Options

Options
Technical Article

Options may be set to modify the behavior of ACIS. An option's value may be a flag (indicating an on/off state), a number (integer or real number), or a string. Options may be set in a Scheme application (such as Scheme AIDE) using the Scheme extension option:set; in the ACIS Test Harness using the command option; or in a C++ application using one of several API functions.

check_abort
check_discont
check_edge_on_face
check_level
check_surface_irregular_and_selfint
checker_limit
cone_param_lines
cone_silhouettes
d3sil_approx_sf
d3_checks
fuzzy_angle
mesh_param_lines
mesh_silhouettes
periodic_no_seam
plane_param_lines
plane_silhouettes
r14_checks
show_warning_msg
sil_edges
silhouette_curves
silhouettes
sketch_mesh
sphere_param_lines
sphere_silhouettes
spline_param_lines
spline_silhouettes
torus_param_lines
torus_silhouettes
u_param_lines
v_param_lines

check_abort

Action

Determines whether to abort entity checking.

Name String

check_abort

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
If this option is on, entity checking aborts after the first check problem is found.

; check_abort ; Turn on check aborting (option:set "check_abort" #t) ;; #f

check_discont

Action

Determines whether to perform checking of cached discontinuity data during entity checking.

Name String

check_discont

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
This option controls whether or not api_check_entity checks the accuracy of cached discontinity data for curves and surfaces in the entity being checked. By default, this is not done. If this option is enabled, and errors in the discontinuity data are found during checking, then SURF_MISSING_DISC_INFO and/or CURVE_MISSING_DISC_INFO errors will be returned by api_check_entity.

; check_discont ; Turn on checking of cached discontinuity data (option:set "check_discont" #t) ;; #f

check_edge_on_face

Action

Determines whether to test that a face's edges lie on its surface during checking.

Name String

check_edge_on_face

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
This option controls whether or not api_check_entity checks that each of a face's edges lies on the face's surface, that is, each edge's curve is coincident with the face's surface to the tolerance of the edge. By default this is not done, because it is a computationally expensive test. If this option is enabled, and an edge or tedge is found not to lie on the face's surface during checking, then an EDGE_OFF_FACE (non-tolerant edge) or TEDGE_OFF_FACE (tolerant edge) error is returned by api_check_entity.

; check_edge_on_face ; Turn on checking of edge curves on face's surface (option:set "check_edge_on_face" #t) ;; #f

check_level

Action

Controls the amount of entity checking performed.

Name String

check_level

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
integer	10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70	20

C++

Type	Values	Default
int	10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70	20

Description
This option controls the amount of entity checking performed by the ACIS Checker, api_check_entity.

The range of effective check levels is any integer multiple of 10, between 10 and 70 inclusive; the default value is 20. Any other value is invalid, and the behavior of the Checker may be unpredictable with an invalid check level.

; check_level ; Set for full checking (option:set "check_level" 70) ;; 20

check_surface_irregular_and_selfint

Action

Controls whether for a given surface both the irregular and self-intersection test are to be performed.

Name String

check_surface_irregular_and_selfint

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#t

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	OFF, ON	ON

Description
By default this option is turned on and for a given surface both the irregular and self-intersection test are performed. In many cases the caller might not be interested in the self-intersection test, which can be expensive, if the surface was already found to be irregular. To avoid the self-intersection check for an irregular surface this option should be turned off.

checker_limit

Action

Aborts entity checking if the number of checker errors reaches the limit specified.

Name String

checker_limit

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
integer	>= 0	0, #f

C++

Type	Values	Default
int	>= 0	0

Description With this option the number of checker errors can be limited. The entity checking aborts as soon as the number of errors found reaches the limit specified. By default the limit is set to 0 (which indicates FALSE) and all checker errors are obtained.

; checker_limit ; Create some geometry ; Limit the number of checker errors obtained (option:set "checker_limit" 100) ;; #f (option:set "checker_limit" 1000) ;; 100

cone_param_lines

Action: Enables or disables the display of parameter lines on cones in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: cone_param_lines

Description
Turning on this option enables the display of cone parameter lines. The number of parameter lines is set using the options u_param_lines and v_param_lines. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

cone_silhouettes

Action: Enables or disables display of a cone silhouette in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: cone_silhouettes

Description
If on, enables display of a cone silhouette. Option silhouettes must also be on. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

d3sil_approx_sf

Action

Determines whether to calculate the surface silhouette on the approximating surface.

