F.A.Q.

Which IDE should I use?

An experienced programmer will use any IDE. For beginners, NetBeans is recommended.

How do I compile MacroUtils as a JAR file?

Legacy (before gradle)

A simple procedure is explained below using NetBeans:

1. Clone or Download MacroUtils source from GitHub;
2. Create a new Project in NetBeans using existing sources;
3. Add the STAR-CCM+ libraries to the current Project;
4. Compile the Project using Shift-F11 shortcut;
5. MacroUtils.jar should be available in the dist folder.

Compiling with gradle (e.g.: on Windows)

1. Clone or Download MacroUtils source from GitHub -- e.g.: in D:\MacroUtils;
2. Put STAR-CCM+ libraries in ..\libs_STAR-CCM+, relative to MacroUtils source. Or, in this case: D:\libs_STAR-CCM+;
3. Export a JAVA_HOME environment variable according to the required JDK -- e.g.: set JAVA_HOME=D:\jdk\win64\jdk17.0.8;
4. Go to MacroUtils folder and issue gradlew.bat build -- gradle will install itself automatically the very first time;
5. The jar files should be ready to use under build/libs sub-folders in each project.

How do I add the MacroUtils.jar file as a library in NetBeans?

The process is the same as adding STAR-CCM+ libraries. Just create a new Library and point to the MacroUtils JAR file. Additionally one can add the javadoc information as well.

Update: answer above only applies to legacy compilation, i.e., before Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2019.3. With newer gradle support, Netbeans 11 (or later) should recognize all the relevant environment automatically.

How do I play MacroUtils demos into STAR-CCM+?

Once you have a MacroUtils JAR file just point it to the User Macro Classpath under STAR-CCM+ Options menu. See this section in User Guide to know more: Getting Started > Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Default Options

Where do I get the support files for the MacroUtils demos?

The support files are attached along with release files (since v13.04).

STAR-CCM+ seems to be in busy state when playing macro that imports MacroUtils methods. What is happening?

This behavior was noticed when both the MacroUtils JAR file and JAVA files were present in the same folder. Remove one of them -- e.g: leave only MacroUtils.jar file in the classpath folder -- and try again.