Creating .guiLog files

The Abaqus PDE is designed to work any type of Python files, including .guiLog files. A .guiLog is a Python script that records actions in the Abaqus/CAE GUI. When you create a .guiLog, it records every mouse click, dialog box entry, and menu, tool, or viewport selection.

Context:

To record actions from Abaqus/CAE, the Abaqus PDE session must be associated with a Abaqus/CAE session. The Abaqus PDE and Abaqus/CAE sessions are associated if you started them together from a command prompt or if you started the Abaqus PDE by selecting FileAbaqus PDE in Abaqus/CAE. For more information on starting the Abaqus PDE, see Starting the Abaqus Python development environment.

  1. From the main menu bar in the Abaqus PDE, select FileNew to create a new empty file in the main window.

    Tip: You can also click the New guiLog icon to create a new .guiLog file.

  2. Click the Start Recording icon to begin recording actions from Abaqus/CAE.

    Abaqus writes the following two lines to begin the file:

    from abaqusTester import *
import abaqusGui

  3. Complete all the desired actions in the Abaqus/CAE session to record them in the .guiLog file.

    Note:

    When you record .guiLog files, do not use mouse button 2 to close the dialog box for a procedure. Instead, use the buttons in the dialog box to close it. Using mouse button 2 adds multiple dialog box closing commands to the recorded .guiLog file. Since only one command is needed to close the dialog, the extra commands will result in an error when the recorded script is played.

  4. Click the Stop Recording icon to stop recording.

  5. Use standard text editing techniques to edit the file in the main window. Additional editing tools are available in the Edit menu (for more information, see Editing files in the Abaqus PDE.)

  6. To add more recorded commands to the file, position the cursor at the desired location or click End of Main File to position the cursor at the end of the file, then repeat Step 2 through Step 4.

  7. Select FileSave to save the file or FileSave As to save the file with a new name; new files automatically use Save As.