Ribbons

HyperWorks X ribbons are designed to help you quickly and easily access the tools you need to accomplish your tasks.

Tools on the ribbon are grouped logically and organized by tabs, which appear along the top of the ribbon. When you click on any of the tabs, the set of tools on the ribbon will change to reflect the working context.

Ribbons provide a more efficient and clean workflow. The following image is an example of the Assembly ribbon in HyperWorks X.

Figure 1.

In HyperWorks X, tool icons can have different states when you hover your mouse over them, allowing you to perform multiple tasks from a single tool icon. The yellow highlighted areas are called pick targets. Satellite icons only appear on mouse-over and generally provide access to functions of lesser importance.

Multi-State Tool Icons

Conventional icons consist of a single image which, when clicked on, usually perform a single function. In HyperWorks X however, some icons provide access to multiple functions depending on the cursor hover state. The tool icon in the following image is an example of this multiple-state behavior.

Figure 2.

Notice in the above images that the yellow highlighting around various parts of the icon changes depending on where the mouse is pointing. From left to right:

• The first image (far left) shows the tool icon in its unselected state
• The second image highlights the piece of paper pick target, which allows you to create a new model
• The third image highlights the folder pick target, which allows you to open an existing model
• The last image (far right) highlights the disk pick target, which allows you to save your work

In addition, some icons have the option to display a drop-down menu of items that allow you to select an alternative, but related, tool. For example, the General 2D Mesh tool icon in the following image allows you to select alternative, related, meshing tools by clicking the drop-down arrow in the lower-right corner beneath the icon image.

Figure 3.

These tool icons, which allow you to perform multiple tasks, help to streamline the HyperWorks X interface and provide for a more efficient work flow.

Satellite Tool Icons

Satellite icons provide additional functionality to a tool when moused over. The following image shows an icon in its unselected state and when moused over.

Figure 4.

In the images above, the Measure tool on the left is not moused over. The image on the right shows the mouse-over state and displays the Calculate Area, Volume, and Mass tool. Satellite icons differ from multi-state icons in that the additional tools are not readily visible on a satellite icon. Also, the additional functionality they provide is generally with lesser used tasks.

Hover your mouse cursor over different parts of the tools you use most to discover additional functionality.

Secondary ribbons appear below the main ribbon and provide access to subsets of tools that are related to tools on the main ribbon. These tools are frequently used in conjunction with the main tool and only appear after you click on the tool icon on the main ribbon.

For example, when you click on the Solids tool in HyperWorks X, you see the secondary ribbon displayed in the following image.

Figure 5.

Secondary ribbons extend the versatility of the main ribbon without cluttering the working interface. You can close secondary ribbons by clicking on the main tool again, or by clicking on a different tool on the main ribbon.

Ribbon group menus provide access to tools that are generally used less frequently than those on the main or secondary ribbons.

Each of the tools on the main ribbon are further organized into subgroups with the name of the subgroup appearing beneath the tool icons. Some labels also provide access to tools that are contextually related to the group. You can access these ribbon group menus by clicking the arrow to the right of the label. The following image shows an example of the Edit ribbon group menu.

Figure 6.

Like secondary ribbons, ribbon group menus further extend the versatility of the main ribbon without cluttering the working interface. You can close the group ribbon menu by making a selection or pressing the Esc key.