External Applications chapter in the Administration Guide for details on defining
external applications. This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal that can take
true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the appKey corres-
ponds to a String variable whose value is the key of the application. If the literal attribute is
specified and is true, the value of the appKey is the key of the application. You can specify one and
only one appKey element.
autoComplete
controls whether or not a task is automatically completed after job execution. When an execution
finishes successfully, and autoComplete is set to true, the process will automatically advance to next
task.
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autoStart
controls whether or not the task will start executing automatically in the process view. If there is any
error during auto-start, you will be able to start the job manually.
showWorkingDirectory
controls whether or not the job’s Working Directory can be displayed in the process view or job view
during job execution. Set this to false if you do not want users to have access to a job’s input and
output files.
core
specifies the number of cores to reserve.
param
specifies a command line parameter for the application. This element has an optional Boolean attribute
named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false,
the value of the param corresponds to a String or Reference variable. If it corresponds to a
String variable, then the value of the variable will be taken as command line parameter. Otherwise,
if it corresponds to a Reference variable, then the name of the referenced object will be taken as
the command line parameter. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the
param is the taken as the command line parameter. You can specify any number of param elements.
exportFile
specifies a file or folder that will be exported to the working directory in which the application is
launched. This is primarily used to export files or folders that are used as inputs to the application
being launched. You can specify any number of exportFile elements. This element has the following
optional attributes:
• literal: specifies whether the value of exportFile element is literal or not. If this attribute is
not specified or is false, the value of the exportFile element corresponds to a String or
Reference variable. If it corresponds to a String variable, then the value of the variable will be
taken as the path of the file or folder. Otherwise, if it corresponds to a Reference variable, then
the file or folder object pointed to by the reference variable will be exported. If the literal attrib-
ute is specified and is true, the value of the exportFile element is taken as the path of the file
or folder.
• exportedFileName: Specifies the name of the file or folder when it is exported to the working
directory. If it is not specified, the original name of the file or folder is used. This is used if you want
to change the name of a file or folder when it is exported to the working directory
• literalExportedFileName: It is a Boolean attribute that specifies whether the value for the
exportedFileName is literal or not. If it is false or is not specified, the value of exportedFi-
leName attribute is taken as the name of a String variable whose value is the exported name.
Otherwise the value of the exportedFileName attribute is taken as the exported name.
• nonEkmFile: Specifies whether the file or folder is external to EKM or part of EKM’s repository. If
this attribute is not specified or is false, the file or folder is assumed to reside within EKM; otherwise,
it is assumed to lie outside EKM’s repository and on a file system accessible to EKM’s server.
• template: Specifies whether the file is a template or not. If it is a template, the file must be an
ASCII file and “templatized” using the syntax {$var}, where var is the name of a variable defined
in the process. When a template is exported, all instances of {$var} are replaced by the actual
value of var variable. This allows you to specify a generic file as input and have the actual contents
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of the file be different for different process instances. You can only specify this attribute to be true
for files and not folders.
• includes: A comma-separated list of patterns (strings that may contain the wildcard characters
* and ? such as *.xml, test.???, */test.*) used to determine what files from the exported
folder to include for export.
• excludes: A comma-separated list of patterns (strings that may contain the wildcard characters
* and ? such as *.xml, test.???, */test.*) used to determine what files from the exported
folder to exclude from export.
exportFileFromJob
specifies a file or folder generated in an upstream node that will be used in the current node (as long
as the upstream node belongs to the same block as the current node). This means that you do not
need to import files back into EKM in an upstream node and then export the same files in the down-
stream node.
• literal: specifies whether the value of exportFileFromJob element is literal or not. If this
attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the exportFileFromJob element corresponds
to a String or Reference variable. If it corresponds to a String variable, then the value of the
variable will be taken as the path of the file or folder. Otherwise, if it corresponds to a Reference
variable, then the file or folder object pointed to by the reference variable will be exported. If the
literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the exportFileFromJob element is
taken as the path of the file or folder.
• exportedFileName: Specifies the name of the file or folder when it is exported to the working
directory. If it is not specified, the original name of the file or folder is used. This is used if you want
to change the name of a file or folder when it is exported to the working directory
• literalExportedFileName: It is a Boolean attribute that specifies whether the value for the
exportedFileName is literal or not. If it is false or is not specified, the value of exportedFi-
leName attribute is taken as the name of a String variable whose value is the exported name.
Otherwise the value of the exportedFileName attribute is taken as the exported name.
• includes: A comma-separated list of patterns (strings that may contain the wildcard characters
* and ? such as *.xml, test.???, */test.*) used to determine what files from the exported
folder to include for export.
• excludes: A comma-separated list of patterns (strings that may contain the wildcard characters
* and ? such as *.xml, test.???, */test.*) used to determine what files from the exported
folder to exclude from export.
outputFolder
specifies the folder where all the output files will be imported to EKM. This is a required element.
When an application completes it may generate output files that need to be imported back into EKM.
You can use outputFolder to define this. This element has an optional Boolean attribute named
literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value
of the outputFolder element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is
specified and is true, the value of the outputFolder element is taken as the path of the output
folder in EKM. You can specify one and only one outputFolder element.
importFile
specifies the output file or folder that will be imported into EKM once the application completes. The
value can contain the exact name of the file (for example, mesh.msh) or contain names with wild
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cards (for example, *.cas or *.dat). You can also import all files and sub-folders created by the
application using just the wildcard character: *. The value can also be left empty and in this case, all
file/folder matching will be done based on the includes and excludes attributes.
• literal: The literal attribute takes Boolean values of true or false. If this attribute
is not specified or is false, the value of the importFile element corresponds to a String
variable. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the importFile
element is taken as the name of the file or folder to import. You can specify any number of
importFile elements.
• includes: A comma-separated list of patterns (strings that may contain the wildcard
characters * and ? such as *.xml, test.???, */test.*) used to determine what files
from the imported folder to include for import.
• excludes: A comma-separated list of patterns (strings that may contain the wildcard
characters * and ? such as *.xml, test.???, */test.*) used to determine what files
from the imported folder to exclude from import.
importedFileType
specifies the type of an imported file or folder. The type of the file is usually determined by its extension.
If the extension is used by multiple file types then in some cases EKM can determine the correct file
type by reading a section of the file type. If it is unable to make an accurate determination, it will use
the type mapping specified by this element. Finally, if type mapping for a file is not specified in this
element, EKM will use the default type association defined in the Preferences of the user who is assigned
to the batch task. Folders are always imported as type Folder. You can, however, provide an alternate
type by using this element. You can specify any number of importedFileType elements. This
element has the following required attributes:
• pattern: relative path pattern of files or folders in the working directory that you want to associate
with a type. You can use wildcards ? and * to match a single or multiple arbitrary characters. For
example: *.dat will match all files whose extension is .dat no matter where they occur in the
working directory while fluent-files/*.dat will only match files with extension .dat in a
sub-folder named fluent-files in the working directory.
jobTemplate
specifies the name of a job template to be used when the job is executed. If a template is specified,
the values specified for appKey, core, param and transcript will be ignored, and the values
defined for these attributes in the template will be used instead.
transcript
specifies the name of the file in the working directory that stores the transcript of the job. If it is not
specified, the standard output and error streams of the batch job are taken as transcripts. The transcript
is used to monitor the execution of the job. You can specify zero or one transcript element.
