This manual is a reference guide to using ABAQUS/CAE (including ABAQUS/Viewer, a subset of ABAQUS/CAE that contains only the Visualization module). In general, any references to the Visualization module throughout this manual apply equally to ABAQUS/Viewer.
The ABAQUS/CAE user interface is very intuitive and allows you to begin working without a great deal of preparation. However, you may find it useful to read through the tutorials at the end of the Getting Started with ABAQUS manual before using the product for the first time. Only Appendix D, “Viewing the Output from Your Analysis,” of Getting Started with ABAQUS applies if you are running ABAQUS/Viewer.
This manual is divided into the following parts:
Part I, “Interacting with ABAQUS/CAE,” contains general information on the user interface
Part II, “Working with ABAQUS/CAE model databases, models, and files,” contains information on the various files created by and used with ABAQUS/CAE
Part III, “Creating and analyzing a model using the ABAQUS/CAE modules,” discusses each of the ABAQUS/CAE modules in detail, except the Visualization module
Part IV, “Engineering features and modeling techniques,” discusses how to define special engineering features in an ABAQUS/CAE model and discusses modeling techniques that span multiple ABAQUS/CAE modules.
Part V, “Viewing results,” discusses the Visualization module (ABAQUS/Viewer) in detail
Part VI, “Using toolsets,” contains information on the toolsets in all ABAQUS/CAE modules except the Visualization module (discussed in Part V, “Viewing results”)
Part VII, “Customizing model display,” contains customization information
Part VIII, “Using plug-ins,” discusses how you can use plug-ins and the Plug-in toolset to extend the capabilities of ABAQUS/CAE.