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Startup Procedures and Customizations
Start and configure the applications.
Customization
There are various types of startup customizations that are possible. These items define how the application looks or behaves at product startup.
Preference Files
A preference file is an ASCII file that configures the application or its clients. It specifies default user settings, such as the order in which colors are assigned, the default printer and default page layout.
Preference File Structure
Preference files always begins with the *Id() statement followed by statements grouped in blocks.

Welcome
What's New
View new features for Altair HyperWorks 2024.1.
Get Started
Learn the basics and discover the workspace.
Tutorials
Learn more about the Altair HyperWorks suite of products with interactive tutorials.
Startup Procedures and Customizations
Start and configure the applications.
- Start Applications
  Learn how to start applications on Windows and Linux.
- Start HyperMesh Batch
  HyperMesh Batch is a non-graphical version of HyperMesh that can be used to run command files or Tcl scripts in batch mode.
- Start-in Directory
  The start-in directory is the location from which the application is launched.
- Settings Files
  Settings files include command<#>.tcl and hwsettings.xml.
- Customization
  There are various types of startup customizations that are possible. These items define how the application looks or behaves at product startup.
  - hmcustom.tcl
    HyperMesh allows you to create a script file named hmcustom.tcl that can be used to automatically execute a series of commands or to define custom settings during startup.
  - Environment Variables
    Environment variables can be defined to configure various aspects of the application.
  - Extensions
    Extensions are programs integrated with the application to enhance or extend the user experience.
  - hm.cfg
    HyperMesh has a configuration file named hm.cfg, which is read on startup and is located in the <install_directory>/hw/bin/<platform> directory.
  - Preference Files
    A preference file is an ASCII file that configures the application or its clients. It specifies default user settings, such as the order in which colors are assigned, the default printer and default page layout.
    - Preference File Location
      On PC, when the application starts, it first reads the preference file in the installation directory, then the preference environment variable (HW_CONFIG_PATH). On Unix, the program first reads the preference file in your home directory, then the current working directory.
    - Preference File Structure
      Preference files always begins with the *Id() statement followed by statements grouped in blocks.
      - *BeginDefaults() Block
        The *BeginDefaults() block is comprised of seven subordinate statement blocks.
    - Preference File Loading
      When the program is started it checks for Templex statements in the preference file. If any Templex statements are found, they are evaluated prior to executing the preference statements.
    - Preference File Sample
    - Define and Register a Custom DLL to Export Curves
      Through the preference file *RegisterExportDLL(), you can register a DLL for use in exporting curves. The statement is found within the *BeginPlotDefaults() block in the preferences file.
    - Preference File Statements
  - Session Files
    A session file is an ASCII text file that contains a structured list of session statements.
  - Report Templates
    Report templates are ASCII text files that contain statements for creating reports.
Tool Finder
View a list of deprecated panels and their newer, equivalent workflows.
Manage Files and Data
Create, open, import, and save models.
Sessions and Report Templates
Set up sessions and create report templates.
Interface with External Products
Solver interfaces supported in HyperMesh.
Entities and Solver Interfaces
A solver interface is made up of a template and a FE-input reader.
Browsers
Browsers provide a structured view of model data, which you can use to review, modify, create, and manage the contents of a model. In addition to visualization, browsers offer features like search, filtering, and sorting, which enhance your ability to navigate and interact with the model data.
Sketching
Create and edit 2D parametric sketch geometry.
Topology
Create, edit, and cleanup geometry.
FE Geometry
FE geometry is topology on top of mesh, meaning CAD and mesh exist as a single entity. The purpose of FE geometry is to add vertices, edges, surfaces, and solids on FE models which have no CAD geometry.
Meshing and Elements
Explore the different types of mesh you can create in HyperMesh and create and edit 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D elements.
Model Build and Assembly
Create, organize and manage parts and subsystems.
Composites
HyperMesh composites modeling.
Connectors
Create connections between parts of your model.
Morph
Rapidly change the shape of the FE mesh without severely sacrificing the mesh quality.
Skeleton Modeling
Create a reduced ordered model to facilitate optimization at the concept phase.
Design Space
Workflow to support topology optimization model build and setup.
Optimization
Setup an Optimization in HyperMesh.
Design Explorer
Multi-disciplinary design exploration and optimization tools.
Validate
Validate the model built before running solver analysis.
Analyze
Models require loads and boundary conditions in order to represent the various physics and/or physical equivalents to bench and in-use testing.
Axisymmetry
Reduce a full 3D model with axisymmetric surfaces while accounting for imperfections.
Concept Modeling
Tools and workflows that are dedicated to rapidly creating new parts for specific use cases, or amending existing parts. The current capabilities are focused on stiffening parts.
Crash and Safety
Tools used for crash and safety analysis.
Airbag
Use airbag folder utilities and export a resulting airbag in a Radioss deck.
Aerospace
Essential utility tools developed using HyperMesh-Tcl.
Aeroelasticity
Import an aeroelastic finite element model with Nastran Bulk Data format.
Certification
Framework to plug certification methods to assess margin of safety from the model and result information.
PhysicsAI
Use PhysicsAI to build fast predictive models from CAE data. PhysicsAI can be trained on data with any physics or remeshing and without design variables.
Results Data
Results data can be post-processed using both HyperMesh and HyperView.
Developer
The Developer ribbon contains tools for automation and customization.
Plot Data
HyperGraph is a data analysis and plotting tool with interfaces to many file formats.
Multibody Modeling
MotionView is a general pre-processor for Multibody Dynamics.
Media Files
MediaView plays video files, displays static images, tracks objects, and measures distances.
Tabulate Results
Use TableView to create an Excel-like spreadsheet.
Text Files
TextView math scripts reference vector data from HyperGraph windows to automate data processing and data summary.
Publishing and Reporting
Create, define, and export reports.

Preference File Structure

Preference files always begins with the *Id() statement followed by statements grouped in blocks.

Each block begins with a *Begin statement, such as *BeginDefaults(), *BeginPlotDefaults(), or *BeginDefinitions(), and ends with a corresponding *End statement, such as *EndDefaults().

The five principal blocks in the preference file are:

*BeginDefaults()
*BeginDefinitions()
*BeginStatsTemplates()
*BeginPlotMacros()
*BeginTemplexFunctions()

The *BeginDefaults() block is unique to a preference file while the *BeginDefintions(), *BeginStatsTemplates(), *BeginPlotMacros(), and *BeginTemplexFunctions() blocks are the same as those found in session files.