Name String

d3sil_approx_sf

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
For spline surfaces, if this option is on, the surface silhouette is calculated on the approximating surface, in order to speed up the calculation. If this option is off, the surface silhouette is calculated on the true surface.

; d3sil_approx_sf ; Use the approximating surface (option:set "d3sil_approx_sf" #t) ;; #f

d3_checks

Action

Evaluates D-Cubed geometric checks for legality of curves and surfaces.

Name String

d3_checks

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
Enables the "D3" checks when turned on. This means that additional geometric checks will be performed on INTCURVEs and SPLINEs when api_check_entity is called. These checks are the same ones invoked by api_check_edge and api_check_face.

; d3_checks ; Turn on additional checks (option:set "d3_checks" #t) ;; #f

fuzzy_angle

Action

Sets the angle criterion for deciding if a non-tangent intersection should be treated as fuzzy.

Name String

fuzzy_angle

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
real	0.5

C++

Type	Values	Default
double	0.5

Description
For non-tangent intersections, an angle criterion is used to decide whether to treat the intersection as "fuzzy." If the dot product of the curve tangent and surface normal is less than this angle criterion, the intersection is called "fuzzy". The value is somewhat arbitrary, but too high imposes too much overhead on simple cases, and too small causes too many near-coincidences to fail.

; fuzzy_angle ; Set the fuzzy angle a little higher (option:set "fuzzy_angle" .6) ;; 0.5

mesh_param_lines

Action: Enables or disables display of parameter lines on a mesh in the Test Harness.
Name String: mesh_param_lines

Description
This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

mesh_silhouettes

Action: Enables or disables display of a mesh silhouette in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: mesh_silhouettes

Description
This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

periodic_no_seam

Action

Determines whether a periodic spline face without a periphery loop is considered to be a valid face.

Name String

periodic_no_seam

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f, #t	#t

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	TRUE

Description
If this option is on (default), the ACIS Checker considers periodic spline faces that lack a periphery loop (that is, faces bounded instead by separation loops) to be valid faces. If this option is off, this option considers them invalid, and throws an error.

; periodic_no_seam
; Require periodic spline faces to have a periphery loop
(option:set "periodic_no_seam" #f)
;; #t

plane_param_lines

Action: Enables or disables the display of parameter lines on planes in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: plane_param_lines

Description
When on, enables the display of parameter lines on planes. The number of parameter lines is set using the options u_param_lines and v_param_lines. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

plane_silhouettes

Action: Enables or disables the display of plane silhouettes in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: plane_silhouettes

Description
If on, enables display of a plane silhouette. Option silhouettes must also be on. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

r14_checks

Action: Controls important new checks introduced in ACIS R14.
Name String: r14_checks

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f,#t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
This option is to be used in conjunction with the ACIS Checker, api_check_entity. Important new checks have been introduced in ACIS R14. To avoid major disruption when migrating to a new version of ACIS, these checks have been put on a temporary option, r14_checks. The migration plan is as follows:

ACIS R14 - r14_checks is FALSE by default
ACIS R15 - r14_checks is FALSE by default
ACIS R16 - r14_checks is TRUE by default
ACIS R17 - r14_checks is removed. The new checks are permanently enabled.

Customers are urged to enable r14_checks in their applications as soon as possible in order to maximize their migration time. Spatial reserves the right to modify the migration schedule if deemed necessary. The checks are valid and are not to be regarded as optional. The new check problems that may be reported are:

CRV_BAD_FITOL ("Approximating curve is not within stated tolerance of true curve")
CURVE_APPROX_OVERCLAMPED ("Curve approximation has knots with multiplicity greater than the curve degree")
CVXTY_PTS_NOT_ON_MIXED_EDGE ("Mixed convexity edge has no convexity points.")
PART_OVERLAP_TVERT ("Partially overlapping tolerant vertex")
SHL_DISCONNECTED ("Entities in shell are not connected")
SHL_MISSING_ENTITIES ("Connected entities in shell are not listed")
SURF_BAD_FITOL ("Approximating surface is not within stated tolerance of true surface")
SURF_SEFL_INT ("surface self-intersects") (for non-G1 surfaces)

show_warning_msg

Action

Determines whether all the warning messages that the body checker generates should be added to the insanity list and displayed.

