MeshTV can have up to 16 visualization windows. This area, shown in
Active plots area
, allows you to select to which window you want to draw, whether to replace existing plots or let them overlay each other when you add a new one, and whether to have plot attributes automatically apply. It contains a list of active plots and a capability for adding and modifying plots via the
Plots
,
Plot attributes
, and
Variables
menus, which are described in
Plots, Plot Attributes, and Variables
. It also provides a method for performing operations on the plots via the
Operators
and
Operator attributes
menus, which are described in
Operators and Operator Attributes
. You can also choose whether to apply operators to all plots or just the selected ones. Note that the list of active plots will be empty when MeshTV first starts.
Active window pulldown
shows an example of the
Active window
pulldown when there are four visualization windows open. There will always be one number for every open window.
This pulldown allows you to select the visualization window to which you want to plot. To choose a window, pull down the menu and select the window number. That window becomes the active window, and any new plots will be drawn there.
The dotted line at the top of the menu indicates that this is a "tear-off" menu, which means that if you click on the dotted line, the menu will "tear-off" and stay permanently posted until you close the window, or press the ESC key while in the window.
When the Maintain limits toggles are off, MeshTV rescales the view according to the limits of the plot and recalculates the data extents according to the full spectrum of data. If you wish to fix the limits of the view at the current plot size, select the View toggle. If you wish to fix the data extents so they remain the same when you switch variables or files (this keep pseudocolor plot colors from rescaling, for example) then select the Data toggle.
When Replace plots is off, which is the default, new plots are placed on top of existing plots. When Replace plots is on, a request for a new plot causes existing plots to be deleted when the new plot is drawn.
When this option is turned on, any changes to plot attributes are applied automatically, so you don't need to press the Apply button in a window to apply the changes you have just made. This can be useful when you are just changing one attribute, but when you are changing multiple attributes it can really slow things down, since the plot is redrawn each time you make a change when this option is on.
This list contains the list of plots for a given visualization window. Each entry consists of the file number (which matches the file number in the Selected files list) followed by the plot type, like Boundary, the name of variable which was plotted, and any operators which have been applied, like Reflect. If you double click on a plot entry in this list, the plot attribute window for that plot entry will pop up. To see the plots for a different output window, you must make that window the active window. To set the active window, pull down the Active window menu and select the number of the window you want. The selected window becomes the active window, and the Active plots list updates with the plots for that window.
If you want to change multiple plots of the same type, select the plots you want to modify and then bring up the appropriate attributes window via the Plot attributes menu. Any changes you make and apply via that window will apply to all selected plots of that type.
To remove a plot from the Active plots list, click on the plot in the list and then press the Delete button. You can also select multiple plots and use this button to delete them.
Press the Draw button when you want to draw the plots in the Active plots list.
Note that if the Reset attributes on replace toggle button in the Preferences window is on, pressing the Draw button without adding a plot causes plots to be redrawn with the attributes reset. The Reset attributes on replace toggle button is off by default.
To hide a plot that has already been drawn, click on the plot in the Active plots list and then press the Hide/Show button. To unhide the plot, select the plot and press the Hide/Show button again. You can also select multiple plots and use this button to hide or show them.
Operators (like reflect, for example) only apply to highlighted plots unless this option is activated. If this option is on, chosen operators will be applied to all plots in the Active plots list in the MeshTV Main window.