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Automating with AdSec

This guide shows you how to get started building automated workflows with AdSec. This allows you to reduce manual work and integrate AdSec into your design workflows.

You can use visual tools or code to automate tasks such as:

  • Creating and modifying sections
  • Running analyses
  • Extracting results

Choose how you want to build your AdSec automations​

You can automate AdSec in three ways:

  1. Grasshopper
  2. Python
  3. .NET

Before you start​

System requirements​

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit

Software requirements​

  • AdSec must be installed

  • For Grasshopper only: Rhino 8 must be installed (Grasshopper is included with Rhino)

  • For Python or .NET only: a .NET runtime must be installed (.NET Core 3.1 or later)

    You can check if a .NET runtime is installed by running the following command in your terminal:

    dotnet --list-runtimes

    If no runtime is listed, install .NET (version 3.1 or later).

License​

  • You will need a license number and password
  • If you do not have these, contact Oasys support
  • If you are an Arup staff member, your license will be acquired automatically

Troubleshooting​

→ Troubleshooting .NET
Guidance for resolving common .NET errors, including BadImageFormat issues.

→ Installing prerequisites without administrator rights
Steps for installing .NET and Python on locked-down Windows machines.

Reference documentation​

→ AdSec API reference
The full reference for all classes, methods, and properties available in the AdSec API.

→ OasysUnits
The unit system used throughout the AdSec API for forces, lengths, moments, and other quantities.

→ Thread safety
Guidance on safe API usage in multi-threaded applications.

→ Python type casting helpers (PythonNetHelpers)
A helper library that simplifies converting between Python and the .NET-based AdSec API.