An example of a batch node definition is supplied in Example 10: Batch Node Example (p. 573).
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Defining Nodes
In Example 10: Batch Node Example (p. 573), the application key (appKey) of the application launched
by this batch node is specified by the variable Preprocessor. There are four command line parameters
specified by the variables named Geometry File, Dimension 1, Dimension 2 and Mesh
Quality. The input file of the application is specified by the variable Geometry File. The output
file that will be imported into EKM is specified by the variable named Mesh Name and folder where
it will be imported is specified by the variable named Mesh Folder.
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the node
type. This name will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for Node
Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
wfReference
specifies the reference path of the nested process template.
The workflow reference node has the following optional child elements:
inputVar
This element has two attributes processVarName and nestedProcessVarName. This mapping
is used to transfer variable values from the main process to the nested process. You can specify any
number of inputVar elements.
outputVar
is used when you want the workflow reference node to set the values of process variables after exe-
cution. Similar to the inputVar element, outputVar has two attributes processVarName and
nestedProcessVarName. You can specify any number of outputVar elements.
Note
Output files generated from batch nodes in nested process templates are not accessible.
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name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the
node type. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for
Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
assignee
specifies the name of the user or group, the task corresponding to this node is assigned to. Refer to
the assignee attribute of node definition for more details. Only the assigned user can view, execute
or cancel the batch task or get notified by email when the batch execution completes.
batchMacro
specifies that the DOE node should calculate the design points and then perform simulations using
the calculated inputs and the specified batch node. This attribute is an optional string attribute. If it
is specified, it should contain the name of the batch node to execute.
runSimulationsInWb
specifies that the DOE node should calculate the design points and then perform simulations using
the calculated inputs within ANSYS Workbench. This attribute is an optional Boolean attribute. If it is
specified and is true, the workbenchProject element must be specified.
wbApp
specifies the name of the application that will be launched by the DOE node. See the chapter on De-
fining EKM Servers, Queues and External Applications in the Administration Guide for details on defining
external applications. This application must be ANSYS Workbench (version 14.0 or newer). This element
has an optional Boolean attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is
not specified or is false, the value of the wbApp corresponds to a String variable whose value is the
key of the application. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the wbApp is the key
of the application. You can specify zero or one wbApp element. If the element is not specified, the
default Workbench application will be used.
designPoints
specifies the number of design points that will be created by the DOE node. This is a required element.
This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this
attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the designPoints element corresponds to a Refer-
ence variable. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the element is taken as the
number of design points to be calculated.
doeInputFile
specifies the input file to be used by the DOE node. This is an optional element, but if it is not specified
then the workbenchProject element must be. This element has an optional Boolean attribute
named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of
the doeInputFile element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is specified
and is true, the value of the doeInputFile element is taken as the path to the DOE input file in
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Defining Nodes
EKM. The DOE input file is a tab delimited ASCII file that contains the names of input/output parameters
and certain attributes of the parameters (for example, upper and lower bounds of input parameters).
The following shows an example of a DOE input file:
Parameters:
P1 DirectInput inlet-flow-rate
P2 DirectInput inlet-temperature
P3 DirectInput methanol-mass-fraction
P4 DirectInput ethanol-mass-fraction
P5 DirectOutput pressure-drop
P6 DirectOutput outlet-enthalpy
P7 DirectOutput outlet-density
Inputs:
P1 0.8 1.2 True
P2 270 390 True
P3 0.10 0.20 True
P4 0.3 0.5 True
The input file first contains a list of all parameters where the first entry is the parameter name,
the second entry is the parameter usage, and the third entry is the parameter display text.
Following the list of all parameters, specific attributes are provided for input parameters. These
include the parameter lower bound, the parameter upper bound, and the parameter status
(enabled or not enabled). Refer to the Design Exploration User’s Guide for more information on
parameter attributes.
outputFolder
specifies the folder where all the output files will be imported to EKM. This is a required element.
When the DOE node completes it will generate output files that need to be imported back into EKM.
You can use outputFolder to define this location. This element has an optional Boolean attribute
named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of
the outputFolder element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is specified
and is true, the value of the outputFolder element is taken as the path of the output folder in EKM.
You can specify one and only one outputFolder element.
workbenchProject
specifies the ANSYS Workbench project to be used by the DOE node. This is an optional element, but
if it is not specified then the doeInputFile element must be. This element has an optional Boolean
attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the
value of the workbenchProject element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute
is specified and is true, the value of the workbenchProject element is taken as the path to the
Workbench project in EKM.
performOptimization
specifies if optimization should be performed within ANSYS Workbench. This is an optional Boolean
value that is only relevant if the value of the DOE node attribute runSimulationsInWb is “true”.
In this case, the Workbench project should be configured for optimization with the goals of the op-
timization set. Refer to the Design Exploration User’s Guide for more information on configuring a
Workbench project for Goal Driven Optimization.
runOptimalDesignPoints
specifies if simulations should be performed within ANSYS Workbench using the optimal design points
obtained from a Goal Driven Optimization. This is an optional Boolean value that is only relevant if
the value of the DOE node element performOptimization is “true”.
simultaneousBatchTasks
sets the number of simultaneous batch tasks that should be executed when the DOE node is performing
simulations using a batch node. This is an optional Integer value that is only relevant if the value of
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the DOE node attribute batchNode has been specified. In this case, the user may explicitly set the
value of simultaneousBatchTasks. This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal
that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the simul-
taneousBatchTasks element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is specified
and is true, the value of the simultaneousBatchTasks element is taken as the number specified.
If the simultaneousBatchTasks element is not provided, the default value of one will be used
and each batch task will be executed sequentially.
inputParameters
sets the input parameters for the batch tasks to be executed by the DOE node. This is a String value
that is only relevant if the value of the DOE node attribute batchNode has been specified. In this
case, the user should explicitly set the value of inputParameters, which corresponds to the name
of a multi-valued EKM Process Variable. This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal
that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the input-
Parameters element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is specified and is
true, the value of the inputParameters element is taken as the string specified. The enumerated
values of the Variable referenced by inputParameters must contain the names of the input
parameters. The following shows an example of a multi-valued Variable corresponding to the input-
Parameters element:
<variable name="My Input Parameters" id="inputParameters"
description="Input Parameters for Batch Node"
type="String" multivalued="true">
<enumeration>P1</enumeration>
<enumeration>P2</enumeration>
<enumeration>P3</enumeration>
<enumeration>P4</enumeration>
</variable>
The DOE node in Example 12: DOE Node Without Simulation (p. 576) executes DesignXplorer to obtain
15 design points given the input parameters specified in the DOE input file (referenced by the “DOE
Input File” element). No simulations are performed. The design points will be written to a file that is
uploaded to outputFolder.
This DOE node in Example 13: DOE Node With Simulation (p. 576) executes DesignXplorer to obtain 25
design points given the input parameters specified in the ANSYS Workbench project specified by the
element workbenchProject. The DOE node will then run the 25 simulations within Workbench and
obtain the optimal design points given the optimization goals specified in the Workbench project. The
files final Workbench project will be saved and uploaded to the specified output folder.
