Plot Types

The following table lists the available plot types, including links to the description of the properties and settings.

Table 21-10: Plot Types
Name and Link	Description	Plot Attributes
Admittance Graph	Plot an admittance graph as a Smith plot. This plot requires the RF Module, AC/DC Module, MEMS Module, or Plasma Module.	Color Expression, Filter
Annotation	Add annotations to plots.	Deformation
Annotation Data	Plot raw point, text, and color data as annotations in 2D or 3D.	None
Arrow Data	Plot raw point, vector, and color data as arrows in 2D or 3D.	None
Arrow Line	Plot a vector quantity as arrows on lines or edges (3D).	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Arrow Point	Plot a vector quantity as arrows at points.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Arrow Surface	Visualize a vector quantity in arrows.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Arrow Volume	Visualize a vector quantity as arrows in a volume.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Contour (Plot)	Visualize a scalar quantity as a contour plot.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, Selection, and Height Expression (2D only)
Coordinate System Volume, Coordinate System Surface, and Coordinate System Line	Plot coordinate systems for 2D and 3D models. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Directivity	Plot the directivity as a plot for speakers, for example. This plot requires the Acoustics Module.	None
Global	Plot a global scalar quantity as a function of time or a parameter.	Color Expression, Filter
Histogram	Plot a histogram showing the distribution of a quantity.	None
Impedance Graph	Plot an impedance graph as a Smith plot. This plot requires the RF Module, AC/DC Module, MEMS Module, or Plasma Module.	Color Expression, Filter
Impulse Response	Plot an impulse response plot. This plot requires the Acoustics Module.	Color Expression
Interference Pattern	This plot shows the intensity on a cut plane resulting from the interference of multiple rays passing through the cut plane.	None
Isosurface (Plot)	Plot a scalar quantity as an isosurface plot.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Layered Material Slice	Plot a layered material quantity as a slice plot at a specified through-thickness location. This plot requires the Composite Materials Module, AC/DC Module, or Heat Transfer Module.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Matrix Histogram	Plot a quantity on lines, boundaries (2D), or edges (3D).	Deformation, Filter, Selection, and Height Expression (2D only)
Line Data	Plot raw point, element, and color data as a line in 2D or 3D.	None
Line Graph	Plot a scalar quantity along a geometric line. The line can be an edge in the geometry, a parameterized curve, or a cut line.	Color Expression, Filter
Max/Min Volume, Max/Min Surface, Max/Min Line, Max/Min Point	Plot the maximum and minimum of an expression and the points where they are attained within the geometry. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Matrix Histogram	Plot a precomputed matrix as a 2D histogram. For rainflow counting, for example, to be able to visualize how the stress amplitudes and mean stresses are distributed. This plot requires the Fatigue Module.	None
Mesh (Plot)	To display a mesh.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Multislice	Display a scalar quantity on slices in multiple directions inside a 3D domain. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Nyquist	Display a Nyquist plot, which shows the magnitude and phase of a frequency response.	Color Expression, Filter
Octave Band	Display an octave band plot to represent a frequency response in frequency bands.	None
Optical Aberration	Display a linear combination of Zernike polynomials based on the optical path difference of light rays as they are focused by a system of lenses and mirrors. This plot requires the Ray Optics Module.	Height Expression
Particle (Plot)	Plot a particle variable versus time for all particles, or plot one particle property versus another at a set of time steps. Available with 1D Plot Groups. This plot requires the Particle Tracing Module.	Color Expression and Filter
Particle Tracing	Visualize the trajectory of a massless particle subject to a flow field. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Color Expression and Deformation
Particle Tracing with Mass	Make a particle tracing plot considering the particle’s mass. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Color Expression and Deformation
Particle Trajectories and Filter for Particle Trajectories	Visualize the trajectories of particles computed by one of the Particle Tracing physics interfaces. This plot requires the Particle Tracing Module.	Color Expression, Deformation, Export Expressions, and Filter
Phase Portrait	Visualize particle traces using a phase portrait in 2D. Found under the More Plots submenu. This plot requires the Particle Tracing Module.	Color Expression
Poincaré Map	Visualize particle traces as a Poincaré map in 2D, 2D axial symmetry, and 3D. Found on the More Plots submenu. This plot requires the Particle Tracing Module.	Color Expression
Point Data	Plot raw point, element, and color data as points in 2D or 3D.	None
Point Graph	Visualize the value in a point along time or a parameter value. The point can be a point in the geometry or a cut point.	Color Expression, Filter
Point Trajectories and Filter for Point Trajectories	Visualize the trajectories of points in 3D. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Color Expression, Deformation, Export Expressions, and Filter
Principal Stress Volume	Plot principal stress and strain in structural mechanics models. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Principal Stress Surface	Plot principal stress and strain in structural mechanics models. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Principal Stress Line	Plot principal stress and strain in structural mechanics models. Found on the More Plots submenu.	Color Expression, Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Radiation Pattern	Plot the value of a global variable for the radiation pattern of an electromagnetic or acoustic pressure field, for example.	Deformation, Export Expressions
Ray (Plot) and Filter for Ray and Ray Trajectories	Plot a ray variable versus time for all rays, or plot one ray property versus another at a set of time steps. Available with 1D Plot Groups. This plot requires the Ray Optics Module or the Acoustics Module.	Color Expression and Filter
Ray Trajectories and Filter for Ray and Ray Trajectories	Visualize the trajectories of rays computed by the Geometrical Optics interface or Ray Acoustics interface. This plot requires the Ray Optics Module or the Acoustics Module.	Color Expression, Deformation, Export Expressions, and Filter
Reflection Graph	Plot a reflection graph as a Smith plot. This plot requires the RF Module, AC/DC Module, MEMS Module, or Plasma Module.	Color Expression, Filter
Scatter Surface Scatter Surface and Scatter Volume	Scatter surface plots, found on the More Plots submenu, visualize a scalar quantity as scattered spheres or disks. The radius of the spheres can be proportional to the value of a quantity.	None
Scatter Volume Scatter Surface and Scatter Volume	Scatter volume plots can be used as alternatives to arrow plots for scalar quantities or when to get a feeling for how entities correlate.	None
Slice	Display a scalar quantity on slices inside a 3D domain.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Spot Diagram	Display the positions of rays as they intersect an image plane. This plot includes some capability to automatically identify the image plane and compute the intersection points of rays that cross it.	Color Expression
Streamline	Plot a vector field as a streamline plot.	Color Expression, Deformation, Export Expressions, Filter, and Selection
Streamline Surface	Plot a vector field as a streamline plot on surfaces in 3D.	Color Expression, Deformation, Export Expressions, and Filter
Surface (Plot)	Display a quantity on a 2D domain or a 3D boundary.	Deformation, Filter, Selection, and Height Expression (2D plots)
Surface Data	Plot raw point, element, and color data as a surface in 2D or 3D.	None
Surface Slit	Display a quantity by evaluating one expression on one side and another expression on the other side on a 3D boundary.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Table Graph	Table plots display data from a table with one line per output column.	None
Table Surface	Used with 2D plot groups to visualize the data in a table that represents a matrix of values that are functions of two independent parameters.	Height Expression
Through Thickness	Display the through-thickness variation of a layered shell quantity at specified points. This plot requires the Composite Materials Module, AC/DC Module, or Heat Transfer Module.	Color Expression, Filter
Tube Data	Plot raw point, element, and color data as a tube in 2D or 3D.	None
Volume	To display a quantity inside a 3D domain.	Deformation, Filter, and Selection
Waterfall	Create a waterfall diagram, which is a plot that can illustrate how an expression depends on two parameters in a sweep. Found on the More Plots submenu,	Color Expression
Whirl	Display a plot of the mode shapes of a rotor rotated about the rotor axis at discrete rotation intervals. This plot type, found on the More Plots submenu, requires the Rotordynamics Module.	Color Expression
Plot Attributes		Add to these plots
Color Expression	To add coloring to the shapes defined by a plot.	Arrow (line, surface, and volume), contour, isosurface, particle tracing, particle trajectories, point trajectories, principal stress, ray, ray trajectories, streamline, streamline surface, and spot diagram.
Deformation	Deform the plot according to a vector quantity, for example, the displacement field in structural mechanics.	All plots except scatter plots.
Export Expressions	Add expressions for exporting data.	Streamline, streamline surface, radiation pattern, particle trajectories, point trajectories, and ray trajectories.
Filter, Filter for Particle Trajectories, Filter for Point Trajectories, and Filter for Ray and Ray Trajectories	Filter the element selection for a plot.	Admittance graph, arrow (line and surface), contour, coordinate system (line and surface), global, impedance graph, isosurface, line graph, line plot, mesh, Nyquist, particle trajectories, point graph, point trajectories, principal stress, ray, ray trajectories, reflection graph, slice, streamline, streamline surface, surface, and volume.
Height Expression	Height attributes introduce a 3D height on a 2D surface plot.	2D line plot, optical aberration, 2D surface plot, and 2D table surface plot.
Selection (Plot Attribute)	Add a selection of geometric entities for which to show the plot.	Arrow (line, surface, and volume), contour, coordinate system (line, surface and volume), isosurface, line plot, multislice, principal stress, slice, streamline, surface, and volume.
Cross Section Plots
*1D, 2D, and 3D Cross-Section Point Plots	A point cross-section plot makes it easy to view an expression at an arbitrary set of spatial coordinates and results in a line plot.
*2D Cross-Section Line Plots and 3D Cross-Section Line Plots	Create lines through 2D and 3D geometries to visualize along the line. Also explains how to use the interactive cross-section toolbar buttons.
*3D Cross-Section Surface Plot	Create planes through a 3D model in a 2D geometry to visualize on the plane. The cut plane corresponds to an orthogonal 2D coordinate system embedded in 3D. Also explains how to use the interactive cross-section toolbar buttons.
* Cross-section plots are not selected from this menu. Instead, these are created in two steps using datasets and plot groups to generate the plot or use interactive cross-section toolbar buttons.