The GraphicsOptions object stores settings that control how objects are rendered in all viewports. GraphicsOptions objects are accessed in one of two ways:
The default graphics options. These settings are used as defaults when you start a session and by the Defaults button on the Graphics Options dialog box.
The current graphics options.
The GraphicsOptions object has no constructor; Abaqus creates both the defaultGraphicsOptions and the graphicsOptions members when a session is started.
When you start a session, Abaqus detects the graphics hardware installed on your system and uses the setValues method in the environment file (abaqus_v6.env ) to modify the members of the GraphicsOptions object. If your graphics hardware is not supported by Abaqus/CAE, or if you wish to override the default graphics options, you can modify settings in the environment file. For more information, see “Tuning graphics cards,” Section 5.3 of the Abaqus Installation and Licensing Guide.
session.defaultGraphicsOptions session.graphicsOptions
This method modifies the GraphicsOptions object.
Required arguments
Optional arguments
A SymbolicConstant specifying the graphics driver to use. Abaqus/CAE currently uses OpenGL exclusively so the only possible value is OPEN_GL. OPEN_GL takes advantage of graphics adapter hardware acceleration.
A Boolean specifying whether double buffering is used. The default value is ON.
Double buffering controls where Abaqus/CAE draws its graphics. When doubleBuffering=OFF, everything is drawn directly to the screen and on many systems you can see the progress of the drawing operations. Most users find this distracting, especially in dynamic situations such as view manipulation or animation of results. When doubleBuffering=ON, the drawing occurs in a separate graphics buffer that is displayed when all the drawing operations are complete. This results in a much smoother display during view changes or animation. It is recommended that you set double buffering to ON.
A Boolean specifying whether a display list will be used to accelerate graphics performance. The default value is ON.
When displayLists=ON, drawing operations are recorded in a list that can be quickly replayed. This results in faster drawing on most systems but requires extra memory to record the drawing operations. In the Visualization module, display lists are only used during view manipulations and then their use is subject to the setting of viewManipDisplayListThreshold.
A sequence of SymbolicConstants specifying a hint used to modify the highlight method. Possible values are:
The default value is (HARDWARE_OVERLAY, XOR, SOFTWARE_OVERLAY, BLEND).
HARDWARE_OVERLAY, specifying a hint of hardware overlay. The best graphics performance is achieved using hardware overlay, but not all systems and graphics adapters support hardware overlay.
XOR, specifying a hint of XOR technique. The XOR technique uses a boolean pixel operation to simulate the drawing operations but can produce different colors depending on the color of the underlying pixels.
SOFTWARE_OVERLAY, specifying a hint of software overlay. The software overlay method simulates the effect of hardware overlay.
BLEND, specifying a hint of blend method. The blend method combines the color of the underlying pixel with the desired color producing an approximation of the transient graphics.
The values of this sequence are applied by Abaqus when you start a session in first to last order. The first successful value becomes the default highlight method. Not all graphics adapters support the HARDWARE_OVERLAY value and you must use the highlightMethodHint argument to provide an alternative.
You can use a single value to set the first element of the list, or you can use a tuple with one to four unique values. Abaqus sets any remaining elements of the tuple to unique values based on the default order.
A SymbolicConstant specifying which rendering is used during dynamic rotations of the view. Possible values are:
The default value is AS_IS.
FAST, specifying a rendering mode where the image is rendered in wireframe.
AS_IS, specifying a rendering mode where the image is rendered as is.
When set to dragMode=FAST, a wireframe outline is drawn during view changes by rotation, pan, or zoom. When dragMode=AS_IS, everything displayed in the window will be drawn during view changes; however, the display may lag behind the mouse movement when the model is complex especially if you are using an older or slower system. For newer systems with graphics hardware acceleration the AS_IS setting can be accommodated without significant loss of performance.
A Boolean specifying whether lines will be smoothed to reduce the jagged effect of rasterization. The default value is ON.
A Boolean specifying whether the model is automatically resized to fit the viewport after each view rotation. The default value is OFF.
A Float specifying the offset added when drawing the faces of a polygon. The polygonOffsetConstant argument affects the behavior of only the OpenGL driver. Possible values are 0.0
polygonOffsetConstant
A Float specifying the factor that multiplies the slope of each line before the line is added to the vertexes of a polygon face. The polygonOffsetSlope argument affects the behavior of only the OpenGL driver. Possible values are 0.0
A Float specifying the offset added when drawing the faces of a polygon. printPolygonOffsetConstant is similar to polygonOffsetConstant; however, printPolygonOffsetConstant is used when printing and polygonOffsetConstant is used for display. Some systems, especially Windows, use different OpenGL drivers for printing and display, and you may have to use different offset values for each driver.