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Defining Nodes
This DOE node in Example 14: DOE Node With Coupled Batch Node (p. 577) executes DesignXplorer to
obtain 18 design points given the input parameters specified in the ANSYS Workbench project specified
by the element workbenchProject. The DOE node will then execute the specified batch node 18
times with inputs corresponding to the calculated design points. Files resulting from the DOE node (for
example, the design points) will be uploaded to EKM in the folder specified by the Process Variable
“DOE Output Folder”. Files created by the batch tasks will be uploaded to EKM in the folder specified
by the Process Variable “Batch Output Folder”. In this example, each batch task will create a file called
completed_design_point.dat. The DOE Node will create folders named “Design Point 1”, “Design
Point 2”, and so on within the “Batch Output Folder” and upload the files created to the appropriate
folder.
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the
node type. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for
Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
assignee
specifies the name of the user or group, the task corresponding to this node is assigned to. Refer to
the assignee attribute of node definition for more details. Only the assigned user can view, execute
or cancel the batch task or get notified by email when the batch execution completes.
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wbApp
specifies the name of the application that will be launched by the Optimization node. See the chapter
on Defining EKM Servers, Queues and External Applications in the Administration Guide for details on
defining external applications. This application must be ANSYS Workbench (version 14.0 or newer).
This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this
attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the wbApp corresponds to a String variable whose
value is the key of the application. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the wbApp
is the key of the application. You can specify zero or one wbApp element. If the element is not specified,
the default Workbench application will be used.
designPoints
specifies the number of design points that will be created by the Optimization node. This is a required
element. This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal that can take true or false values.
If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the designPoints element corresponds to
a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the element is taken
as the number of design points to be calculated.
doeInputFile
specifies the input file to be used by the Optimization node. This is an optional element, but if it is
not specified then the workbenchProject element must be. This element has an optional Boolean
attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the
value of the doeInputFile element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is
specified and is true, the value of the doeInputFile element is taken as the path to the DOE input
file in EKM. The DOE input file is a tab delimited ASCII file that contains the names of input/output
parameters and certain attributes of the parameters (for example, upper and lower bounds of input
parameters). The following shows an example of a DOE input file:
Parameters:
P1 DirectInput inlet-flow-rate
P2 DirectInput inlet-temperature
P3 DirectInput methanol-mass-fraction
P4 DirectInput ethanol-mass-fraction
P5 DirectOutput pressure-drop
P6 DirectOutput outlet-enthalpy
P7 DirectOutput outlet-density
Inputs:
P1 0.8 1.2 True
P2 270 390 True
P3 0.10 0.20 True
The input file first contains a list of all parameters where the first entry is the parameter name,
the second entry is the parameter usage, and the third entry is the parameter display text.
Following the list of all parameters, specific attributes are provided for input parameters. These
include the parameter lower bound, the parameter upper bound, and the parameter status
(enabled or not enabled). Refer to the Design Exploration User’s Guide for more information on
parameter attributes.
outputFolder
specifies the folder where all the output files will be imported to EKM. This is a required element.
When the optimization node completes it will generate output files that need to be imported back
into EKM. You can use outputFolder to define this location. This element has an optional Boolean
attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the
value of the outputFolder element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is
specified and is true, the value of the outputFolder element is taken as the path of the output
folder in EKM. You can specify one and only one outputFolder element.
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Defining Nodes
workbenchProject
specifies the ANSYS Workbench project to be used by the optimization node. This is an optional ele-
ment, but if it is not specified then the doeInputFile element must be. This element has an optional
Boolean attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is
false, the value of the workbenchProject element corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal
attribute is specified and is true, the value of the workbenchProject element is taken as the path
to the Workbench project in EKM.
designPointsFile
specifies the tab delimited ASCII file containing the set of completed design points. Values must be
specified for input and output parameters for each design point. This is a required element for the
Optimization node. This element has an optional Boolean attribute named literal that can take true
or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is false, the value of the designPointsFile element
corresponds to a Reference variable. If the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the
designPointsFile element is taken as the path to the design points file in EKM. The following
shows an example of a design points file:
Design Point 1: 1.001 324.1 0.2081 0.4320 0.259 64928.781 792.5
Design Point 2: 1.081 300.1 0.1841 0.400 0.30 4652.0841 793.1
Design Point 3: 0.921 312.1 0.2001 0.368 0.219 34859.451 793.2
Design Point 4: 1.041 288.1 0.2161 0.3840 0.280 -25531.551 792.8
Design Point 5: 0.961 276.1 0.1921 0.4160 0.238 -55668.621 792.9
This example corresponds to the example DOE input file shown above. Note that this tab de-
limited file contains values for the four input and three output parameters.
optimizationGoalsFile
specifies the tab delimited ASCII file containing the optimization goals. This is an optional element,
but if it is not specified then the workbenchProject element must be. This element has an optional
Boolean attribute named literal that can take true or false values. If this attribute is not specified or is
false, the value of the optimizationGoalsFile element corresponds to a Reference variable. If
the literal attribute is specified and is true, the value of the optimizationGoalsFile element is
taken as the path to the optimization goals file in EKM. The following shows an example of an optim-
ization goals file:
Design Point 1: 1.001 324.1 0.2081 0.4320 0.259 64928.781 792.5
Design Point 2: 1.081 300.1 0.1841 0.400 0.30 4652.0841 793.1
Design Point 3: 0.921 312.1 0.2001 0.368 0.219 34859.451 793.2
Design Point 4: 1.041 288.1 0.2161 0.3840 0.280 -25531.551 792.8
Design Point 5: 0.961 276.1 0.1921 0.4160 0.238 -55668.621 792.9
This example corresponds to the example DOE input file shown above. Following the “Optim-
ization” heading, the optimization goals for each parameter are provided. These goals in the
file should be consistent with those shown in the DesignXplorer user interface. Refer to the
Design Exploration User’s Guide for more information on specifying optimization goals.
The optimization node Example 15: Optimization Node Without Simulation (p. 579) executes DesignXplorer
to perform optimization using the 25 completed design points provided and goals in the optimization
goals file. No simulations are performed. The optimization results will be written to a file that is uploaded
to outputFolder.
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The optimization node in Example 16: Optimization Node With Simulation (p. 580) executes ANSYS
DesignXplorer to perform optimization using the 25 completed design points in the design points file
and optimization settings in the Workbench project. No simulations are performed. The optimization
results will be written to a file that is uploaded to outputFolder.
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the
node type. This will be displayed in the graph and the Elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for
Node Type (p. 564).
description
specifies a description of the node.
analysisProjectVar
is the name of a Reference variable that references the analysis project or the Workbench project or
the Workbench project file you want to invoke update on.
<update-analysis-project-node name="Update analysis" description="" >
<analysisProjectVar>ap</analysisProjectVar>
</update-analysis-project-node>
name
specifies the name of the node. It has the same character restrictions as the name attribute of the node
type. This name will be displayed in the graph and the elements tree. Same restrictions apply as for Node
Type (p. 564).
description
specifies the description of the node.
assignee
specifies the name of the user or group who will be assigned the task corresponding to this node. Refer
to the definition of assignee in Node Type (p. 564) for details. Only the assigned user can view, execute,
or cancel the custom dialog task or get notified by email when the custom dialog task execution completes.
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Defining Nodes
step
specifies a step that will be executed for this dialog. Refer to the dialog step definition in Dialog
Step (p. 581). Each custom dialog node can contain one or more steps. The order that the steps are
defined will determine the order when execution takes place. The last step in the sequence will be
treated as the completion step.
validation
specifies the validation that must be performed before the task can be completed. It has the same behavior
as the validation element for a Node Type (p. 564).
name
specifies the name of the step that will be displayed in the process view when the step is executed.
description
specifies the description of the step. This will be displayed in the process view when the step is ex-
ecuted.
updateMacro
specifies the name of the macro that will be executed just before this step is rendered.
actionMacro
specifies the name of the macro name that will be executed on completion of this step. Step completion
is accomplished by clicking the Next or Complete button in the custom dialog.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
panel
specifies the grid for the panel and can have any number of elements in any order. Refer to Panel
Grid (p. 582) for the panel grid definition. Underlying elements can either be a variable or any user in-
terface component that does not require binding such as a spacer.
columnCount
specifies the number of columns that the panel grid will contain. After the specified columnCount,
a new row is added for each of the remaining elements. For example, if 10 child elements are added
to a panel grid and the columnCount is set to 3, then the 10 elements will be rendered in 4 rows,
with the first three rows containing 3 elements and a fourth row containing one element.
id
specifies the id of the panel grid.
displayStyle
specifies the CSS style that will be applied to the rendered panel grid component. It can be specified
in a similar way in which HTML is specified. For example: border:2px solid green.
A panel grid definition has the following optional child elements that can occur any number of times
in any order:
var
specifies the name of the variable for the user interface component that will be rendered. If the
readOnly variable is any type except Reference, a label will be rendered. For a readOnly Reference
type variable, a command link will be rendered. Table 1: User Interface Components That are Rendered
for Different Variables (p. 582) shows the user interface components that will be rendered for the dif-
ferent types of variables.
Table 1: User Interface Components That are Rendered for Different Variables
If the variable has enumerations defined, it will be rendered as a drop-down list if it is single-valued
or a combo-list if it is multi-valued.
image
specifies an image in the dialog. Refer to Image (p. 583) for the definition.
spacer
specifies a blank space between two components in the dialog for layout purposes. Refer to
Spacer (p. 583) for the definition.
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Defining Nodes
uploadFile
specifies a file browse component in the dialog. Refer to Upload File (p. 584) for the definition. This
component renders as a Text Box and Browse button. When the component is rendered, the corres-
ponding variable will be created and used to manage the uploaded file.
table
specifies a data table in the dialog. Refer to Table (p. 585) for the definition.
commandLink
specifies a command link in the dialog which on-click will execute a specified macro and will re-render
specified components. Refer to Command Link (p. 584) for the definition.
commandButton
specifies a command button in the dialog which on-click will execute a specified macro and re-render
specified components. Refer to Command Button (p. 585) for the definition.
panelGrid
specifies a nested panel grid as a child of this panel grid. This can be used when you want to define
a data table that contains another data table within one of its cells. It has same schema definition as
Panel Grid (p. 582).
A.5.10.4. Image
An image definition has the following required attributes:
id
specifies the id of the image element.
path
specifies the relative path of the location where the image is stored. For example: /im-
ages/tank.jpg. You will need to define the image file as a resource archive in the process definition.
See Assigning Custom Dialog Resource Files to a Process Template (p. 426) for details.
height
specifies the required height of the rendered image in pixels (px). For example, 200px.
width
specifies the required width of the rendered image in pixels (px). For example, 100px.
displayStyle
specifies the CSS style that will be applied to the rendered image. It can be specified in a similar way
in which HTML is specified. For example: border:2px solid green.
A.5.10.5. Spacer
A spacer can be used to define a blank space of specified dimensions between two components. It has
following required attributes:
id
specifies the id of the spacer element.
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height
specifies required height to be mentioned in pixels (px). For example, 200px.
width
specifies required width to be mentioned in pixels (px). For example, 100px.
displayStyle
specifies the CSS style that will be applied to the rendered spacer element. It can be specified in a
similar way in which HTML is specified. For example: border:2px solid green.
name
specifies the name of the variable that will be used to get the uploaded file. For example, if up-
loaded_file is the name, you need to call the dialog.getVar("uploaded_file") macro to get
this file variable.
id
specifies the id that is associated with the upload file component.
displayStyle
specifies the CSS style that will be applied to the rendered upload file component. It can be specified
in a similar way in which HTML is specified. For example: border:2px solid green.
name
specifies the text that will be displayed for the command link. For example, OK, Submit, and so on.
macro
specifies the name of the macro that will be executed on-click of the command link.
id
specifies the id that is associated with the rendered command link.
displayStyle
specifies the CSS style that will be applied to the rendered command link element. It can be specified
in a similar way in which HTML is specified. For example: border:2px solid green
updateOnChange
specifies a comma-separated list of component ids that will be re-rendered on-click of command link.
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Defining Transitions
A.5.10.9. Table
A table can be used to define a data table. It does not have any required attributes but has the following
optional attributes:
name
specifies the name of the table element.
id
specifies the id of the table element.
displayStyle
specifies the CSS style that will be applied to the rendered table. It can be specified in a similar way in
which HTML is specified. For example: border:2px solid green.
A table can contain any number of columns, and every column is specified by a multi-valued variable.
When a data table is rendered, the number of rows that will display is determined by the minimum
number of values present in each column. For example, suppose we have 3 columns, Col1, Col2 and
Col3 with corresponding variables Var1, Var2, Var3. Now, if Var1 has 5 values, Var2 has 4 values,
and Var3 has 6 values, 4 rows will be rendered.
The value that is rendered in a cell(X, Y) of a data table is determined by the position of the X variable
among the Y variable values. For example, if Var Y has values (3, 1, 5, 8, 3), then X=2 implies a value
of 1.
A table definition has the following required child element and must contain at least one column:
column
A column contains two child elements, both of which permit space characters:
var
specifies the multi-valued variable id that the column is bound to.
name
specifies the column header that will be displayed at the top of the table.
For example:
<column>
<var>Col 1</var>
<name>Access Or Download</name>
</column>
• name: specifies the name of the transition. There are no restrictions on the characters used in a transition
name.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
• source: specifies the name of the node from which the transition starts
• destination: specifies the name of the node at which the transition ends
• triggerExpression: specifies the condition under which the transition is triggered (or traversed)
in a process. If the triggerExpression is not specified then the transition is always traversed. This
is used to control the paths taken by a process. Figure 6: transition Example (p. 586) shows an example
of a transition.
In the sample listing, the transition goes from a source node named “Check Mesh” to a destination
node named Approve Mesh. The transition is triggered only when the value of the isMeshAccept-
able variable is true.
• blocks: an optional element which consists of any number of child block elements. This is used to specify
blocks within blocks.
• nodes: a required element which consists of 1 or more child elements of any node type
• transitions: a required element which consists of any number of child transition elements
The start node of the block is used to reference the block in an iteration node.
Expressions are evaluated using the variable values and a scripting language which is BeanShell by
default. BeanShell uses Java syntax for expressions. However, because expressions are specified in XML
files, BeanShell also supports special syntax for characters (such as &, <, > and so on) that are not allowed
in XML. Table 2: Syntax for Logical Operations (p. 586) shows the syntax for logical expressions and
Table 3: Syntax for Arithmetic Operations (p. 587) shows arithmetic expressions syntax.
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Defining Expressions
While defining expressions you should be aware of how the values of variables are represented, and
the operations that are supported on them.
For example if x and y are two Boolean variables then the expression x @and y will evaluate to
true only if both x and y are true. The expression x @or !y will evaluate to true if either x is true
or y is false. The previous expression can also be specified as: x == true @or y == false.
