To understand the controls for a visualization window, you must first understand the use of window modes. A visualization window has four modes: Navigate, Zoom, Lineout, and Pick.
When the window is in Navigate mode, you can move the dataset around, rotating (3D datasets only), panning, and zooming in and out.
This only applies to a 3D dataset. Press and hold the left mouse button in the visualization window. Move the mouse, and the dataset rotates. Release the mouse button when you have the view you want.
For a 2D dataset, press and hold the left mouse button. Move the mouse, and the dataset will shift, following the mouse. Release the mouse button when you reach the desired view.
Panning a 3D dataset is identical to panning a 2D dataset, except that you must hold down the Alt key before pressing the left mouse button.
For both kinds of datasets, press and hold the middle mouse button to incrementally zoom into a dataset. Holding the Alt key while pressing the middle mouse button incrementally zooms out of a dataset.
When the window is in Zoom mode, you can draw a box around the area of the dataset you wish to zoom into. Press and hold the left mouse button at one corner of the area you wish to zoom into. As you move the mouse, the zoom box sweeps out from the first corner. Release the mouse button when the zoom box covers the desired area.
This mode is only available for 2D datasets. When the window is in Lineout mode, you can draw a line across a dataset and have the scalar variable data along that line display as a curve to another window. To draw a line from which to extract data, press and hold the left mouse button at one of the endpoints of the line. Move the mouse to extend the line from the first point. Release the mouse button at the second endpoint. A line is drawn between the two points.
Depending on the type of lineout you have chosen, using the GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the " refl " CLI (Command Line Interface) command, the line will either be straight or will follow the contours of the mesh.
Once the line is drawn, the scalar variable data along that line drawn as a curve, or "1D plot" to another window.
When the window is in Pick mode, you can extract information about data at a particular point in the window. Click with the left mouse button on the point you wish to extract information about.
This mode only is available when interacting with 3D datasets. When you enter this mode, the view of the dataset changes. Rather than seeing the full 3D dataset, you will instead see a slice of the dataset.
You can slide this slice backward and forward using the left mouse button. Press and hold the left mouse button to start sliding the slice. Move the mouse up or down until the slice is in the desired location. Release the mouse button. You can repeat these actions to move the slice until you have it where you'd like it. Once the slice is in the desired location, click with the left mouse button on the point on the slice where you wish to extract information.
The slice is always aligned with the coordinate axes. The axis that points closest to "out of the screen" is the one chosen to slice along. Thus, if you wish to slice along a different axis when doing 3D pick, first rotate the plot using See Navigate mode . Once the dataset is facing the right direction, change to 3D pick mode.