Name String

show_warning_msg

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f,#t	#f

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	FALSE

Description
In an optimized build this option is set to FALSE (its setting is TRUE in a debug build). Turning it on means that all warning messages that the body checker generates are added to the insanity list and are displayed. Some of the warnings indicate problems in the geometry that might cause difficulties during different modeling operations.

; show_warning_msg ; Set the warning messages display off (option:set "show_warning_msg" #f) ;; #t

sil_edges

Action: Controls whether silhouettes are calculated in Scheme AIDE using an API or low-level code.
Name String: sil_edges

Description
This option only applies to Scheme AIDE. If this option is on (true), API api_silhouette_edges is used to calculate silhouettes. This has some overhead (the API makes edges), but it tests the API. If this option is off (false), silhouettes are calculated using lower level code (i.e., no API is called and edges are not made).

silhouette_curves

Action

Obsolete: This option has been deprecated.

Sets the type of silhouette curves used.

Name String

silhouette_curves

Scheme

Type	Values	Default
boolean	#f,#t	#t

C++

Type	Values	Default
logical	FALSE, TRUE	TRUE

Description
If on, instructs the D-Cubed silhouette algorithm to make para_sil_int_curs or persp_sil_int_curs as appropriate, instead of surf_int_curs.

; silhouette_curves ; Turn option off (option:set "silhouette_curves" #f) ;; #t

silhouettes

Action: Enables or disables the display of silhouette lines on any surface type display of plane silhouettes in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: silhouettes

Description
When on, enables the display of silhouette lines. Silhouette lines will be displayed for a surface type if it has silhouette lines turned on (using an option such as plane_silhouettes, cone_silhouettes, etc.) and this option is also on. If this option is off, silhouettes are not displayed for any surface type, even if individual surface types have silhouette lines turned on. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

sketch_mesh

Action: Sets which mesh elements are sketched in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: sketch_mesh

Description
When set to "none", no elements are drawn. When set to "all", all elements on the surface are sketched. When set to "face", only face interior elements and boundary elements are sketched. This option only applies to the Test Harness.

sphere_param_lines

Action: Enables or disables the display of parameter lines on spheres in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: sphere_param_lines

Description
Turning on this option enables the display of sphere parameter lines. The number of parameter lines is set using the options u_param_lines and v_param_lines. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

sphere_silhouettes

Action: Enables of disables display of a sphere silhouette in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: sphere_silhouettes
Description If on, enables display of a sphere silhouette. Option silhouettes must also be on. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

spline_param_lines

Action: Enables or disables the display of parameter lines on splines in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: spline_param_lines

Description
Turning on this option enables the display of spline parameter lines. The number of parameter lines is set using the options u_param_lines and v_param_lines. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

spline_silhouettes

Action: Enables or disables display of a spline silhouette in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: spline_silhouettes

Description
If on, enables display of a spline silhouette. Option silhouettes must also be on. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

torus_param_lines

Action: Enables or disables the display of parameter lines on tori in the Test Harness.
Name String: torus_param_lines

Description
When on, enables the display of parameter lines on tori. The number of parameter lines is set using the options u_param_lines and v_param_lines. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

torus_silhouettes

Action: Enables or disables the display of torus silhouettes in Scheme AIDE.
Name String: torus_silhouettes

Description
When on, enables the display of torus silhouettes. Option silhouettes must also be on. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

u_param_lines

Action: Sets the number of u parameter lines to display in the Test Harness.
Name String: u_param_lines

Description
This is used to calculate equally spaced u isoparametric curves on a face, based on the number of lines specified. If the number is less than or equal to zero, no parameter lines will be displayed. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

v_param_lines

Action: Sets the number of v parameter lines to display in the Test Harness.
Name String: v_param_lines

Description
This is used to calculate equally spaced v isoparametric curves on a face, based on the number of lines specified. If the number is less than or equal to zero, no parameter lines will be displayed. This option only applies to Scheme AIDE.

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