• For Long and Double values @gt, @gteq, @lt, @lteq, +, *, / and % operations are allowed.
For example if x and y are two Long variables then the expression x @lt 2*y will evaluate to
true if the value of x is less than double of y.
• String variables are represented as instances of java.lang.String, which does not support any op-
erations.
For string comparisons you should use the equals() method instead of logical operators such as
== or !=. For example if x and y are two String variables then the expression x == y will not
evaluate to true even if the value of x and y are the same. You must use the expression:
x.equals(y). String literals can also be used in expressions by putting them under double quotes
(“”). If you use literals within the expression then you must use single quotes for the expression. For
example the expression 'x.equals(“Hello World”)' will evaluate to true if the value of x is
Hello World.
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• Date variables are represented as instances of java.util.Date class. You cannot use logical operations
such as < > or == with dates. However, you can use after(), before() or equals() methods of the
Date class to compare one date with another.
• Multi-valued variables are represented as an array of objects. Each object can be of type Boolean, Long,
Double, String, Date or ModelObjectInterface.
For example, if x is a multi-valued String variable that has values a, b and c then in expressions
this variable is available as the list: [“a”, “b”, “c”]. Usually you will use multi-valued variables in expres-
sions under the following conditions:
For example, the expression x.length > 2 will evaluate to true if x has more than 2 values
specified.
Because Java arrays do not provide a direct method for checking whether an element is con-
tained within the array, you could use a macro in this case. An example of this is provided
later.
You can also use parenthesis for grouping sub-expressions, for example:
• to define common or complex logic used in expressions. Expressions are used to evaluate conditions
such as validation of variables, continuation of iteration, and so on. If an expression requires logic that
is too complex to express within the expression or is common to multiple expressions, you can remove
the logic from the expression and put it in a macro. You can then reference the macro in any expression
in your process definition. Macros that are used to evaluate expressions have access to all of the variables
that are defined in the process as global variables.
• to define commands executed by an auto node. When the process reaches an auto node, it will evaluate
the associated macro and execute the commands defined in the macro.
• to define custom dialog boxes for tasks. By default the dialog box for task completion and batch exe-
cution is automatically generated by EKM. But you can define custom dialog boxes if you want to control
the layout or present the information in a different style.
Macros are defined in the script element using a supported scripting language. The script element
has one optional attribute named lang that specifies the scripting language used by the macros or
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Defining Macros
expressions in a process. It can take on two values: bsh for BeanShell or py for Python. The default
language is BeanShell which is taken if the attribute is not specified. BeanShell is a scripting language
that can execute code written in standard Java syntax while providing scripting conveniences such as
loose types. For more information on BeanShell and to see its detailed documentation, refer to http://
www.beanshell.org. With BeanShell you have full access to all classes provided by Java’s JDK. EKM uses
JDK 1.7, so you can use any of its classes in macros defined using BeanShell. Python is a powerful and
easy to use scripting language that is becoming very popular. EKM uses Jython 2.2.1 to handle Python
syntax. To learn more about Jython, refer to http://www.jython.org/index.html. To learn more about
Python, refer to http://www.python.org. Jython 2.2.1 allows the use of Python 2.2 language features.
In addition you can use any Java classes offered by JDK 1.7.
The arguments that a macro can be passed, and the values that it can return, will depend on the context
in which it is used.
The macro increments a variable named index by one and will be used by an auto node in a process
definition. The following code snippet shows where incrementMacro macro name is defined for an
auto-node.
<auto-node name="Add Node" description="" macro="incrementMacro" />
If you are defining a macro that will extract the name of an assignee from a previous node in the process,
the macro must take an argument that is the node name, and must return a string that is the name of
the assignee. For example, you would specify foo(Run Analysis) when defining a macro named
foo that will extract the assignee from a node named Run Analysis.
When you subsequently specify the assignee attribute for a node or batch node, use $ followed by the
macro name (for example, $foo).
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
You can reference a macro in any expression in your process definition. For example, hasDiscip-
line(‘Stress’) will call the macro with Stress as the argument and it will evaluate to true only
if the Disciplines variable contains Stress.
Note
Jython imposes a limit of 100 KB per script file. To avoid process errors it is recommended
that you create scripts using the EKM scripting interface and store them in the /Adminis-
tration/Configuration/Scripts folder. For details see Using EKM's Scripting Interface
in the Administration Guide. Storing scripts in a centralized library makes them available for
any process, lifecycle, or custom type. See Configuring a Common Scripts Library in the Ad-
ministration Guide for details.
name
name of the process
description
provides a description of the process.
requiredVar
are the variables that must be specified by a user when a process is created. The user who creates the
process will be prompted to add these variables. Here is an example of a required variable named Project.
<requiredVar>Project</requiredVar>
validation
is used to validate the required variables. Similar to a node definition, there may be circumstances when
you want the values of required variables to be validated. This can be done using the validation element
that has two attributes: expression and errorMessage. The definition of the validation element
is same as in the node definition. For example, the following listing shows a validation element that
ensures that Project is specified.
<validation expression='Project != void' errorMessage="Project not specified"/>
Suppose a company wants to model the simulation process for a design engineer. The design engineers
are involved in creating new designs of a component. Once the CAD model of the component is ready,
various CAE simulations are performed on it to validate the model. The simulations are performed by
an analyst who is an expert in the particular CAE discipline such as: Stress, Flow, Thermal, or Electromag-
netic. But before the simulations can be performed, a mesh must be generated from the CAD model.
The company already has an automated script for cleaning up the CAD model and generating a mesh.
The design engineer runs that script by providing some initial values. The resultant mesh is first checked
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Example of a Process Template XML Definition
by the design engineer and then sent for verification by a mesh expert to check whether the mesh is
suitable for performing CAE simulations. If the mesh is unacceptable, the process for generating the
mesh is executed again. Once a mesh is approved, it is sent to analysts for performing CAE simulations.
The simulations that should be performed are decided by the design engineer at the start of the process.
When all the required simulations have been performed, the design engineer prepares a final report
about the performance of the component. Figure 7: Graph for Example Process (p. 591) shows a graph-
ical view of the process.
• Check Mesh Approval: This is an iteration node that checks whether the mesh has been approved or
not and if not approved, it executes the block for generating and approving the mesh.
• Batch Pre-process: This is a batch node that gets inputs from the design engineer and then launches
the automated script for generating the mesh.
• Approve Mesh: This node is used for a Mesh Analyst to inspect and approve the mesh. If the mesh is
not approved the iteration starts again.
• Iteration End Node: This is an auto node for ensuring that the iteration block has a single end node.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
• Perform Stress Simulation: This node is used by Stress Analysts for performing stress simulations.
• Perform Flow Simulation: This node is used by Flow Analysts for performing flow simulations.
• Perform Electromagnetic Simulation: This node is used by Electromagnetic Analysts for performing
electromagnetic simulations.
• Perform Thermal Simulation: This node is used by Thermal Analysts for performing thermal simulations.
• Create Report: This node is used by the design engineer who created the process to create the final
report.
To model this process we will assume that the following groups have been defined:
• Mesh Analysts
• Stress Analysts
• Flow Analysts
• Electromagnetic Analysts
• Thermal Analysts
Figure 8: Partial XML Listing for Process Template Example (p. 592) shows a partial XML file listing for
process shown above. The complete file listing is provided in run-simulation.pt.xml, located in
the built-in remote folder /Data/Shared Data/Sample Files/process-templates.
