# Using standalone CalculiX **URL:** \ **Category:** Tips & Tricks\ **Created:** [April 24, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://prepomax.discourse.group/t/using-standalone-calculix/846 "2023-04-24T18:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FEAnalyst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/prepomax.discourse.group/feanalyst/32/688_2.png) [@FEAnalyst](https://prepomax.discourse.group/u/FEAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://prepomax.discourse.group/t/using-standalone-calculix/846/1 "2023-04-24T18:07:16Z")
Some PrePoMax users may not be used to running analyses outside of this GUI. And it’s sometimes necessary, for example in those cases: - changes that can’t be handled by the keyword editor (like unsupported element types) - submitting many analyses with small differences between them - testing different versions of CalculiX Here’s how to do it on Windows: 1. Download the package with CalculiX files from [http://www.dhondt.de/](http://www.dhondt.de/) 2. After unpacking, you can use the solver by just putting its executable file (called _ccx\_static.exe_ in the current releases) in a folder containing the input file (e.g. exported from PrePoMax). Then open the command line (PowerShell in new Windows versions won’t work, you have to use the traditional command line) - it can be activated in the current folder by typing _cmd_ in the File Explorer’s address bar. Then type this in the command line: `ccx_static input_file_name`. Don’t add the `.inp` extension. You can also call the solver binary from another directory: `path\ccx_static input_file_name` 3. Simple as that. But if you don’t want to copy the solver executable to a folder with an input file each time or call it from its directory, you can add CalculiX to the path system variable. On Windows 10: - search for _Edit the system environment variables_ - go to _Advanced → Environment Variables… → System variables_ - select _Path_ and click _Edit_, click _New_ and paste the directory of the ccx\_static.exe file (without its name, only the path to the folder in which it’s located) - after confirming, you can use the _ccx\_static_ command in any folder without the need to paste the solver executable there 1. It’s usually also necessary to enable parallelization for CalculiX analyses. For this purpose, type `setx OMP_NUM_THREADS "number_of_your_cpus"` in the command line or use _System Properties —\> Advanced —\> Environment Variables…_ as described above (just add a new variable named _OMP\_NUM\_THREADS_ and its value being the number of cpus instead of modifying the existing _Path_ variable). To check the value of this variable using the command line, type: `echo %OMP_NUM_THREADS%` 2. If you want to use GraphiX (a simple postprocessor native to CalculiX, can help e.g. when some elements not supported by PrePoMax are involved), you will need the _cxg\_GLUT.exe_ and _glut64.dll_ files. They are available in the same package as the solver. Use the following command to start postprocessing with this tool: `cgx_glut results_file_name.frd` Left-click somewhere in the empty space outside of the 3D view window to access options. To display results, choose _Datasets → frame\_number → variable\_name_ then go back to Datasets and select _Entity → component\_name_. To scale the deformed shape, select _Viewing → Toggle Add-Displacement_ and then _Toggle CommandLine_ from tools and type: `scal d scale_factor`. The rest can be found in the documentation: [http://www.dhondt.de/cgx\_2.21.pdf](http://www.dhondt.de/cgx_2.21.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![synt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/prepomax.discourse.group/synt/32/4658_2.png) [@synt](https://prepomax.discourse.group/u/synt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://prepomax.discourse.group/t/using-standalone-calculix/846/2 "2024-02-08T15:30:10Z")
thanks for detailed tips and hopefully useful for anyone also, maybe some note related to `ccx_dynamic.exe` with dynamic link library (DLL’s) of Pardiso solver and MFront materials need to be added for completeness. ---
**Author:** ![FEAnalyst](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/prepomax.discourse.group/feanalyst/32/688_2.png) [@FEAnalyst](https://prepomax.discourse.group/u/FEAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://prepomax.discourse.group/t/using-standalone-calculix/846/3 "2024-02-08T17:40:45Z")
Actually, it’s an old topic but I updated it today so it appeared at the top again. Regarding Pardiso, there’s a separate thread here: [Use Prepomax Solvers - Pardiso](https://prepomax.discourse.group/t/use-prepomax-solvers-pardiso/541)