Description

The collapsible Color Bar frame and the actual color bar are shown below. The frame provides options for customizing the color bar in the Display window.

Use the options in the Color Bar frame to customize the color bar shown in the Display window. Additionally, you can click on the gear icon on top right corner of the color bar to expand a menu containing a variety of options to customize the color bar to your particular needs.
 

Tip: The color bar can be turned on/off with the Show Color Bar checkbox located in the Display frame inside the Examine tab.

The Color Bar Type pull-down provides seven different color bar styles:

Type Description
Spectrum Displays a continuous range of colors without violet.
Viridis Displays a purple through yellow color range as found in the matplotlib library. This range is claimed to be more friendly for those with colorblindness, and also should print well in gray scale.
Plasma Displays a blue through yellow color range as found in the matplotlib library. This range is claimed to be more friendly for those with colorblindness, and also should print well in gray scale.
Full Spectrum Displays a full continuous range of colors.
Modern Places dark hues of one color band adjacent to light hues of the next for clearer demarcation.
Red Blue Displays a range of colors between red and blue (with a purple mix).
Grayscale Displays a full black to full white scale.

The Reverse Color Bar toggle allows you to flip the colors on the bar from top to bottom. Immediately below is a set of controls to change the maximum and minimum bounds on the color bar. You can type a specific value for either in the Max. or Min. text fields, or you can use the up/down arrows adjacent to each field to increment the respective bounds. The Default toggle for each resets the bound to the actual for the currently selected entities.

 

Tip: Use the Histogram feature on your Examine color bar to see how your cells are distributed through the range of function values. You will also see exactly how many cells fall above and below your specified color bar scale Max. and Min.

The final controls found in the Show Cells frame allow you to determine which cells are rendered in the Display window relative to how they are plotted against the color bar. In Range is considered all those cells that lie between the current Min. and Max. as specified in the Color Bar frame. By setting values for Min. and Max. according to your preferences for your particular CAE solver, you can easily determine whether your mesh contains cells that fall outside of your prescribed range. Toggling on Above Max. and Below Min. will render those cells in the Display window. Generally for large grid systems it is inadvisable to display all three ranges for block cell diagnostics since this can be computationally intensive.

 

Caution: Generally for large grid systems it is inadvisable to display all three ranges (i.e. Above Max., In Range, and Below Min.) for block cell diagnostics since this can be computationally intensive.

Clicking on the gear icon located on the top right corner of the color bar (shown below) presents a frame with the same options found in the Color Bar frame described here with the addition of three histogram-related commands described in the Histogram section: Show Histogram, Number of Levels, and Export Histogram.

Examine Color Bar: Gear Icon
The gear icon on the top-right corner of the color bar expands a menu with a variety of options used to customize the color bar shown in the Display window.

Note that the color bar can be resized by clicking and dragging any edge of the color bar boundary; it can also be repositioned by clicking and dragging the title area at the top of the bar.

Demonstration

Using the Examine Colorbar and Histogram