Defining the Coloring and Style

Select (the default) to position the arrow’s tail at the arrow position, to position the arrow’s head at the arrow position, or to position the center of the arrow at the arrow position.

Select an :

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, so that the length of the arrows is proportional to the natural logarithm of the magnitude of the quantity they represent. This makes arrows representing small values relatively larger. The value in the field (default: 100) determines the ratio between the smallest and largest values in the range of values for the logarithmic arrow length.

Select a of the arrows and in arrow plots on surfaces and edges and plots of principal stresses and strains on surfaces: , or , , or .

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Select to position the arrows in the elements’ Gauss points. Specify the order of the Gauss points in the field (default: 1). A higher order increases the arrow density in each element.

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Select for arrows positioned in the mesh element nodes (that is, more densely placed arrows where the mesh density is high). This option is available for Arrow Surface and Arrow Edge plots.

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Select for arrows positioned in the mesh element centroids (that is, more densely placed arrows where the mesh density is high). This option is available for Principal Stress plots.

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Select to position the arrows using an anisotropic density (that is, more arrows in some directions than in others). If is selected, use the , , and (in 3D) fields to give weights for the arrow density in the different directions (using positive scalar weights). The default weights are 1 in all directions. A higher value increases the arrow density in the corresponding direction.

When or is selected as the , also specify the (default: 200).

Select the check box to enter a scalar number to scale the arrows or use the slider to select.

For surface and contour plots, for example, from the list select to use a (see Color Table) or select to use a single color from the list. You can also select to define a custom color from the colored list below (on Windows) or by clicking the button (on Linux and macOS) and then selecting a color from the color palette.

For arrows, and unless a subnode determines the arrow colors, select an arrow or select to define a custom color from the colored list below (on Windows) or by clicking the button (on Linux and macOS) and then selecting a color from the color palette.

For lines in graph plots, select a : , , , , , , , , , , , or .

If you select , it cycles through all the colors; if you have more than one line plot in a plot group and want to cycle through the same set of colors, select . The colors are defined in a text file. If there is a file graphcyclecolors.txt in the preferences directory (.comsol\v54 in your user directory), then it is used. Otherwise, /data/colors/graphcyclecolors.txt under the COMSOL Multiphysics installation directory is used. For information about the file format, see About Cycle Colors in the COMSOL Multiphysics Programming Reference Manual.

If you select , define a custom color from the colored list below (on Windows) or by clicking the button (on Linux and macOS) and then selecting a color from the color palette. Enter a line or use the slider to select.

In the color palette that opens, you can choose from a number of basic colors, or click to open a section where you can specify a specific color using sliders to define the R (red), G (green), and B (blue) components. You can also click on one of the RGB values to enter a specific value (0–255). Click to add it to the set of available custom colors.

The check box is selected by default. Click to clear the check box if required. The legend position is determined by the settings in the section in the Settings window for the parent Plot Group node.

	You can adjust the default precision settings if required. Open The Preferences Dialog Box and click Graphics and Plot Windows. Under Display format (number of digits), in the Color legend field, enter an integer between 1 and 15 for the number of digits for the values displayed on the color legend. The default setting is 5 digits.

If the default ( in most plots) is not suitable for the plot, try other options. See Color Tables below for details. In some cases, select a : (default) or . If is selected, select a or to choose a different color.

Select the check box to reverse the order of the colors in the color table.

Select the check box to obtain a color range centered around zero. This setting is useful for visualizing wave-like solutions with zero bias.

	Selecting Color Tables

Define the semi-major and semi-minor axes of the ellipse using vector expressions. For the and , click the button (

) to select a predefined expression to replace the current expression, or press Ctrl+Space (or Ctrl+/) to insert a predefined expression (dimensionless). The expressions available are based on the physics interfaces used in the model. If the Geometrical Optics interface is used to compute ray intensity, the default expressions (typically gop.pax, gop.pay, and gop.paz for the semi-major axis and gop.pbx, gop.pby, and gop.pbz for the semi-minor axis) represent the shape and orientation of the polarization ellipse.

Define the entry method for an ellipse as the point type from the : Choose to enter a , or choose to enter a number times in the field.

Select the check box to enter a scalar or use the slider to select.

Select the check box to make the sphere radii have constant radius when zooming a plot using one of the following particle-style plot types that plot spheres in 2D and 3D: Particle Trajectories, Ray Trajectories, and Point Trajectories; Particle Tracing and Particle Tracing with Mass; Poincaré Map; and Phase Portrait.

In a Table Surface plot, choose (the default) to consider the (x, y, data) triplets as samples of a function data = f( x, y), where f( x, y) is continuous, or choose to treat the samples as discrete and draw them as large pixels.

Select a : (the default), , , or . If , , or is selected, also choose a for the grid.

Particle trajectories can appear jagged because the output times for the simulation are too few to result in a smooth plot. You can improve the particle trajectories by using a uniform interpolation of the data for the particle trajectories. From the list, select for no interpolation (the default), or select to use a uniform interpolation of the data using additional interpolated times defined in the field. The default is 100 interpolated times.

	Interpolation of lines is only available for Particle Trajectories plots, which are available for use with Particle data sets created with the Particle Tracing Module.

