ICE Embedded Visualizations

The capabilities in this document are brand new, and while we assert that they work, that may not be the case on all systems for all users. Problems should be reported directly to the ICE team by sending an email to the project list, ice-dev <at> eclipse.org, or following the instructions to report bugs on our Bugzilla.

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Introduction

This document describes the embedded visualization capabilities available in ICE. Embedded visualizations in ICE aim to provide users with immediate yet simple visualization of simulation input and output well within the simulation workflow. In other words, simulation input and output can be visually verified or validated without leaving the associated Model Builder or Job Launcher in ICE. For more advanced or complex visualization tasks in ICE, please see the document on Visualizing Output with ICE.

Installation and Configuration

VisIt Visualization Service

Prerequsites

To use the embedded visualization service for VisIt, ICE requires a local installation of VisIt (minimum version 2.8.2) developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Preferences

Getting to the Preferences

Using the VisIt visualization service for viewing complex 2D or 3D mesh data requires little initial configuration. Assuming the VisIt prerequisite is installed, use the the main menu bar at the top of the window and navigate to:

Window > Preferences

In the Preferences dialog, navigate to:

Visualization > VisIt

Adding Connections

You will need to press the "+" button to the right of the table to add a new entry. Fill out the new row in the table. Generally speaking, the default values are fine, but the Path will need to be updated to point to the folder containing your VisIt executable. You can copy and paste the path into this field and press Enter.

If you need to find the VisIt installation in Windows, find a shortcut to VisIt either on your desktop or in the start menu. Right-click the shortcut and open its Properties. The path to the VisIt executable's directory will be shown next to Target.

Setting the Default Connection

Currently, only one connection to VisIt can be used at a time. If you only have one configured connection, it is automatically selected as the default. However, if you have multiple configured connections, you will need to set the default connection by choosing from the drop down above the table.

Removing Connections

To remove a connection, click on any cell in its row in the table, then click the "-" button on the right of the table. You can select multiple connections by holding CTRL while you click them, then clicking the "-" button.

Applying the Connection Preferences

When you have finished updating your connection configurations for VisIt, you can click OK to apply the changes and close the Preferences dialog. Alternatively, you can apply the changes immediately by clicking Apply. It is then safe to close the Preferences dialog in any valid way, e.g., by clicking the dialog's close button or by clicking Cancel.

CSV Visualization Service

The embedded visualizations for .csv data require no additonal software to be installed or any preference configuration.