Running a calculation

Once the model is complete — geometry meshed, materials assigned, steps defined — three buttons at the bottom of the numgeo toolbar carry it through to results.

	Button	Does
	Create / view numgeo input files	Prepares the model for calculation and shows it
	Open numgeo process monitor	Starts the calculation and follows it
	Open result file in ParaView	Opens the results

Generating the input files

numgeo reads three text files, written into the project directory <ModelName>.gid:

File	Contains
<ModelName>-calculation.inp	Steps, loads, boundary and initial conditions, solver controls
<ModelName>-mesh.inp	Nodes, elements, groups
material-definitions.inp	All continuum and truss/beam material definitions

Generating them and inspecting them happens in one window, opened with Create / view numgeo input files. It can be opened before anything has been generated.

Create files collects everything defined in the managers and the data tree, together with the mesh, and writes all three files. Run it after any change to the model — a new material, an edited step, a remeshed geometry. The label beside the button shows when the files were last written.

Three cards on the left select which file is shown, each with its size and the time it was written, marked with a tick when it exists and not generated when it does not. Open project folder opens <ModelName>.gid in the file browser.

Note

The GiD project must be saved before the window can be opened, because the file names and the output directory follow the project name.

To generate without opening the window, use numgeo → Input file → Generate files only.

Reviewing what was generated

The selected file is shown with line numbers and syntax highlighting: comments grey, keywords dark blue, *Include purple, and parameters brown. Save writes the file and Reload re-reads it from disk. The footer gives the line count and cursor position.

Search opens a Find / Replace window, also on Ctrl+F. Matches are highlighted as you type and counted; F3 steps through them.

Most users never need this window; it is there for checking what the interface produced, and for the occasional case where something has to be adjusted by hand.

Warning

Edits made here are written to the file, not back to the GiD model. They are lost the next time the files are generated, and a confirmation is asked before every manual save. Make lasting changes in the managers and the data tree.

Very large mesh files are shown read-only and truncated above 20 MB, and syntax highlighting is switched off above 80 000 lines.