Pointwise Release Notes

Version: Pointwise V18.0 R2
Release Date: December 2016
News Release: www.pointwise.com/news/Pointwise-Broadens-Script-Language-Support-CFD-Mesh-Generation.html

Overview
New Features
Resolved Issues
Platform Support
Previous Versions

Overview

Pointwise is our leading mesh generation software product for CFD, encompassing nearly three decades of technology development. The product features a modern software framework and workflow and provides tools like 64-bit support, multi-threading, and Windows/Linux/Mac portability.

These release notes are provided as a reference for the new features included in the latest version of Pointwise as well as any known issues that were resolved.

New Features

Pointwise can now be customized to execute scripts written in virtually any scripting language including Python and Perl and these scripts can call Glyph commands.
All break points on selected connectors can be deleted using a new toolbar button.
The Project command now includes the ability to show constrained grid points in the Display window in the same manner as Examine, Database Associativity.

Resolved Issues

SPR	Description
PW-17414	Initialization of a large unstructured T-Rex block took over 12 hours after a moderate increase in farfield connector dimensions.
PW-19141	Pointwise exited prematurely when initializing an unstructured block.
PW-19170	Initialization of a T-Rex block failed with the error “One or more entities could not be initialized”.
PW-19604	Pointwise was unable to initialize an unstructured block.
PW-19884	Pointwise created abnormally large tetrahedra in the Farfield of an initialized unstructured block.
PW-20031	Added more information to Glyph2 Manual Pages for the general type Filter, as well as the mode types Copier, Creator, Modifier, Paster, and ReExtrusionSolver.
PW-20073	Some plugins were missing from a Mac OSX workstation when the system region was set to Asia-Japan.
PW-20078	The glyph action pw::Object getType was inadvertently obscured by pw::TRexCondition getType. This was affecting a python-glyph wrapper.
PW-20082	Pointwise core dumped when trying to export a large grid to CGNS.
PW-20085	A Coon's Patch was not being created for circles consisting of one database line curve.
PW-20088	The secondary color attribute was not being applied to the interior lines of entities.
PW-20089	A grid exported to Star-CCM+ contained negative volume cells when imported into Star-CCM+.
PW-20090	The transparent background option was permanently disabled on Linux.
PW-20091	The *.tiff format for the Print to File command was not available on Linux workstations.
PW-20097	Pointwise exited prematurely when importing an IGES file created by OpenVSP.
PW-20102	Pointwise's screen was black and numerous error messages appeared when it was executed on a workstation running Mesa with OpenGL 3.1 or higher support.
PW-20111	Quads in Advancing Front Ortho domains were split automatically by the T-Rex algorithm at a sharp edge during the generation of multiple normal off the edge. The split direction chosen resulted in cells with no interior points.
PW-20121	Pointwise V18 was unable to finish importing a STEP file.
PW-20144	A vertex could not be selected during curve creation.
PW-20151	Starting Pointwise when there were no available processes failed which resulted in the appearance of the License Activation Wizard.
PW-20156	Copying and pasting multiple line sources caused one to be deleted.
PW-20157	A UGRID file with surface patch ID's set to zero failed to import into Pointwise.
PW-20159	When trying to connect to one Windows workstation from another with Remote Desktop, Pointwise's display would appear black due to insufficient OpenGL support.
PW-20162	Pointwise exited prematurely when trying to initialize a T-Rex block in which quadrilateral surface elements were being extruded out of very small geometric regions with a very low Maximum Included Angle Skew criteria.
PW-20170	Pointwise was not correctly importing Gridgen CAE settings.
PW-20204	Flip was not working while executing a rotational extrusion.
PW-20205	Setting the Spacing to “User Specified” in structured block solver attributes caused an assertion.
PW-20211	The prescribed Pyramid Aspect Ratio was not being used during initialization for the cells between a structured and unstructured block.
PW-20213	The preference to start the file browser in the current working directory was being ignored on Mac platforms.
PW-20228	A T-Rex block with structured domains in the face was generating zero height pyramids off the quads during initialization.
PW-20233	The Glyph manual pages for the Rotational Extrusion Solver Attributes contained a minor typo in the description for `RotateAxisStart`.
PW-20234	Boundary Conditions that had the same ID number were exported to CFD++ with zero faces.
PW-20237	Unrelated domains were selected after the completion of a domain projection operation.
PW-20240	No cells were display on an examination cut of the Skewness Equivolume diagnostic function for a block containing mixed cells.
PW-20241	The Glyph manual pages for the Rotational Extrusion Solver Attributes did not contain an example usage for the `NormalCornerFactor` attribute.
PW-20244	Refining two T-Rex domains on a wing caused Pointwise to exit prematurely.

