How do I stop the message window from echoing out the pcl commands issued from the utility ( in order to speed up the time patran takes to complete all the commands). Seems like it would go faster if not every command was echoed out in the message window

To hide the command window, simply right-click on the blank space on the tabbed menu and uncheck Command Window.

 

Hope that helps.

How is your "utility" structured?

Patran echoes out the necessary commands to the session so that a rerun of the session file would rebuild the model.

Therefore if your "utility" is a session file that you are "playing" Patran will echo all the PCL commands in it. However if you were to wrap a function around the commands, before the commands insert a "Function myfunc()" line and at the end insert a "END FUNCTION" line followed be calling the function with a line that is "myfunc()", then the only command Patran has to document is myfunc(). The compilation that occurs between the Function to END Function lines is not echoed. There will still be some echo of the IDs of created items but not all the PCL commands.

 

If you utility is being called as a "session play " of a file then you could also try using the command line !!input yourfile.

This is a bit like making it a function, the command history stores the !!input yourfile in the session file so that means it does not need to record any of the PCL commands in that file in the session file (echo them to the command window)

 

With regards to speeding up by not doing any graphics whilst the utility runs; as well as unposting the current viewport you can also use the commands:

gm_viewport_refresh_off()

gm_viewport_refresh_on()

appropriately at the start and end of your utility to minimise graphics update delays.

Even perhaps test gm_graphics_off() gm_graphics_on() in the same way.

 

best regards

Arthur

Hi Arthur,

Thanks so much for all the information!!  I am running a pcl utility ​under: Utilities:  FEM-Elements: Modify 3D Connectivity....  The utility operates on a selected group of elements and allows a user to modify the node sequencing of each element.  This in turns changes the local CS of the element and the outward normal.  I have several hundred elements to modify.  Once I start the utility, it determines the current node sequencing of the element and then modifies it to the desired sequencing.  However, for each element, the utility echos out the original node sequencing, the updated node sequencing, and then a statement that the element has been modified.  All in all it takes one or two seconds to modify each element selected.  If I have several hundred elements, this utility can take several hours to run.  I was hoping to start the echoing of the pcl commands to the command window in order to speed up the process, which is all I currently want to do.  The utility works great - it just takes a long time and thus I am exploring options to speed up the time necessary to complete the task. 

So my question is: What can I do to speed up the time required to perform the utility?