Flexcom > User Interface > Flexcom Settings Dialog

You can edit general settings for the Flexcom user interface via Tools -> Flexcom Settings. Most of the options are self-explanatory. Further information on some of the options are provided below.

Projects and Folders

•Default folder for projects

•Automatically update the default folder when opening/creating projects

•Automatically load most recent project on program startup

•Number of recently loaded projects to remember

•Number of recently open files to remember

Auto-Save and Auto-Load

•Automatically save keyword files before run

•Automatically save modified files on project exit

•Prompt before reloading updated plot files

•Suggest to superimpose plots when opening multiple files

•Use software rendering for Model View. Tick this box if you are using Flexcom over a remote desktop connection, otherwise the Model View will appear blank. You will need to restart Flexcom for the new setting to come into effect.

Keyword Editor

•Always show completion list and syntax suggestions. Tick this box if you wish to switch off Auto-Completion and Syntax Prompting. These features are an integral part of the Keyword Editor, but in certain limited circumstances some users may find them annoying.

Error Logging

•Generate error report if Flexcom encounters a problem and needs to close. Tick this box if you wish to send crash reports to the software development team. Occasionally the user interface can terminate prematurely and these error reports contain stack traces which help the software developers to identify the root cause and implement a fix in the next program release.

•Enable log files generation. Only tick this box if instructed to do so by the software development team e.g. if you are experiencing fundamental problems with your Flexcom installation. With logging enables, Flexcom generates detailed technical documents outlining the internal workings of the software for every user interaction. Naturally these log files can quickly grow in size, so this option should only be used while technical investigations are ongoing.

•Suppress analysis warning messages. Tick this box if you wish to suppress warning messages from the finite element engine. This feature should be used with caution as you will not receive any warnings from any simulation while the instruction remains active. It may be useful in certain situations, such as during a model building stage where a static model is still under development and excessive warning messages are causing annoyance.

Licence Monitoring

Flexcom provides a licence monitoring feature which allows you to check how many licenses are currently in use and which computers they have been assigned to.

•Enable licence client logging. Tick this box if you to avail of the Licence Monitoring feature. Note that all Flexcom users must enable licence client logging on all versions of Flexcom (post 2025.1.1) which they have installed on their machines, otherwise the licence usage information will not be accurate.

•Folder for licence client logging. Use this input to specify a shared folder on the organisational network where the log file is to be stored. Note that all Flexcom users must specify the same file, otherwise the licence usage information will not be accurate.

Running Simulations

•Max number of analysis processes that can be started simultaneously. Specify a value of 0 to instruct Flexcom to utilise use all available processors for its finite element simulations. Note that one processor is reserved for the user interface to function reliably, but this may be utilised also if you close the user interface after a job has been initiated. Specify a limited number of processors if you are working on a shared machine and wish to restrict Flexcom to a certain amount of cores, leaving others free for colleagues to use. Note also that the number of processors may be limited by your Flexcom licence agreement.

•Minimum free disk space to run analysis (in Mb). Use this option to set a minimum threshold on hard drive space below which Flexcom will not initiate any new simulations. This prevents Flexcom database files from completely filling up your hard drive, especially during large batch runs. A full disk can cause serious problems for your operating system, including freezes, crashes or failure to boot. Bear in mind that simulations which are already in progress will continue to run to completion, so you should set a suitable buffer based on likely database file sizes and the maximum possible number of simulations which may be executed in parallel.

•Communications Protocol. This option relates to the Job Execution Service and should only be varied if instructed to do so by the software development team.

•Communications Port Number. This option relates to the Job Execution Service and should only be varied if instructed to do so by the software development team.

Reset User Interface Layout. Press this button if you wish to reset all panel sizes and docking preferences within the user interface to their default values. This can be useful if one of the panels such as the Model View is not visible on screen, and the View -> Model View option does not seem to have any effect. The issue may be caused by a panel being accidentally resized to very small dimension, or becoming hidden somehow within the panel docking.