### 4.2.1. CFX-Pre Options

The CFX-Pre options are.

- Record Default Session File

  When selected, a session file named `cfx.xx.pre` will be recorded automatically each time CFX-Pre is started (where 'xx' is the next available number).

- Default User Mode can be set to `General`, `Turbo`, or `Quick Setup`.

  This determines the default mode that CFX-Pre will use when creating a simulation. For details on Turbo mode, see Turbomachinery Mode. For details on Quick Setup mode, see Quick Setup Mode.

- Report CCL Update Summary produces an information window when you load a file that contains CCL from a previous version of CFX-Pre. This window describes the updates that were made to the CCL to make it compatible with the current software release.

The following sections describe the options under CFX-Pre:

- General
- Graphics Style
- Render
- Mesh
- Turbo
- Labels and Markers
- Extensions
- Customization
- Solve
- Viewer

#### 4.2.1.1. General

The General options can be accessed in two ways:

- Edit Menu

  Select Edit > Options to open the Options dialog box, then select CFX-Pre > General in the tree.

  These settings persist until you change them, and can be used to control the behavior of CFX-Pre for new cases.

- Case Options

  Go to the Outline tree view and edit Case Options > General.

  These settings apply only for the current case. The corresponding General settings of the Options dialog box are used to initialize the case options, but are overridden by modifications made to the case options.

Note: Some of the options related to Beta features cannot be set in the case options.

##### 4.2.1.1.1. Beta Options

The Beta options are:

- Physics Beta Features
- Topology Beta Features

###### 4.2.1.1.1.1. Physics Beta Features

The physics Beta feature options are:

- Enable Beta Features

  Some Beta features are hidden in the user interface. You can select this option to “unhide” those features. When selected, such features are identified by "(Beta)" in the user interface. Note that Beta features are unofficial and not well tested.

- Constant Domain Physics

Note: Physics Beta features are normally indicated by a message in the physics message window. The physics message window is shown in Figure 1.2: Sample CFX-Pre Interface.

###### 4.2.1.1.1.2. Topology Beta Features

The topology Beta feature options are:

- Enable Simplification On Load and Import

- Preserve Direct Connections On Load and Import (applies only when Enable Simplification On Load and Import is selected)

- Combine Unreferenced Primitives On Load and Import (applies only when Enable Simplification On Load and Import is selected)

- Enable Simplification On Write

##### 4.2.1.1.2. Auto Generation

- Automatic Default Domain

  When this option is selected, a domain with the name `Default Domain` will be created upon importing a mesh.

  To toggle default domain generation on or off for a session, without affecting the user preference setting, you can right-click the `Simulation` object in the tree view and select Automatic Default Domain from the shortcut menu.

  If you manually delete a default domain, the default domain mechanism will be disabled, and a warning message will appear in the physics message window.

  If you create a domain that uses the same region(s) as the default domain, the latter will be redefined with the remaining locations, or deleted if all the regions are referenced by user-defined domains.

  If you modify the location of the default domain, the name will change to `Default Domain Modified` and no additional default domain will be generated.

  When loading an existing case (`cfx` file or `def` file), if there are any mesh volumes that are not assigned to a domain, the default domain generation will be disabled. It can be re-activated as described previously.

- Automatic Default Interfaces

  When selected, CFX-Pre will attempt to create domain interfaces when a domain is created or modified.

  To toggle default interface generation on or off for a session, without affecting the user preference setting, you can right-click the `Simulation` object in the tree view and select Automatic Default Interfaces from the shortcut menu.

  Domain interface generation is always deactivated when loading an existing simulation.

- Interface Method

  When Automatic Default Interfaces has been selected, the Interface Method can be set to one of the following to control how interfaces are automatically generated between domains where regions are found to be connected:

  - `One per Interface Type`

    This method groups as many domains into as few interfaces as possible.

  - `One per Domain Pair`

    An interface is generated for each pair of domains.

