[Jonathan]

Dear all,

I am not a frequent CFX/CFD-Post user, but need to do some post-processing with CFD-Post at this stage.

I was wondering whether someone could explain how to / whether it is possible to set up 'camera views' via Tcl in order to allow me to produce a series of identical results plots for a series of simulations with slightly perturbed geometries

i.e. i need to be able to set up exactly the same view to output results to compare slight changes in my geometry.

This can be done in Fluent using the TUI using save/restore-view, but i had a go in CFD-Post without much luck.

I do not need something complex, just to be able to cycle through my case files and produce the same plots for each of them.

many thanks and best wishes in advance
regards
jonathan

ps i hope this is the correct forum for CFD-post, otherwise hoperfully one of the mods will move this post

[ghorrocks]

Yes, you have the correct forum and there is no need for this post to be approved.

Camera views can be set up many ways:
* The easiest is by state files. This saves the state of CFD-Post, and then you can load a different results file and apply this state to it.
* An alternative is using a session file. This is similar to Fluent's TUI, sort of. Record a session file to do the post processing you want to do and open it in a text file editor and change the results file or add looping or whatever
* CFD-Post can also be driven by CCL but you would have to be keen to use this approach.

[Jonathan]

Dear Glenn,

Thanks very much for the reply

Camera views can be set up many ways:

Thanks very much for this info:

* The easiest is by state files. This saves the state of CFD-Post, and then you can load a different results file and apply this state to it.

Ok, i see. I have a state file already - i know i can set up various graphics (contour plots, streamlines etc), but didnt realise you could set up specific 'views'. I have in the past, gotten the view i wanted onscreen, and then loaded each results file, exported to hardcopy, and repeated, but this means the view cannot be 'touched' between exports, and so this is an issue. I would also like to export several different views from the same results file and then move onto the next one.

A further issue is that, if i need to come back and repeat the export with fine tuned results, i cannot recreate the view exactly as it was previously.

* An alternative is using a session file. This is similar to Fluent's TUI, sort of. Record a session file to do the post processing you want to do and open it in a text file editor and change the results file or add looping or whatever

Ok, i didnt know this - so effectively this would be like a journal file - sounds very promising if you could set up views in the state file, and then use this to automate the postprocessing process - thanks very much.

So: is it possible to set up the camera views in the state file or using Tcl in the command editor. I didnt see this in the UG so far ...

* CFD-Post can also be driven by CCL but you would have to be keen to use this approach.

Not really at this point, i am still getting through c++

PS good luck for the CWC2015 final - if you are watching

EDIT:
OK, i realise i am probably mixing up Tcl and CCL - i guess what i am actually after is a set of CCL expressions to set up camera views ...

[ghorrocks]

If your post processing has various graphics and various views then consider a report. Then you can set them all up and easily change the results file to reproduce them all.

The easiest way to find out what a session file can do is to record a session file and do some stuff like move the view around, add a graphics item, change to a new result time step and see what the session file generated looks like.

No, I am not watching the cricket but as long as we beat the kiwis I will be happy anyway

[Jonathan]

Thanks Glenn,

Ok - so its for my PhD thesis ...

So you would recommend the easiest method is to set up a report and then extract the images from there, rather than looking into CCL and session files?

As you know (i read your thesis a year or two ago), while i am not looking for a free pass in the post processing, given the other efforts for the project, i am looking for the most effective / time-economic approach to get out the sets of images i need.

I am happy to learn CCL, but not really if its overkill ...

what would you recommend?

1) predefined views using CCL / session files
OR
2) setting up a report

Many thanks in advance
cheers
jon

PS - you guys just did win - dont you get tired of just winning everything?

[Jonathan]

Ok,

so - session files look to be the bomb and can be edited nice and easily - this (hopefully i am not being prematurely optimistic) is exactly what i need.

thanks very much, now hopefully they can be run from the command line so i can write a batch file, and 'set and forget'.

thanks a lot for your help,
take care
cheers
jonathan

[ghorrocks]

Yes, you can run session files from the command line. So this gives you a method of generating a number of output results from a single command line.

Aussies never get tired of annoying kiwis.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by ghorrocks

Aussies never get tired of annoying kiwis.

haha, yes, i know i went to school (uni) in Auckland.

take care,
cheers
jon