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User Interface
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a Graphical User Interface generally known as the client workspace. This interface appears when you launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interactively.
Simulation Assistants
A Simulation Assistant provides a visual workflow within the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ user interface (UI).
Developing a Simulation Assistant
A Simulation Assistant is a user-defined panel within the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ user interface. The panel is intended to provide a series of tasks that a user completes in sequence.
Overview
The Simulation Assistant uses a simple version of the model-view-controller (MVC) design approach to separate the underlying data (model), how the data is represented (view), and how actions are performed (controller).
View
Content objects link a Task to a view of the Task.

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User Interface
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a Graphical User Interface generally known as the client workspace. This interface appears when you launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interactively.
- Using the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Workspace
  This chapter shows you how to use the various components of Simcenter STAR-CCM+, with a focus on the user interface.
- What Are the Important Concepts?
  This section presents the key concepts you come across when using Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Working with Simulation Objects
  Objects are the key components of Simcenter STAR-CCM+. They represent various aspects of a simulation and have properties that you can set as required for your particular problem.
- Automation
  The Automation node provides easy access to a number of frequently used automated processes.
- Expressions
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you can define property values using expressions, which you write using a function language that is a subset of the C programming language. Expressions can define mathematical expressions or perform other operations, such as interpolating tabular data from XY tables in the simulation.
- Global Parameters
  Global parameters include scalar and vector physical quantities (for example, 120.0 K or [0.0, 1.0, 0.0] m) that can be defined once and used in multiple objects. Another type of global parameter is a file, currently used for the Replace Parts operation in Geometry > Operations and in Design Manager.
- Field Functions
  Field functions allow you to access fields (scalar or vector data that are evaluated at cells, vertices, or boundary faces) in Simcenter STAR-CCM+. You can use field functions to visualize the computed fields, to specify boundary and region values, or to define initial conditions.
- Engineering Units
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ has flexible and customizable support for engineering units. The standard SI and USCS systems are built in, and you can add new units as desired. Physical quantities can be specified and displayed in any of these units. Individual quantities can be specified with new units on the fly by simply typing something like “80 mph”.
- Simulation Operations
  Simulation operations allow you to automate the solution processes in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ without using Java macros. Condition and loop operations provide the basic logic control common to many programming languages.
- Staged Physics
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, staged physics allows you to store multiple configurations of physics settings and apply them in sequence during a simulation. Simulation operations provide the framework in which physics stages are applied.
- Working with Volume Shapes
  A volume shape is a closed geometric figure that can be shaped as a block, cone, cylinder, or sphere.
- Simulation Guide
  The simulation guide is a single embedded document that you can edit within a simulation file. This document can contain formatted text, tables, images, and hyperlinks to nodes in the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ object tree or external web resources.
- Template Simulation Files
  Template simulation files allow you to define pre-configured setups for use in new simulations. When used in conjunction with query-based selection, template files present a powerful technique for automating repeat analyses on similar geometries.
- Scripting the Application
  Scripting allows you to work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks.
- Working with User Code
  User code allows Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to be customized with functions written in a compiled language such as C, C++ or Fortran.
- Working with the Plugins Manager
  The Plugins Manager makes it possible to install and manage NetBeans modules for Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Simulation Assistants
  A Simulation Assistant provides a visual workflow within the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ user interface (UI).
  - The Simulation Assistant User Interface
  - Setting Up a Simulation Assistant Project in NetBeans
    To develop Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Simulation Assistants, it is recommended that you use an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
  - Developing a Simulation Assistant
    A Simulation Assistant is a user-defined panel within the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ user interface. The panel is intended to provide a series of tasks that a user completes in sequence.
    - Overview
      The Simulation Assistant uses a simple version of the model-view-controller (MVC) design approach to separate the underlying data (model), how the data is represented (view), and how actions are performed (controller).
      - Model
        Task objects are the model objects for a task.
      - View
        Content objects link a Task to a view of the Task.
      - Controller
        The TaskController handles user-invoked actions.
    - Files
    - Tasks and Classes
      The Simulation Assistant consists of a list of tasks to be done in order.
    - Star Actions
      A Star Action is an action that is performed in the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interface.
    - Annotations
    - Client Server Objects and Lookups
      Client Server Objects (CSOs) are any of the items that are represented in the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ simulation tree.
    - Tasks
      The Simulation Assistant is composed of Tasks, each in a separate Java file.
    - Conditions, Triggers, and Predicates
      Use Conditions to control what tasks are enabled or disabled in the Simulation Assistant, and to make sure that the user creates a valid simulation.
    - XHTML
      The text appearing in a task panel is coded in XHTML.
    - Supplied Classes
      This section describes the classes that are supplied by Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Wizard Guide
  This part of the documentation illustrates how Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is used for special application tools and projects.

View

Content objects link a Task to a view of the Task.

The Simulation Assistant API uses subclasses of Content to determine the correct TaskContentView for rendering the Task. Typical Content-derivative choices include HTMLFileContent, which points to a complete XHTML file to be displayed, and HTMLFragmentContent, which contains a snippet of XHTML to display for the task.

In more advanced situations, you can use a Java UI component such as a JPanel to represent the Task. Write a custom Content-derivative and a custom TaskContentView-derivative, and register the new combination in TaskContentLoader.