Platform Support

Minimum Requirements for All Platforms:

2 GB RAM (8 GB recommended)
2 GB disk space
Ethernet card
OpenGL capable color display monitor
1280x1024 screen resolution (4K monitor support now included)
Graphics adapter supporting 3D hardware-accelerated OpenGL and 24-bit RGB double-buffering
Up-to-date graphics accelerator drivers

Note: Pointwise V18.0 R1 and later will not be supported on 32-bit platforms.

	Hardware	64-bit
Microsoft Windows	Intel AMD
Linux	Intel AMD
Mac OS X	Intel

Requirements for All Platforms

Minimum Requirements:

2 GB RAM (8 GB recommended)
2 GB disk space
Ethernet card
OpenGL capable color display monitor
1280x1024 screen resolution (4K monitor support now included)
Graphics adapter supporting 3D hardware-accelerated OpenGL and 24-bit RGB double-buffering
Up-to-date graphics accelerator drivers

Important Notes:

Pointwise does not support 32-bit platforms.
Pointwise does not support remote execution. However, a FAQ with remote execution workarounds is avaiable.

Microsoft Windows

Operating System	64-bit
Windows 7
Windows 8.1
Windows 10

*There is a known incompatibility on Microsoft Windows between Dell Backup & Recovery software and Pointwise V18. If you experience problems opening or saving a file from Pointwise, Dell Backup & Recovery software should be disabled or uninstalled.

Linux

Operating System	Version	64-bit
CentOS	6
Red Hat Enterprise Linux	6
SUSE Enterprise Linux Desktop	12 SP1
Ubuntu Desktop	14.04

Linux Library Dependencies

Listed below are the specific versions of library packages that we have on our test machines where we know Pointwise works. Other dependences (e.g. libGL) are not explicitly listed below as they should be part of any standard install that includes the packages listed below.

CentOS 6.4

expat-2.0.1-11.el6_2
fontconfig-2.8.0-3.el6
freetype-2.3.11-14.el6_3.1
libgcc-4.4.7-4.el6
libstdc++-4.4.7-3.el6
libX11-1.5.0-4.el6
libXau-1.0.6-4.el6
libxcb-1.8.1-1.el6
libXext-1.3.1-2.el6
libXft-2.3.1-2.el6
libXrender-0.9.7-2.el6
zlib-1.2.3-29.el6

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

expat-2.0.1-11.el6_2
fontconfig-2.8.0-5.el6
freetype-2.3.11-15.el6_6.1
libgcc-4.4.7-16.el6
libstdc++-4.4.7-16.el6
libX11-1.6.0-6.el6
libXau-1.0.6-4.el6
libxcb-1.9.1-3.el6
libXext-1.3.2-2.1.el6
libXft-2.3.1-2.el6
libXrender-0.9.8-2.1.el6
zlib-1.2.3-29.el6

SUSE Enterprise Linux Desktop 12 SP1

fontconfig
libbz2-1
libexpat1
libffi4
libfreetype6
libgcc_s1
libglib-2_0-0
libGLU1
libgobject-2_0-0
libgthread-2_0-0
libpcre1
libpng16-16
libstdc++6
libX11-6
libXau6
libxcb1
libXext6
libXft2
libXrender1
libz1

2.11.0-4.19
1.0.6-29.2
2.1.0-17.1
5.3.1+r233831-9.1
2.5.5-7.5.1
5.3.1+r233831-9.1
2.38.2-5.12
9.0.0-15.1
2.38.2-5.12
2.38.2-5.12
8.33-3.314
1.6.8-11.1
5.3.1+r233831-9.1
1.6.2-4.12
1.0.8-4.58
1.10-3.1
1.3.2-3.61
2.3.1-9.32
0.9.8-3.56
1.2.8-5.1

Ubuntu 14.04

libexpat1
libffi6
libfontconfig1
libfreetype6
libgcc1
libpcre3
libpng12-0
libstdc++6
libx11-6
libxau6
libxcb1
libxdmcp6
libxext6
libxft2
libxrender1
zlib1g

2.1.0-4ubuntu1.1
3.1~rc1+r3.0.13-12
2.11.0-0ubuntu4.1
2.5.2-1ubuntu2.5
1:4.9.1-0ubuntu1
1:8.31-2ubuntu2
1.2.50-1ubuntu2.14.04.1
4.8.4-2ubuntu1~14.04.1
2:1.6.2-1ubuntu2
1:1.0.8-1
1.10-2ubuntu1
1:1.1.1-1
2:1.3.2-1
2.3.1-2
1:0.9.8-1
1:1.2.8.dfsg-1ubuntu1