See Accessing Sample Files for more details on the Sample Files folder.
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Editing an EKM Process Template in EKM Studio
<enumeration>Fine</enumeration>
<enumeration>Coarse</enumeration>
</variable>
<variable name="Is Mesh Approved?" id="isMeshApproved" description="Check whether mesh is valid
for simulation" type="Boolean" default="false" multivalued="false" />
<variable name="Dimension 1" id="dim1" description="Dimension 1 of the component" type="Double"
default="6.5" multivalued="false">
<constraint name="min" value="2.0" />
<constraint name="max" value="10.0" />
</variable>
When the process is started, the design engineer is prompted to enter the simulation disciplines and
a Project folder. The simulation disciplines are used to determine the types of simulations performed
in the process. The batch processing is done by launching an external application defined in your EKM
Workspace whose key is preprocessor. This application takes four command line parameters (Geo-
metry File, Dimension, Dimension 2, Mesh Quality) and generates a file called mesh.msh
which is imported into EKM. To test this process you can use the following python file (Figure 9: Python
Script Example (p. 593)) as a mocked-up preprocessor.
if __name__ == "__main__":
geomFileName = sys.argv[1]
dim1 = sys.argv[2]
dim2 = sys.argv[3]
quality = sys.argv[4]
solve(geomFileName, dim1, dim2, quality)
This Python script will just echo the contents of the geometry file to the mesh file. To simulate a small
delay the script will sleep for 10 seconds before writing any line to the output file. See the chapter on
Defining EKM Servers, Queues and External Applications in the Administration Guide for details on defining
external applications.
1. Launch EKM and upload the process template to the EKM repository.
2. Right-click the file and select Edit > Process Template in EKM Studio.
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Defining a Process Template Using XML
The figure below shows a sample process template opened in EKM Studio. For more information see
Defining Process Templates in EKM Studio (p. 351).
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Appendix B. Known Issues and Limitations
The following list contains known issues at the time of release, as well as system and software limitations.
• If you have different workspaces open on different browser tabs, one of the tabs may display a blank page
or error after a period of switching back and forth between workspaces. This indicates that the browser’s
cookie size limit has been exceeded. You can resolve this by clearing the cookies of the EKM server domain.
Consult your browser’s documentation for more information.
• If your browser’s font size is too large, tabs in the EKM web interface may display incorrectly.
• If you are browsing to a repository object that has a name that contains multiple consecutive spaces, you
need to manually provide these extra spaces in the text box. This is because HTML trims multiple spaces to
a single space, and the name displays with a single space in the tree view.
• Selecting an EKM object from the Chrome browser’s History list may display an earlier object from the History
list rather than the selected object.
• If you are connected to EKM via Workbench, and Workbench crashes or does not exit cleanly, you will not
be disconnected from the EKM server. This means that if you try to connect to EKM again, you will get an
error. To resolve this issue, a member of the admin group must forcibly sign you out of EKM. See Forcing
the Sign-out of a User (p. ?) in the Administration Guide for details.
/ : [ ] * \ “ ”| \\ > < ?
/ : [ ] * \ “ ” | \\
• Only numeric quantities are allowed in chart comparisons while creating a Comparison Report. If two or
more reports are compared and any report content contains numbers mixed with units (for example, 415
KB, 123 MB, and so on), then that content cannot be compared using charts because it is treated as “String”
type.
• Keyword or full text searches do not work with non-Latin characters (such as Chinese, Japanese, and so on).
However, you can search for object names and property values that contain non-Latin characters by using
advanced property based search and using Equal to or Matches criteria instead of Contains.
+ ! ^ ( ) { } - [ ] “ ” ‘ ’
Some of the characters listed above are also invalid when they are part of a string. For example, while
the strings “fluent” and (fluent) are valid, the strings ‘fluent’ and [fluent] are not. Also,
some characters are valid at the beginning of a string, but not at the end of a string. For example,
!fluent is valid, while fluent! is not.
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Known Issues and Limitations
Non-alphanumeric characters that are part of keyword may be ignored. For example, entering the
keyword #scaling could return results such as scaling, #scaling, scaling#, scaling#one,
and so on. Similarly, entering the keyword scaling#one could return results such as scaling,
one, scaling#one, scaling:one, scaling-one, and so on.
• During an upload, new files or folder may not be immediately displayed in the current EKM view. Refreshing
the browser window will refresh the view.
• On a Linux EKM server that uses PuTTY, EKM may fail to properly extract simulation details and images from
ANSYS Mechanical database files. This is due to Mechanical’s incompatibility with PuTTY. To resolve this issue,
the EKM administrator should use a VNC session instead of PuTTY to run the EKM server.
• EKM does not extract metadata from ANSYS Electronics Desktop (.aedt) files. Therefore, you cannot view
a simulation details report for such files, or retrieve these files by searching for metadata that they contain.
• In Internet Explorer 10+, files with spaces in names are downloaded with spaces replaced by plus signs. For
example, a file named My File.txt in EKM will be downloaded as My+File.txt.
• If a PDF or XML document is being displayed in EKM, the action menus get hidden behind the display. A
simple workaround is to select a different view (for example, Properties) of the file. When this is done, the
action menus are displayed properly.
• Double-clicking on tree nodes or some action menus may result in an unhandled exception. This error has
no adverse impact on the system and you can click Continue in the error page to continue your work.
• Sometimes the Message dialog box (which shows the number of items processed, warnings, and errors)
displays the number of items processed incorrectly for recursive operations (such as check-in, checkout,
permission change, and so on).
• If you do not have fonts to handle localized file names (for example, Chinese) installed on your machine,
when you download a file with localized characters in the name, the Save As dialog box for Internet Explorer
10+ will throw an error message.
In EKM Studio:
– The Scripting Language label in the Edit Script dialog box is not translated.
– The Language and ID labels and some field values are not translated in some dialogs.
– In the Variable dialog, the unit system shown for specifying double/long values (for example, "[in SI
units]") is not translated.
• When a process template has another process template nested inside of it, output files generated from
batch nodes in the nested process template are not accessible.
• If a text box with a Browse button is pre-populated with a default path that is invalid, clicking the Browse
button and selecting a new path will display an error message, and will not replace the invalid path. To resolve
this issue you must click Browse a second time and re-select the new path.
• In the File Transfer Client, tooltips do not work initially in the Actions column due to a limitation of the Java
GUI. To activate tooltips, simply click on any disabled button in the Actions column.
• The following are known limitations for uploading to the repository using the web browser:
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1. Duplicates are not allowed. If you try to add a new file that has the same name as a file already in the
staging list, the new file will not be added to the staging list.
2. The upload process uses a temporary system folder to hold files in the staging area before they are up-
loaded. If the temporary folder is full or almost full, then the upload may not work as expected. Contact
your IT staff to clean up the temporary folder on the EKM server.
i. If the temporary folder is full when the first file is added, a message "No files have been added" will
be displayed. When you click Next, all of the files will be cleared.
ii. If the temporary folder is full sometime after the first file has been added to the staging area, then
all files that are accepted before the System temporary folder becomes full will be successfully added
to the staging area. The remaining files will not be uploaded and will not be displayed after you click
Next.
3. With some browsers there is a rare possibility that the Add button may be disabled when the Upload
wizard first appears. As a workaround, if you click Next, the Add button will become enabled and you
can ignore the message No files have been added.
