Plot Groups and Plots
About Plot Groups
A plot group contains one or more plots (for example, combining a surface plot and a streamline plot) using the same or separate datasets, such as a solution. All active plots in a plot group appear in the same plot window. You can define plot groups for 1D, 2D, 3D, polar, and Smith plots (requires the RF Module or the AC/DC Module) and then create an individual or a series of plots in a plot group. You can use several plot groups of the same type in a model and plot them in the Graphics window or in another plot window that you can add if needed. Information in the form of data and images can be used to generate a report or presentation or be exported.
Attributes can also be added as subnodes to a plot to modify the plot’s behavior — Deformation () attributes deform a plot (to illustrate, for example, structural deformation) and Translation () attributes to move a plot; Color Expression () attributes modify the color of a plot; filtering to only include parts of the plot is available using the Filter () attribute; Selection () attributes limit the plot to a selected subset of the geometry; and Export Expressions () attributes can add quantities to the data export for streamline, radiation pattern, and trajectories plots. Add a Material Appearance () attribute to include material appearances in postprocessing plots or a Transparency () attribute to display 3D plots and 2D plots using a height expression using transparency. A Height Expression () attribute can also be added to some 2D plots. For volume and surface plots in 2D and 3D you can embed an Image (). You can add Marker () and Graph Marker () attributes to add markers for indicating minimum and maximum values, for example, to 2D and 3D plots and 1D graph plots, respectively.
You can also select appropriate color tables for the plots’ color expressions based on your audience and what you plan to do with the final analysis.
The physics interfaces create suitable default plots for visualizing the results for the particular physics or application. The default plots appear in plot groups with descriptive names. You can modify and delete these plots and plot groups and add additional plots to existing or new plot groups. To disable the default plots for a study, clear the Create default plots check box in the Study Settings section in the main Settings window for a Study node.
Adding Plots to Plot Groups
Under Results () in the Model Builder, right-click the Plot Group node and select an option from the context menu to plot the graphs listed in Table 21-11. Each plot group can have several plots combined to create a meaningful representation of the data.
When the plot type is defined, click the Plot button (), press F8, or right-click the node and select Plot. The plot displays in the window selected from the Plot window list. To plot results in another window, right-click the plot group node or the plot node and select a plot window from the Plot In submenu.
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At any time during plot creation, click the Plot button () to visualize a dataset or plot.
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When you are working with Functions, you can also click the Create Plot button () to create a customized plot of the function under Results, including default plot groups and plots.
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The time-related settings only display on the interfaces for time-dependent models.
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See Plot Types for a summary of the available plot types, including links.
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Results Toolbar and Plot Group Contextual Toolbar
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Creating Cross-Section Plots and Combining Plots
Depending on the physics interface included in the model, not all plot types in the table below may be available. To see all plot types, select the All Plot Types check box in the Show More Options dialog box. To see the Particle Tracing and Particle Tracing with Mass plot types, you must first select the All Plot Types check box.
Copying Plot Data to the Clipboard and to Tables
For plots in plot groups, you can right-click the plot node and choose Copy Plot Data to Clipboard (). The plot data is then directly available on the clipboard so that it can be pasted into a document or spreadsheet without the need to add an Export>Data node.
For 1D plots, you can right-click the plot node and choose Copy Plot Data to Table (). The plot data is then available in a new Table node and its associated Table window.
The time-related settings only display for time-dependent models.
Showing Coordinates of Graph Plots
For graph plots in 1D plot groups, you can get information, in a tooltip, about the x- and y-coordinate values for the graph when hovering over it with the mouse. The tooltip also contains information about the line style, in the upper-left corner, and the time or parameter value, for example, that the graph represents, in the upper-right corner. The tooltip appears by default; click the Enable Tooltip button () in the Graphics window toolbar to disable it.
Getting General Information About Plots
If desired, all plot nodes’ Settings windows can include an Information section, which includes information about the plotting time, memory usage, and the number of points and elements in the plot. To include the Information section, select the Plot Information Section check box under Results in the Show More Options dialog box and then click OK. The same information can also appear in the Log window, if you first select the Log plot information check box on the Log and Messages page under User Interface in the Preferences dialog box and then click OK.