Interfaces and Access
You can use Adams Car through two different interfaces depending on your user access.
Interface Modes
Adams Car has two interface modes:
■Standard Interface - You use it when working with existing templates to create and analyze assemblies of suspensions and full vehicles. Users with standard and expert access can use the Standard Interface.
■Template Builder - If you have expert-user access, you use the Template Builder to create new templates for use in the Standard Interface.
When you create a new component in the Template Builder, your product automatically adds a prefix based on the entity type and the symmetry. Your product uses a naming convention to let you easily determine an entity’s type from the entity’s name.
Learn about the naming convention and see a table that lists the prefixes of various entities. If you have expert-user access, you use the Template Builder to create new templates for use in the Standard Interface.
Using the Template Builder, you can assemble standard components, such as springs, parts, and bushings, to define the topology of your system, such as a suspension or a single valvetrain in an engine.
To switch between modes:
Do one of the following:
■From the Tools menu, select [Product Name] Standard Interface or select [Product Name] Template Builder.
■Press F9.
About User Access
Your access to the standard-interface or template-builder mode depends on your assigned user access:
■Standard user - Standard users do not have access to the Template Builder, only to the Standard Interface. Therefore, the standard user cannot make topological modifications to templates, but can operate on subsystems, varying design parametrics and analysis inputs.
■Expert user - Expert users have access to modeling capabilities available in theTemplate Builder. Therefore, expert users can open templates and modify their topological information, as well as create new templates.
If you are an expert user, when you launch your Adams product, it prompts you to select either Standard Interface or Template Builder.
Setting User Access
You use the MDI_ACAR_USERMODE keyword in your
private configuration file to set your user access, which determine you access to the Template Builder and other development tools. Your private configuration file is found at $HOME/.acar.cfg, where $HOME is the location of your home directory.
Note: | The private configuration file is not located in the installation directory. Never change the acar.cfg file located in the installation |
You can set USERMODE to:
■STANDARD - User can only access the Standard Interface.
■EXPERT - User can access the Template Builder and create and modify templates. User can access the Template Builder and other development tools that are located under the Tools menu. Expert users can use the MDI_ACAR_PLUS_AVIEW keyword in the private configuration file to access Adams View.
Learn about accessing Adams View.
To change the value of this keyword, you must edit the private configuration file (.acar.cfg) using a text editor and modify the corresponding string. The following gives you expert access:
! Desired user mode (standard/expert)
ENVIRONMENT MDI_ACAR_USERMODE EXPERT
When you start a new session, your template-based product reflects the changes to the private configuration file.