Software and script starting options

Abstract: This chapter deals with various ways to start ZEISS INSPECT and optionally execute a script. The most common way is to start ZEISS INSPECT and execute a script from the ZEISS INSPECT GUI. You can also start the application from the Windows command line, a Windows shortcut or a batch file. And finally you can start the application from another Python script running in an external Python interpreter.

Starting Add-ons from the GUI

You normally start the ZEISS INSPECT application from the ZEISS Quality Suite. In ZEISS INSPECT, you start a script

Starting a script from the Windows command line

Basic command line options

You start ZEISS INSPECT from the command line with

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe"

This will start the application with all available licenses. You can specify the desired licenses with the parameter -license, e.g.

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -license volume

By default, all licensed Add-ons with a valid license and all license-free Add-ons are visible in the application. This can be changed with the parameter -packages, which restricts the visible Add-ons to those listed by UUID:

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -packages 36687b47-6ee0-448c-886a-eba02c9d0329,a8c6baec-c6ed-409d-a2dc-dd3d032db8bd

You find the UUID in the Add-on’s metainfo.json file.

You can reduce the software startup time by skipping the splash screen with the parameter -nosplash.

The initial appearance of the ZEISS INSPECT window can be set with the parameters -minimized, -maximized and -fullscreen.

The software configuration is stored in the file %APPDATA%\GOM\<VERSION>\gomsoftware.cfg. You can make a copy of the configuration created for a special purpose and later apply it with the parameter -config:

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -config C:\temp\my_inspection.cfg

Caution

The configuration file contains user- and language-specific entries which limit its portability. Compatibility across different software versions - even minor versions - is not guaranteed. Depending on the actual use case, some entries may have to be deleted or modified.

Starting ZEISS INSPECT Python scripts

You start ZEISS INSPECT and execute a script with -eval "gom.script.userscript.<scriptfolder>__<script>()"

Example: <Add-on_Folder>/scripts/tools/convert_mesh.py

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -eval "gom.script.userscript.tools__convert_mesh()"

<scriptfolder> can be omitted if the script is located in an Add-on scripts/ folder:

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -eval "gom.script.userscript.convert_mesh()"

If the script’s name is not unique within all installed Add-ons and connected Add-on folders, you can also execute the script by specifying its file path with the parameter -script:

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -script "C:\temp\convert.py"

Passing parameters to a script

You can execute a script with parameters by passing a Python dictionary to it:

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -eval "gom.script.userscript.myscript(parameters={'variable_1':'value_1','variable_2':'value_2'})"

In the script, you can access the variables directly by name:

Example: myscript.py

var1 = variable_1
var2 = variable_2

You can assign values of any Python data type to those parameters.

To allow simple testing in the Add-on editor during script development, you add the following code to define the variables which are set as script parameters otherwise :

# Default parameters for testing
if 'variable_1' not in globals() or 'variable_2' not in globals():
	variable_1 = 'default_value_1'
	variable_2 = 'default_value_2'

Non-interactive script execution

In some cases, you want to run a script without user interaction. If applicable, replace interactive commands with script commands, e.g. use

gom.script.automation.execute_active_measurement_series (clear_measurement_data=True)

instead of

gom.interactive.automation.execute_active_measurement_series (clear_measurement_data=True)

Starting ZEISS INSPECT with a Windows shortcut

  1. Create a Windows shortcut of the application (e.g. C:\\Program Files\\Zeiss\\INSPECT\\2023\\bin\\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe)

ZEISS INSPECT shortcut

  1. Add the command line parameters in the ‘Target’ field of the shortcut properties

Shortcut properties

  1. Optional: Rename the shortcut according to the script to be executed

Shortcut with script name

Starting ZEISS INSPECT from a batch file

You can create a batch file to start ZEISS INSPECT for executing a script. This is especially useful, if the script execution is part of a sequence of operations.

ZEISS INSPECT batch file

Create a batch file (e.g. ZEISS_INSPECT_myscript.bat) with a text editor and insert your command line:

"C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -eval "gom.script.userscript.myscript(parameters={'variable_1':'value_1','variable_2':'value_2'})"

Executing this batch file will open a Command Prompt window. If this is not desired, start the application with the Windows start command:

start \b "" "C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\bin\ZEISS_INSPECT.exe" -eval "gom.script.userscript.myscript(parameters={'variable_1':'value_1','variable_2':'value_2'})"

start \b starts an application without opening a new Command Prompt window.

Starting ZEISS INSPECT as a subprocess in a Python script

ZEISS INSPECT comes with its own Python interpreter (C:\Program Files\Zeiss\INSPECT\2023\python) for executing scripts. You can use this Python installation - or an external Python installation - to start ZEISS INSPECT.

ZEISS INSPECT Python file

Example: ZEISS_INSPECT_myscript.py

import subprocess

subprocess.run(["C:/Program Files/Zeiss/INSPECT/2023/bin/ZEISS_INSPECT.exe", "-eval", "gom.script.userscript.myscript(parameters={'variable_1':'value_1','variable_2':'value_2'})"], check=False)

Note

You must use forward slashes in the application file path. The command line is split into an array of strings.

See Python subprocess documentation for more details.

Executing a Python script from an Add-on

The command gom.script.sys.execute_script() can be used to run another Python script from an Add-on.

gom.script.sys.execute_script(file: string, parameters: dict, collect_stdout: bool, collect_stderr: bool) : string

Execute Script From File

Parameters:

  • file – Script file path.

  • parameters (dict) – Parameters passed to the script. The keys/value pairs define global variables and their contents provided to the script (default: None).

  • collect_stdout (bool) – If True, provide script’s output to stdout as return value (default: False).

  • collect_stderr (bool) – If True, provide script’s output to stderr as return value (default: False).

Returns:

depending on parameters collect_stdout and collect_stderr

Return type:

string

Add-on Script
import gom

FILE = "C:/temp/testscript.py"

# Return None
res = gom.script.sys.execute_script(file=FILE)
print(res)

# Return stdout
res = gom.script.sys.execute_script(file=FILE, collect_stdout=True)
print(res)

# Return stdout and stderr
res = gom.script.sys.execute_script(file=FILE, collect_stdout=True, collect_stderr=True)
print(res)

# Pass parameters
res = gom.script.sys.execute_script(
	file=FILE,
	parameters={"geometry": "circle", "radius": "42"}, 
	collect_stdout=True)
print(res)
External Python Script (testscript.py)
import sys

print(f'sys.argv: {sys.argv}')

# Two possible ways to check for parameters...

# Option 1
if 'geometry' in globals():
    print(f'Name: {geometry}')

# Option 2    
try:
    print(f'radius: {radius}')
except NameError:
    pass
    
print("This is a normal message")
print("This is an error message", file=sys.stderr)
Output to Add-on Editor Console
None
sys.argv: ['C:/temp/testscript.py']
This is a normal message

sys.argv: ['C:/temp/testscript.py']
This is a normal message
This is an error message

sys.argv: ['C:/temp/testscript.py']
Name: circle
radius: 42
This is a normal message