Getting Started

INSTALLATION

There is currently no installer for REPTILE. Until there is, the following process is recommended:
  1. If you haven't already done so, download reptile.exe from the Download section
  2. Create a “bin” folder in your user directory (e.g. C:\Users\username\bin) and place a copy of “reptile.exe” in that folder.
  3. Open the Control Panel, type “environment variable” in the search box, and click on “Edit environment variables for your account.”
  4. Find the “PATH” variable in the “User Variables” box and add the full path of the “bin” folder to the end of the PATH variable (separated with a semi-colon) (e.g. %PATH%;C:\Users\username\bin).
Alternatively, you could copy the REPTILE executable to the folder where loads extractions are to be performed. This is not recommended since you may end up with many scattered copies of REPTILE floating around.

Graphical Interface (Under Development)

REPTILE has a graphical interface that is under development. To launch it, simply double-click on the REPTILE executable. Currently it allows you to view the geometry of an XDB file, but the output extraction utilities will soon be accessible, as also the ability to display output graphically. Rotation and navigation use the middle mouse button (similar to CATIA V5).

COMMAND LINE

To run REPTILE from the command line:
  1. Open a command window (Start / Run / cmd, or type "cmd" at the Start Menu).
  2. Type “reptile” at the command prompt and press Enter.
With no options specified REPTILE will display help information. The program modes and options are described in more detail elsewhere, but in general the command line takes the form:
reptile --program_mode -OPTION -i input_file -o output_file file1.xdb file2.xdb

BATCH SCRIPT

While you can run REPTILE from the command line, it is often far more convenient to create a batch script (.bat file). To create a batch file to simplify and automate the execution of REPTILE:
  1. Open Notepad or another text editor.
  2. Write one XDB TOOL command line per line to perform each task.
  3. Save the text file with a “.bat” extension.
Now you can double-click the batch file to run all the REPTILE commands. It is optional (but recommended) to add a line with “pause” at the very end of the batch file, so that if any error messages appear, the user will be able to read them before the window disappears.

​Example Batch Script File:
REM Comment lines start with "REM" (for remark)
reptile --bar_forces -i bar_elements.e -o bar_loads_static.csv *static*.xdb
reptile --bar_forces -i bar_elements.e -o bar_loads_fatigue.csv *fatigue*.xdb
reptile --node_forces -i section_cuts.def -o section_loads.csv *.xdb
​pause