For contour, isosurface, and directivity plots, the list is available. You can choose (the default for contour and directivity plots; not available for isosurfaces), for a filled (joined) legend, or (the default for isosurface plots), for a legend with separated lines for the levels. The setting provides a filled legend for filled contours and a line legend for line and tube contours.

	For isosurface plots using interactive levels, only legends with lines are applicable, and the Legend type is then not available.

Select a type: , , , , , , , , , or .

If a marker is selected (excluding ), then from the list, select or . For , enter the of markers to display (the default is 8; the maximum is 10,000 markers) or use the slider to select. If is selected, the markers appear in the data points for the plot (which for a plot of a 1D solution are the mesh nodes).

	The line markers are only available for Histogram plots using a continuous function.

	If a graph plot contains isolated points, they appear as markers if the Position is set to In data points; otherwise, isolated points are not visible when using markers.

The line styles available depend on the type of plot and the space dimension and include these options:

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From the list (for line graphs and point graphs, for example): , , , , or . If is selected, it cycles through all the options.

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From the or list (for line, streamline, and particle trajectory plots, for example): , , or . For 3D Streamline, Particle Trajectories, Point Trajectories, and Ray Trajectories plots, is also available. Ribbons are an alternative to tubes for visualization of, for example, the vorticity of a flow field.

If is selected, enter a (the radius of the tube); click the button (

) to select a predefined expression to replace the current expression, or press Ctrl+Space (or Ctrl+/) to insert a predefined expression (SI unit: m). The default is 1 m.

If is selected for streamlines, enter a width for the ribbons in the field; click the button (

) to select a predefined expression to replace the current expression, or press Ctrl+Space (or Ctrl+/) to insert a predefined expression (SI unit: m). The default is 1 m. Select the check box to enter a user-defined scaling of the ribbons’ width in the associated field. By default, the program scales the width automatically.

If is selected for particle trajectories, specify a direction for the ribbons: At , click the button (

) to select a predefined expression to replace the current expression, or press Ctrl+Space (or Ctrl+/) to insert a predefined expression (SI unit: m). You can also edit the expressions in the ; ; and fields. Select the check box to enter a user-defined scaling of the ribbons’ width in the associated field. By default, the program scales the width automatically.

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In Particle Trajectories plots, you can also choose an interpolation from the list: (the default) or . For the uniform interpolation, specify the (default value: 100).

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For line plots where you specify the line width, enter a line or use the slider to select. If a line plot (graph plot) contains isolated data points (for example, in a logarithmic plot where parts of the data cannot be plotted), those data points follow the line width down to a minimum size for the points. Such isolated data points are replaced with line markers, if markers are used and plotted in the data points.

If the plan is to create an report, select the check box. This is useful for Particle Trajectories, Particle Tracing, Particle Tracing with Mass, and Point Trajectories plots.

Select a to specify what should happen : (to plot the points on the boundary at the exit point) or (to not render these points at all).

For static fields, specify the in the section. It is possible that all particles have left the domain at the selected time. In that case, all points appear at the outflow boundary if is selected, and no points appear if is selected. To make the points appear, specify an earlier end time.

Enter a ; click the button (

) to select a predefined expression to replace the current expression, or press Ctrl+Space (or Ctrl+/) to insert a predefined expression (SI unit: m). The default is 1 mm.

Under , select a : , , , , or . If or is selected, enter a Point Radius and Radius Scale Factor.

	Comet tail and Arrow are available with the Particle Tracing, Particle Tracing with Mass, Particle Trajectories, Point Trajectories, and Ray Trajectories plots. All of them except Point Trajectories and Ray Trajectories require a license for the Particle Tracing Module. See Particle Tracing, Particle Tracing with Mass, Particle Trajectories, and Point Trajectories. The Ray Trajectories plot requires a license for the Acoustics Module or the Ray Optics Module. Comet tail plots provide a convenient way to indicate the direction of travel of particles at a given point in time. The tail of the comet typically points in the opposite direction to the particle velocity; visually, it is the same as the tail of a comet approaching the sun. These additional settings are available when Comet tail is selected: Tail and Tail Components and Tail Scale Factor. Ellipse is available with the Particle Trajectories, Point Trajectories, and Ray Trajectories plots. Ellipses provide a convenient way to visualize the polarization of rays. The eccentricity of the ellipse indicates the degree to which it is linearly or circularly polarized. For elliptical and circular polarization, arrows on the perimeter of the ellipse can be used to distinguish between left- and right-handed polarization.

Select the check box to enter a scalar number for the scale factor.

If is selected as the arrow length, enter a , which is the ratio between the maximum arrow length and the arrow length below which no arrow is drawn. The default is 100.

Enter a for the arrows using a positive scalar number in the field or by using the associated slider (for scale factors between 0 and 1).

Define the length and direction of the comet tail as a vector expression. For the , click the button (

) to insert a predefined expression into the ; ; and (for 3D plots) fields. The expressions available are based on the physics interfaces used in the model. The default expressions (typically pt.nvx, p.nvy, and pt.nvz) represent the negative of the particle velocity.

Select the check box to enter a scalar number between 0 and 1 or use the slider to select.

Select or from the list for the type of histogram to plot when the list under is set to . Select for filled histogram bins.

To plot only on the visualization mesh, select the check box, and then click (

). This displays the surface plot as a triangular grid.