- Default Boundary can be set to one of the following:

  - `Standard`

    A default boundary condition is created that covers all primitive regions that are not assigned to any boundary condition in the current domain. The default boundary is modified dynamically when other boundary conditions are subsequently added or deleted such that it includes all regions not assigned to any other boundary condition.

  - `One per Relevant Region`

    A default boundary condition on each relevant region not assigned to any boundary condition is created. In this context, ‘relevant’ means every composite 2D region, plus any 2D primitive regions that are not referenced by a composite 2D region. If boundary conditions are subsequently deleted, causing some regions to be unassigned, a single default boundary condition will include all such regions.

  - `One per Primitive Region`

    A default boundary condition on each individual 2D primitive region not assigned to any boundary condition is created. If boundary conditions are subsequently deleted, causing some regions to be unassigned, a single default boundary condition will include all such regions.

  - `Disabled`

- Strict Domain Type Checking for Automatic Interfaces option checks that the domain type is consistent between all parts of an interface before the automatic domain interfaces are created.

##### 4.2.1.1.3. Physics

- Disable Physics Validation

  This option prevents CFX-Pre from issuing messages in the physics message window. For details, see Physics Message Window.

- Filter Messages

  Three types of messages are displayed in the physics message window: information messages, warning messages, and error messages.

  Filter Messages can be set to one of the following to control the types of messages that are displayed:

  - `Suppress None`

    Upon applying this setting, all information messages, warning messages, and error messages are displayed.

  - `Suppress Information`

    Upon applying this setting, all information messages[2] are suppressed, and all warning messages and error messages are displayed.

  - `Suppress Information/Warning`

    Upon applying this setting, all information messages[2] and warning messages are suppressed, and all error messages are displayed.

  - `Suppress All`

    Upon applying this setting, all information messages[2], warning messages, and error messages are suppressed.

  When you change the Filter Messages setting, it overrides any messages that have previously been individually suppressed.

  Note: An information message is displayed in the physics message window when Beta Features are enabled. This message cannot be suppressed with the Filter Messages setting.

- Automatic Physics Update

  If this option is selected and you change settings in the simulation definition, CFX-Pre will, for certain settings, respond by changing other settings automatically in an attempt to make problem specification consistent. This incurs an overhead, so for large problems you may want to disable this feature.

- Show Interface Boundaries in Outline Tree

  Shows the interface boundaries in the Outline view.

#### 4.2.1.2. Graphics Style

Settings made here set the default operation for CFX-Pre; however, you can override these settings for your current simulation by going to the Outline tree view and editing Case Options > Graphics Style.

##### 4.2.1.2.1. Object Highlighting

Controls how an object that is generated after a change to the setting of this option is highlighted in the viewer. Such highlighting occurs when in picking mode, when selecting a region in a list, or when selecting items in the tree view.

Under Type, select one of the following:

- `Surface Mesh`: Displays the surface mesh for selected regions using lines.

- `Face Highlight`: Displays the selected regions using faces.

- `Wireframe`: Traces objects that contain surfaces with green lines.

- `Bounding Box`: Highlights the selected objects with a green box.

Note: When you load a case, the highlighting is dictated by the setting that is stored in the case, rather than by the current preferences setting.

##### 4.2.1.2.2. Background

Set Mode to `Color` or `Image`.

###### 4.2.1.2.2.1. Color

Use Color Type to set either a solid color or a gradient of colors; use Color to set the color (and Color 2 for gradients).

###### 4.2.1.2.2.2. Image

Select one of a list of predefined images or a custom image.

If selecting a custom image, choose an image file and a type of mapping. Image types that are supported include *.bmp (24-bit BMP only), *.jpg, *.png, and *.ppm. Mapping options are `Flat` and `Spherical`. Flat maps are stationary while spherical maps surround the virtual environment and rotate with the objects in the viewer.

Custom images have some restrictions: all background images and textures sent to the viewer must be square and must have dimensions that are powers of 2 (for example, 512 x 512 or 1024 x 1024).

If the dimensions of your background image is not a power of 2, the viewer sizes the image to be a power of 2 by doing bicubic resampling.