4. The maximum number of files allowed to be uploaded to the staging area in a single transfer is set to
100. When the number of files is equal to 100, the Add button will become disabled and nothing else
will be uploaded even if you Hide the entire list. In order to upload files again, the current upload will
need to finish and you can start the upload process again using the Upload action menu. If the number
of files selected exceeds the limit, only the first 100 files will be uploaded to the staging area. The remain-
ing will be ignored without any notice.
• The "move" method in the scripting interface must be called outside a transaction rather than inside. Other-
wise, the script execution will fail.
• When installing EKM to a Windows Server, an "Enterprise" prefix may be incorrectly added to the ekmURL
element in the ekm.xml file. For example,
<ekmUrl>http://Enterprise.hostname:8080/ekm</ekmUrl>
• In custom dialog boxes that involve job execution, only batch jobs are supported. Interactive jobs are not
supported.
• When setting up a job, specifying an Input File with spaces in its name may result in an error. Depending
on the application being used, enclosing the filename in double quotation marks may prevent this error.
• When a job involves Mechanical APDL (MAPDL) running in server mode, the job Status will update to
Solving only for analysis types that iterate — for example, non-linear static and full transient analysis types.
For other analysis types, the Status will remain Connecting to MAPDL until the solution is almost finished.
• Unlike the built-in Fluent, CFX and MAPDL job templates, the Electronics job template does not include an
option for selecting the application version to run. The application version is predetermined in the template.
• If you pause or interrupt the solution during a Fluent server-mode job and enter a Fluent command
in the command window which requires an argument to be wrapped in quotation marks, the command
will be executed, but when you resume the solution, the job may go directly to the Executed stage.
To avoid this issue you should re-execute the job instead of resuming the solution. Re-executing the
job will resume the solution from the point at which it was paused or interrupted.
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Known Issues and Limitations
• Selecting Go one level up after an exception may not display the correct section in some cases.
• When running an MAPDL server-mode job using an input file that contains errors, the job remains stuck in
the following state:“Failed to connect to MAPDL. MAPDL job may have ended.”
• MAPDL server-mode jobs that use .dat files with a short duration may fail to execute.
• An error may occur when a non-admin user attempts to save changes to a process template that has been
shared by another user.
• When running a Fluent batch job, attempting to select files after selecting a directory on the server as the
Working Directory may result in an error.
• In an HPC cluster, when an Electronics job runs in a local scratch directory on the execution node, the job
log is deleted from the shared cluster directory after execution.
• EKM is not detecting when a process template contains a batch node with an invalid path, and is permitting
the process template to be saved and used for starting a process.
• When creating a workspace in a clustered setup, the EKM console may report an error even though it appears
as though the workspace was created successfully.
• After using the Command Window to change a case file during a Fluent server-mode job, the updated details
are not displayed in the job view unless the view is refreshed.
• When using the Upload Files/Folders From Server action to upload a Workbench project (.wbpj file) and
its corresponding _files folder, extraneous files marked as ‘File Not Found’ are displayed in the Ex-
traction Monitor.
• An exception may be shown if a user’s session has timed out due to inactivity.
• In a non-English locale, some error messages may not be translated when using the EKM Server Diagnostics
utility.
• Monitors are not being shown when a Fluent or MAPDL server-mode job is paused or interrupted.
• When an admin user is viewing another user’s Electronics job, monitors are not being displayed in the job
view.
• Performing a browser refresh of the Jobs section when any server-mode job is executing results in an ex-
ception.
• In an HPC cluster, when an Electronics job runs in a local scratch directory on the execution node,
and more than one core is requested for the job, the job monitors and transcript are not displayed
after the job has been executed.
• When using the MAPDL job template, the job will not run in server mode if the solution is running in a pre-
16.1 version of MAPDL on Linux, and Distributed Computing is being used. Live monitoring will not be
available, and you will not be able to steer the solution from the Job Monitor.
• Geometry from older SpaceClaim .scdoc files (2011 or earlier) may not be supported, and will not
be displayed on the Image tab.
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• When viewing a SpaceClaim model, the viewer on the Image tab supports only facets, as well as bodies and
parts from the SpaceClaim/Graphics section of the .scdoc file.
• On a Linux EKM server, EKM may fail to extract images from ANSYS Mechanical database files
(.dsdb,.mechdb) and display them in the simulation details report.
1. In Workbench, select Tools > Options > Appearance, then enable Beta Options.
3. Select Tools > Options > Mechanical, then enable Pre-load the Mechanical editor (Beta).
• When importing a workspace, applications that were starred as favorites in the original workspace will no
longer be starred in the new workspace.
• If you set a download alert on a Workbench project archive (.wbpz) file, you will receive an email alert for
each individual file in the archive. To avoid a large influx of emails, you may want to disable the download
alert for .wbpz files.
• It is not possible to launch batch jobs or design point studies from ANSYS AIM projects stored in EKM.
• When copying/cutting/pasting objects, if an object with the same name already exists in the target location,
it will not be overwritten. Rather, a unique number will be appended to the name of the copied object to
differentiate it from the existing object.
• If using Internet Explorer, EKM will not display or behave properly if the EKM URL has been added to Com-
patibility View, or if the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View option is enabled. To edit these settings,
select Tools > Compatibility View settings in Internet Explorer.
• EKM cannot validate a connection’s credentials if the connection is currently open in Workbench. The con-
nection will remain displayed in the Connections dialog box and appear as an available connection when
using features such as Expand Search and Connection to a URL, but you will be prompted for sign-in cre-
dentials when you attempt to use it.
• If you are uploading a Workbench project using the File Transfer Client, and the upload fails for any reason,
you cannot retry the upload in the File Transfer Client. You must start a new upload of the project.
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Glossary
A
advanced search A search method that enables you to create simple or complex search
expressions based on object properties using AND/OR logic.
alert setting A setting that specifies whether an email will be sent when an object is
modified in an EKM repository.
audit log A daily log file automatically written by EKM that captures EKM server
usage details.
audit trail A feature available in the process view that can be used to track the de-
cisions and actions that are made during a process for tasks that have
been completed. This information is helpful fulfilling audit requirements
for regulatory compliance.
auto node A type of node in a process template definition that can be used to
model an automated task such as generating a report, archiving data, or
performing a validation. It is executed automatically by a process when
it is encountered.
automatic deletion setting A setting that specifies the policy for automatically deleting an object
from a repository.
B
batch job A sequence of commands to be executed by the operating system without
user intervention.
batch node A type of node in a process template definition that can be used to
model long-running automated tasks in a process such as executing an
external application for preprocessing, running a batch simulation, and
postprocessing a simulation result.
C
cache service An internal service to make file sharing across a Wide Area Network (WAN)
more efficient.
CAE Model File The base object type of all simulation files that contains computer aided
engineering model information.
catalog A custom container that is defined and stored in a shared EKM repository,
and is designed to hold large numbers of similar objects.
comparison report A report file that contains a comparison of two or more objects.
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Glossary
custom application A user-defined interface or application that can be used to run automated
tasks and produce outputs in EKM.
custom dialog node An element in a process template that consists of a user-defined dialog
box.
D
data extraction The process of extracting simulation details from files for reporting pur-
poses. Data is extracted automatically from files when they are uploaded
to EKM or synchronized.
data model The set of type specifications that have been registered on an EKM
server.
DOE node A node in a process template definition that can be used to execute
Design of Experiment (DOE) studies on an ANSYS Workbench project to
obtain design points based on specified input parameters.
