Altair Feko: How to install CADFEKO [LEGACY] using the standalone installer?


This article provides background on the standalone legacy CADFEKO installer (which can be downloaded for Windows and Linux) as well as the installation process.

Background

From Feko 2023.1 and onward, legacy CADFEKO is not included in the Feko installer.

 

 

For some Feko users, however, there are models and workflows where the legacy CADFEKO interface may be required. To enable these Feko users to continue using the legacy CADFEKO interface for a period, a separate or 'standalone' installation has been prepared. This installation will install only the files and environment needed to run the legacy CADFEKO interface. 

As the standalone legacy CADFEKO installer does not install any other Feko components, a separate installation of Feko is required for any workflows requiring other Feko components (for example, the Feko Solver or POSTFEKO).

Environment variables can be used to configure which Feko components should be used with legacy CADFEKO (for example, if multiple concurrent installations of Feko are installed).

How to install standalone legacy CADFEKO

  1. Install the full 2023.1 Feko installation or a Feko version newer than Feko 2023.1.
    (Note: If Feko 2023.1 or newer installation is already in place, or if only the legacy CADFEKO interface is needed, this step can be skipped).
  2. Download the legacy CADFEKO installer
    1. For Linux
    2. For Windows
  3. Install legacy CADFEKO.
    • Specify the path to the Feko installation on the Choose Existing Feko Installation installer panel (for example, C:\Program Files\Altair\2023.1).

If a 2023.1 or later Feko installation does not exist when installing legacy CADFEKO or legacy CADFEKO does not point to the correct version, complete the following steps:

  1. Modify the FEKOenvironmentFromSetup.lua file located in the %FEKO_HOME% directory, where %FEKO_HOME% points to the Feko installation path (for example: C:\Program Files\Altair\2023.1_Legacy_CADFEKO).
  2. Enter the path to the full Feko installation to be used by legacy CADFEKO (as an example, using the default 2023.1 installation path):
    • Microsoft Windows

      • setEnv([[FEKO_LEGACY_CADFEKO_FEKO_HOME]], [[C:\Program Files\Altair\2023.1\feko]], true);

    • Linux

      • setEnv([[FEKO_LEGACY_CADFEKO_FEKO_HOME]], [[/opt/feko/2023.1/altair/feko]], true);

  3. Add the line to specify the path to the legacy CADFEKO installation for the case where CADFEKO_BATCH needs to be called from RUNFEKO:

    • Microsoft Windows

      • setEnv([[FEKO_LEGACY_CADFEKO_BINARY_PATH]], [[C:\Program Files\Altair\2023.1_Legacy_CADFEKO\feko\bin]], true);

    • Linux

      • setEnv([[FEKO_LEGACY_CADFEKO_BINARY_PATH]], [[/opt/feko/2023.1_Legacy_CADFEKO/altair/feko/bin]], true);

How to run the Feko Solver using legacy CADFEKO

To run the Feko Solver using legacy CADEKO (locally or on a cluster), do the following:

  1. See section How to install legacy CADFEKO above on how to install legacy CADFEKO.
  2. Start legacy CADFEKO using one of the following workflows:
    • Start legacy CADFEKO, load a model and run the Feko Solver.
    • Start legacy CADFEKO, open the Feko Terminal (Home tab) and call the Feko Solver using the command line.

How to run the Feko Solver using legacy CADFEKO_BATCH

To run the Feko Solver using legacy CADEKO_BATCH (locally or on a cluster), do the following:

  1. See section How to install legacy CADFEKO above on how to install legacy CADFEKO.
  2. Open a command prompt and specify the following environment variables:
    • FEKO_LEGACY_CADFEKO_BINARY_PATH = C:\Program Files\Altair\2023.1_Legacy_CADFEKO\feko\bin (point to the legacy CADFEKO installation)
    • FEKO_LEGACY_CADFEKO=1 (to indicate that the legacy CADFEKO_BATCH should be used when RUNFEKO attempts to run CADFEKO_BATCH)
  3. Run the Feko Solver.

The following environment variables are set automatically when opening the Feko Terminal from legacy CADFEKO: