Use the Image node to export plot images as PNG, BMP, EPS, TIFF, GIF, or JPEG image files.
In the Label field, enter another label for the node if desired.
From the Preset list, you can choose from predefined and user-defined sets of image snapshot settings:
Current,
Manual (web),
Manual (print) (the default), or
Presentation, which are tailored settings for image snapshots suitable for a web page, for printing, or for a PowerPoint presentation. The
Current option uses the current size on the screen (which is displayed), so only the
Zoom extents and
Antialiasing check boxes are available under
Image. If you have modified the image snapshot, you can save those settings as another preset option. To do so, click the
Save as Preset button (
) and provide a name for the user-defined preset option in the
Name field of the
Save as Preset dialog box that opens. If you do not want to keep an added user-defined preset option, click the
Remove Preset button (
). If you have made changes to a preset option and want to return to its default values, click the
Reset Preset to Default button (
).
The Settings window for
Image includes the following sections:
Select an image source. The tree of nodes contains the 1D, 2D, or 3D plot groups previously defined. It also contains component nodes that are associated with an image such as selections, the geometry (including individual geometry features and work planes in 3D), materials, physics features, and meshes. Click the Use as Source button (
) underneath the tree to define the selected node as the source for the image export. The selected node gets a source overlay (
) in the tree above and is added to the
Selected source field below. Click the
Clear Source button (
) as needed to remove the source. If you have added an image from a plot group, that plot group is set as the selected source.
Select a View:
From plot group or
From geometry (the defaults, depending on the selected node) to use the view from the plot group settings or from the component’s geometry, respectively, or select another view from the list (if available and previously defined). It is also possible to choose
New view. The image then uses that new view, which appears as a 2D or 3D
View node (
or (
) node under
Definitions (or under
Definitions>Views if the nodes are grouped by type).
On the Settings window toolbar, click the
Refresh button (
) to refresh the
Graphics window to get a preview of the image to export. Refreshing can be useful if you have changed the scene or view.
Click the Export button (
) in the
Settings window or right-click the node and select
Export to export an image to a file. The
Messages window confirms where the file is exported as specified in the
File section.
Select the Zoom extents check box to add a zoom to extents before exporting the image. The
Antialiasing check box is selected by default to reduce stairstep-like lines and to smooth lines and edges.
If Target is set
File, choose an image file
Format: PNG (the default), BMP, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, glTF (GL Transmission Format; 3D only, saved as binary GLB files), or EPS (1D only). If you choose the JPEG format, you can also control the quality of the image using a quality measure (scalar number) between 1 and 100 (a higher number represents a higher quality). The default value is 92. Select the check box next to
Quality to enter another quality number.
Enter a Filename including a path to save it to your computer or click
Browse and navigate to where you want to
Save the output.
Select the Always ask for filename check box if you want the program to always display a dialog box for specifying where to store the image.
Select the Lock view check box if you want to lock the view in PowerPoint. Saved camera settings are then used when you update the image from PowerPoint. If this check box is cleared, the current camera settings are used when updating the image.
One additional Background option is available for the Image export when using a PNG file format:
Transparent. Otherwise, see
Animation for the rest of the settings. For 1D
Image nodes, the
Include check box is selected by default.
For the glTF file format, the Include line segments check box is selected by default. Clear that check box to exclude line segments, which can be useful for glTF viewers that do not support line segments.