E
EKM Engineering Knowledge Manager. The server application in the EKM
family of software.
EKM Administrative Inter- A special interface for managing workspaces that the superuser can
face sign in to from a web browser. It can be used to add a new empty
workspace or an exported workspace, migrate a workspace that is in
configuration mode, and download a log file detailing the last executed
migration.
EKM server A single system or multiple-configured systems that host the components
of the Engineering Knowledge Manager product. An EKM server can be
partitioned into any number of workspaces to which different users can
be assigned. Users interact with an EKM server by connecting to it using
the web client or ANSYS Workbench client, and sign in to a workspace
on the server.
EKM Studio An application that enables you to interactively define and edit EKM
process template and lifecycle XML files using a graphical user interface.
EKM web client The web-based interface that opens when you connect to an EKM server
using a web browser.
EKM process A set of tasks (sequential, parallel, or iterative) defined in terms of nodes,
transitions, and variables, that users, groups and machines can perform
in a coordinated way.
extraction monitor An object that enables you to monitor the progress of data extraction
when files are uploaded to EKM.
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F
File Transfer Client A Java webstart application that enables you to efficiently upload files
to EKM.
I
iteration node A type of node used to model an iterative process in a process template
definition, such as review and approval. The iteration condition is held
until it is no longer satisfied.
J
job A process that runs when an external application is launched from EKM.
job template A set of saved, predefined settings that determine how a job is to be
executed.
journal A special type of script file that can be created using scripting actions in
EKM through the recording of user interface actions. Also referred to as
a “journal script” or a “journal file”.
L
lifecycle A set of predefined stages and transitions that an object under lifecycle
control moves through during its lifetime. For example, a set of simulation
results contained in a folder can have a lifecycle defined for it that in-
cludes a "Reviewed" stage followed by an "Approved" stage that requires
a signoff.
lifecycle file An XML file of type Lifecycle that specifies the stages, transitions, object
type associations, and other parameters that define the lifecycle. It has
the .lc.xml file extension (or .lcfxml for previous EKM versions).
localized label Labels that will be translated into a different language or “locale” in the
EKM user interface, when this option is selected.
M
macro A method defined in a supported language that can execute a sequence
of tasks or call other macros. The arguments that a macro can be passed,
and the values that it can return, will depend on the context in which it
is used. Macros can be specified in separate script files or defined within
process templates, lifecycles, custom types, and custom applications.
metadata extraction Special properties that are automatically extracted from any file after it
is uploaded to an EKM repository or synchronized. Extracted metadata
are key data about a file that help to define it.
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Glossary
monitor node A type of node in an EKM process template definition that can be used
to monitor the progress of a process or an asynchronous batch task that
is spawned by an auto-node. A monitor node will wait until all monitored
processes are completed before it transitions to the next node.
My Applications A private folder under Home where you can save custom applications.
My Queries A private folder under Home where you can save search expressions that
you have defined.
N
node The simplest type of node in an EKM process template graph that can
be used to model a task performed manually by a user.
non-localized label Labels that will be not be translated into a different language or “locale”
in the EKM user interface, when this option is selected. They are listed
in parenthesis next to localized labels in the built-in types reference guide
in the Appendix.
O
object type The data type that is automatically assigned to an object when it is cre-
ated, uploaded, added, or referenced in an EKM repository.
optimization node A type of node in an EKM process template definition that can be used
to perform optimization using completed design points and optimization
goals. No simulations are performed. You can supply the design point
file and optimization goals to the node, or an ANSYS Workbench project
archive file that contains them.
P
pedigree A term that is associated with analysis project folders in EKM. Refers to
information about the location of inputs and outputs that EKM uses to
create dependencies when an analysis is executed.
process A set of tasks (sequential, parallel, or iterative) that users, groups and
machines execute in a coordinated way.
process monitor An interactive interface on the Processes page that can be used to
manage tasks in a process, get details about a process, and monitor its
status. It is designed to increase efficiency when managing single-user
short-running processes by providing quick access to tasks in a user's
queue. It is only accessible from the EKM web client.
process report A report generated from a process that displays details about each
completed task as well as a process graph, variable status table, and audit
trail.
process template An XML file that defines the set of activities to be performed in a process,
the assignees of those activities, and their interdependencies. It has the
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.pt.xml file extension (or .wf.xml or .wfxml from previous EKM
versions).
R
Recycle Bin The folder where deleted files are temporarily held before being perman-
ently deleted from the system.
remote file server An external location containing files that may be referenced by EKM.
Files in this location are only referenced by EKM and are not transferred
to EKM.
remote folder A special object type that is created when you create a new connection
to a remote folder on an external file server using the EKM web client.
The folder is symbolically linked to an EKM repository while the physical
folder resides on the file server referenced by EKM.
repository The generic term used to describe the container for storing data for a
workspace on an EKM server. Within a workspace, data is stored in the
My Data and Shared Data folders.
Root User The primary administrator of a workspace. The user designated as the
Root User is the only user who can perform a restricted workspace con-
figuration. The Root User does not have the same privileges as the su-
peruser, who performs actions from the EKM Administrative Interface.
One user is designated as the default Root User for all defined workspaces.
If an LDAP mapping module is being used to control workspace access,
a different Root User can be specified for each workspace.
RSM Remote Solve Manager. A job queueing system developed by ANSYS for
scheduling and managing simulations on remote devices.
S
saved query A search expression that has been saved to memory for future reuse.
script A file written in the Python or BeanShell scripting language that contains
one or more macros. BeanShell scripts have the .bsh extension; Python
scripts have the .py extension. Script files can be embedded in process
templates, lifecycle and custom type files, and used in other powerful
ways to extend the features of EKM.
search snippet A few lines of text around the keyword that is extracted from a file when
a keyword search is invoked. A snippet provides relevant information
about the result without having to open the object. Snippets are extracted
for text files such as .txt, .doc, .pdf, .ppt, .rtf, .xml, .xls, and
.html, and any file whose MIME type is set as text/plain in EKM.
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Glossary
Shared Applications A folder containing saved custom applications which all users can access.
Shared Queries A folder containing saved search queries which all users can access.
shortcut A direct link to an object designed to help you access the object quickly.
signoff process A specialized type of process (sequential) that can be used in a lifecycle
definition when signoff by an individual or committee is required before
the object can be promoted to the next stage.
simulation details report A report that is automatically created by EKM for supported types that
contains a summary of model information and settings for the CAE sim-
ulation file.
staging area A temporary location on the EKM server that is used to hold uploaded
and ready-to-extract files until they can be imported or copied to the
repository.
superuser A type of user with superuser administrative privileges who can per-
form all actions that are associated with an EKM server, including those
that are accessible from the EKM Administrative Interface. Only a super-
user can access the EKM Administrative Interface.
T
task A node in a process that is assigned to a user/group or batch task to
complete. Tasks assigned to a user can be accessed from a user’s My
Tasks page.
U
update analysis project A type of node in an EKM process template definition that can be used
node to update the analysis contained within an Analysis Project folder. An
analysis may need to be updated when the project contents have
changed, or when external files that are referenced by the analysis have
changed.
W
workspace An EKM server can be partitioned into any number of workspaces. Each
workspace has its own data repository and set of users. When you launch
EKM, you are signed into your default workspace, and can access other
defined workspaces if you have access permission for those workspaces.
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