To make the background image square, transparent pixels are added to the smaller dimension to make it the same as the larger dimension. The transparent pixels enable you to see the regular viewer background, which gives you control over what fill color your background has.

##### 4.2.1.2.3. Colors

###### 4.2.1.2.3.1. Labels

Set the labels to be bright or dark.

###### 4.2.1.2.3.2. Legend Text and Turbo Axis

Select a color by clicking in the box, or clicking the Ellipsis icon.

##### 4.2.1.2.4. Visibility

###### 4.2.1.2.4.1. Axis and Ruler Visibility

Select or clear Axis Visibility or Ruler Visibility to show or hide the axis indicator or ruler in the viewer.

#### 4.2.1.3. Render

These settings are used to control the display properties of faces and lines. For details, see Render Options.

#### 4.2.1.4. Mesh

Mesh Match Tolerance is used when creating domain interfaces. It is used to determine whether a one-to-one connection can be made at a domain interface. The tolerance is relative to the local mesh length scale; the default value is 0.005 (or 0.5%) of the local edge length on the first side of the interface. A node on the second side must be within this tolerance to a node on the first side for the two to be considered coincident.

##### 4.2.1.4.1. Mesh Import Options

Source Format specifies which type of mesh file is the general default. For details, see Supported Mesh File Types. Source Directory specifies the default directory from which meshes are imported upon selecting the Import Mesh command. It is also possible to set other general options (such as mesh units) and specific advanced options on a per-mesh format basis.

#### 4.2.1.5. Turbo

These settings are used in the recognition of turbo regions when importing a mesh using Turbo mode.

#### 4.2.1.6. Labels and Markers

The settings under this category control whether labels and boundaries appear in the cases displayed in the 3D Viewer. Settings made here set the default operation for CFX-Pre; however, you can override these settings for your current simulation by going to the Outline tree view and editing Case Options > Labels and Markers.

##### 4.2.1.6.1. Labels

The Show Labels option controls whether any labels are displayed; when selected, the remaining options control whether particular types of labels are displayed.

##### 4.2.1.6.2. Boundary Markers

When Show Boundary Markers is selected, the check boxes in that panel control which markers are displayed.

The Marker Quantity slider controls the number of markers displayed. Moving the slider to the right increases the number.

The Marker Length slider controls the size of the markers displayed. Moving the slider to the right increases the size.

##### 4.2.1.6.3. Boundary Vectors

The Vector Quantity slider controls the number of vectors displayed. Moving the slider to the right increases the number.

The Vector Length slider controls the size of the vectors displayed. Moving the slider to the right increases the size.

See Boundary Plot Options Tab for a discussion of displaying boundary vectors.

##### 4.2.1.6.4. Profile Vectors

The Vector Length slider controls the size of the vectors displayed. Moving the slider to the right increases the size.

See Viewing and Editing Data Imported from a Profile Data File for a discussion of displaying profile vectors

#### 4.2.1.7. Extensions

When Include Installed Extension Files is selected, you have the option of creating a comma-separated list of file to exclude.

#### 4.2.1.8. Customization

The Use Custom Files setting enables the creation of special-purpose interfaces that extend the functionality of CFX-Pre for your environment. Contact your Customer Support representative for more information.

The Force generation of rules files an advanced setting used to maintain synchronization of customized RULES files. This option is useful during the development of customized RULES files and is available only when Use Custom Files is selected.

#### 4.2.1.9. Solve

The Definition File Timeout setting controls how long CFX-Pre will wait in seconds while attempting to obtain enough data from the CFX-Solver in order to spawn a CFX-Solver Manager to monitor an existing batch run. This parameter is used when employing the Simulation Control > Start Solver > Run Solver and Monitor command to start the CFX-Solver Manager. See Simulation Control in Outline Tree View Structure for details on monitoring a running solver batch run.

#### 4.2.1.10. Viewer

For details on Stereo settings, see Stereo Viewer.

[2] When you have suppressed messages, an information message appears summarizing the number of information messages, warning messages, and error messages that are suppressed. This message cannot be suppressed with the Filter Messages setting.

Release 18.2 - © ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.