1. Introduction
2. Some Highlights
3. Installation
4. First Step
5. Configuration and Customisation
6. Bugs and Problems
7. News
8. Further Resources
9. Acknowledgements
10. Todos
11. GNU GPL v3 License

APDL-Mode version 20.7.0

Copyright (C) 2006 - 2021 H. Dieter Wilhelm, GPL V3

APDL, Ansys Parametric Design Language is the solver scripting language of the mechanical FEA, Finite Element Analysis suite Ansys, ANalysis SYStem, registered TM.

APDL-Mode, is - in conjunction with the GNU-Emacs editor - an advanced APDL environment with features like, browsing the APDL reference documentation, keyword completion and abbreviations, code templates and code outlining / folding, dedicated highlighting, solver communication (GNU-Linux only), license reporting, etc. Please convince yourself in the APDL-Mode in-depth documentation.

With the advent of the modern Ansys GUIs - like `WorkBench' or `Discovery' - the usage of APDL as a wholesale modelling language has waned for highly variable tasks which are expensive to script. But, nevertheless, APDL is here to stay: `WorkBench' operates exclusively the Ansys solver with it! It assembles and sends APDL input (.dat) files to the solver. For a true understanding of the GUI's inner workings a study of their APDL code is prerequisite! Moreover, WorkBench is not supporting all MAPDL solver features. So "Command (APDL)" objects are used to enhance the GUI's modelling capabilities.

APDL-Mode is equally useful for studying solver (.dat) files which were created by WorkBench. And, especially, for writing WorkBench `Command' objects and inspecting longer command snippets from other sources. Accessing the Ansys APDL reference documentation without detour - this alone - is worth using APDL-Mode.

When you "Export" (or "Import") such a WorkBench "Command (APDL)" object, it becomes associated with a file on disk and is accessible for any kind of editor. If you modify this file, the "File Status" in Workbench changes and you can pull-in the updated content with the "Refresh" button.

Especially for commands with a large number of arguments it is cumbersome to count the arguments, M-? facilitates this for you and visualises dynamically at which parameter position your cursor currently is.

You can browse (with C-c C-b on a code line) the relevant Ansys manual entry directly without the detour of searching in the Ansys online help. This works not only for all APDL commands but also for element names and more general manual topics!

Since Ansys v191 the online help is the default. APDL-Mode is using your default browser but to be able to access the online help you must register or you must start the online help once from any licensed Ansys product. I recommend installing the local Ansys documentation, access time is much shorter. You can download the "help installer" from their Customer Portal.

The image below is showing a manual entry in GNU-Emacs' EWW browser. You are able to consult the manuals side-by-side your APDL code.

Please check the APDL-Mode configuration documentation on how to configure EWW as default browser or inspect the project's configuration example.

You are learning and also coding APDL best by example! APDL-Mode provides coding examples, here called templates, for the most often used subjects. Moreover you are able to compile your own WorkBench / Discovery AIM Command templates and have them all immediately available in APDL-Mode for inspection and inclusion.

APDL-Mode is helping you with code colourisation to distinguish valid commands, user variables, element names, comments, APDL functions and further subjects.

Below image shows GNU-Emacs with a ripped off APDL-Mode menu, the APDL variable buffer, the APDL file itself and an APDL template preview.

APDL-Mode hides the normally uninteresting but usually very large number blocks.

The image below shows the unhidden content.

Copyright (C) 2006 - 2021 H. Dieter Wilhelm, GPL V3

Please install the GNU-Emacs Editor first, for all functionality APDL-Mode requires version 25.1 (released in 2016) but its sources can be used with older versions (Emacs-24). If you are new to this editor please check its tutorial in the `Help' menu, or read at least the APDL-Mode introduction.

APDL-Mode is now available on the GNU-Emacs packages archive Melpa for Emacs version 25.1 or newer.

Please add

(package-initialize)
(add-to-list 'package-archives
      '("melpa" . "https://melpa.org/packages/") t)

to your initialisation file. Activate this code (for example by restarting Emacs), then type `M-x install-package', answer the prompt with "apdl-mode" and conclude this command with .

(You might also install it with GNU-Emacs' package interface `M-x list-packages', find `apdl-mode', mark it with `i' and install it with `x'.)

If you prefer the stable package archive instead of the development versions, exchange above package source with

(add-to-list 'package-archives
'("melpa-stable" . "https://stable.melpa.org/packages/") t)

If you are behind a corporate firewall and you are not able to install APDL-Mode from Emacs' package menu, you can download and install its package manually:

• Download the latest APDL-Mode's tar package from Melpa or - for a released package - from the Github release page under Assets.
• Install the package within Emacs: Please type `M-x package-install-file ' and select your downloaded tar file.

That's it.

Hint: If you are getting an error message "package.el is not yet initialised", you are using Emacs' packaging system for the first time. It is necessary to initialise this machinery once, please type: `M-: (package-initialize) ' (it's an 'ALT + :' colon!) and then apply `M-x package-install-file ' again.

Please clone the APDL-Mode git archive in a directory of your choice:

git clone https://github.com/dieter-wilhelm/apdl-mode.git

or download the GitHub ZIP archive and add the following line

(require 'apdl-mode)

to your initialisation file (the source directory must be set in the `load-path' variable as well).

Please type `M-x apdl' which opens a buffer in APDL-Mode where you can inspect the menu bar's `APDL' and `MAPDL' entries. For existing APDL files please type `M-x apdl-mode' if the mode is not activated already, please see in 5, the section regarding preconfigured file suffixes.

For further guidance please select the APDL menu `APDL-Mode Documentation' (or type `C-c C-h') and `Describe APDL-Mode' (or type `C-h m') for the list of its keybindings. You might also check the introductory APDL-Mode tutorial.

Most functionality is working without user configuration for standard Ansys installations. APDL-Mode is intelligent enough to figure out installation dependent things. It chooses - by default - the highest installed Ansys MAPDL version on the system for interactions with Ansys executables (for example, starting an MAPDL batch run).

APDL-Mode's default configuration enables GNU-Emacs to open any files with suffixes ".mac", ".dat" and ".inp" in APDL mode (indicated by `APDL' in Emacs' status line), the programming mode for the APDL language.

Please consult the APDL-Mode configuration documentation for advanced options or check the accompanying configuration example.

APDL-Mode was tested using Ansys v201 and v211 under Windows 10 and 11 with Emacs-29.1. Under GNU-Linux the mode was developed and checked under both Emacs-24.3 and Emacs-29.1

Feedback is always welcome. If you have issues while installing and running this mode or want to suggest improvements you have the following options:

1. Write an email to the mode maintainer. Please trigger a bug report form from the APDL-Mode menu or by calling the function `apdl-submit-bug-report'. Even if you have not configured Emacs to send emails, please copy the content of the mail template for the maintainer.

2. You might issue bug reports or feature requests at APDL-Mode's issues site

3. And you can leave comments and hints at the APDL-Mode page of the Emacs Wiki.

For further news please have a look into the NEWS file.

If you want to read further details regarding the APDL scripting, GNU-Emacs and other APDL editors please read the RESOURCES file.

My acknowledgements to Tim Read and Geoff Foster for their ansys-mod.el from 1997 which triggered the idea to APDL-Mode in 2006.

Parts of APDL-Mode were based on octave-mod.el: Copyright (C) 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Authors: Kurt Hornik and John Eaton.

I received, moreover, support and feedback from many individuals. Thank you very much to all of them and also to the wonderful people which are crafting

GNU-Emacs!

Please check the TODO file.

The GNU General Public License version 3. There are no costs and no usage restrictions even in commercial application, please convince yourself with the LICENSE file.