A Float specifying the factor that multiplies the slope of each line before the line is added to the vertexes of a polygon face. printPolygonOffsetSlope is similar to polygonOffsetSlope; however, printPolygonOffsetSlope is used when printing and polygonOffsetSlope is used for display. Some systems, especially Windows, use different OpenGL drivers for printing and display, and you may have to use different offset values for each driver.
A Boolean specifying how the three-dimensional vertices of the model are processed. When vertexArrays=OFF, each vertex of the model is processed separately. When vertexArrays=ON, the vertices are processed in large blocks resulting in faster display. Not all graphics adapters support this capability correctly. An indicator that the graphics adapters is not processing three-dimensional vertices correctly is the absence of graphics during “rubber banding” operations. For example, when dynamically dragging the radius of a circle in the Sketcher, the circle should be visible. The default value is ON.
A Boolean specifying whether the vertexArrays setting should temporarily be set to OFF when building a display list. The default value is ON.
Some graphics adapters do not properly support using vertex arrays inside a display list. Setting vertexArraysInDisplayLists to OFF has a smaller impact on graphics performance than setting vertexArrays or displayLists to OFF.
An Int specifying how large a display list may be created in order to accelerate view manipulation operations. Increasing this value when viewing large models will increase the delay before a view manipulation operation begins in order to obtain improved graphics performance during the view manipulation. If set high with a large model, the delay can be many seconds. In excessive cases, graphics memory can be exceeded and the result may be an empty display list (no visible model) for the view manipulation. This setting is treated as 0 if displayLists=OFF. Possible values are 0
A Boolean specifying how Abaqus renders X11 graphics operations. When directRendering=OFF, the graphics are rendered through the X Server. When directRendering=ON, the graphics operations are sent directly to the graphics adapter producing faster displays. For maximum performance, the initial value is ON. This argument is used only when you first start Abaqus/CAE; you cannot configure directRendering during a session.
A Boolean specifying whether a hardware accelerated OpenGL graphics driver will be used on Windows platforms. The default value is ON.
When hardwareAcceleration=OFF, the graphics driver uses a software implementation of OpenGL that is included with the operating system. This results in slower drawing on most systems; however, you may have to use the software implementation of OpenGL if the hardware graphics driver is incompatible with Abaqus/CAE.
hardwareAcceleration is used only when you first start Abaqus/CAE on a Windows platform; you cannot configure hardwareAcceleration during a session.hardwareAcceleration is not used when you start Abaqus/CAE on an X-Windows platform and display to a Windows platform running Exceed or any other X-Windows server.
A Boolean specifying whether hardware overlay planes will be used if available. The default value is the same value as the hardwareOverlayAvailable member.
When hardwareOverlayAvailable=OFF, it will not be possible to set hardwareOverlay to ON and the HARDWARE_OVERLAY highlight method will not be available. If viewports display a solid color and will not display the model, it will be necessary to inhibit hardware overlay completely by setting the ABAQUS_EMULATE_OVERLAYS environment variable (to any value) before starting Abaqus/CAE.
hardwareOverlay is used only when you first start Abaqus/CAE; you cannot configure hardwareOverlay during a session.
A Boolean specifying whether textures will be used to display contour plots. The default value is ON.
Turning off texture mapping is necessary only if viewports will not correctly display a contour plot of your model.
A Boolean specifying whether textures will be used to display contour plots. The default value is ON.
Turning off texture mapping for printing is necessary only if printed output does not correctly display a contour plot of your model. printTextureMapping is similar to textureMapping; however, printTextureMapping is used when printing and textureMapping is used for display. Some systems, especially Windows, use different OpenGL drivers for printing and display, and you may have to use different settings for each driver.
A SymbolicConstant specifying the background style to be used for all viewport windows. Possible values are SOLID and GRADIENT. The default value is SOLID.
If backgroundStyle=SOLID, the viewport background will appear as a solid color as specified by backgroundColor. If backgroundStyle=GRADIENT, the viewport background will be drawn as a gradient beginning with the backgroundColor at the top of the viewport and gradually blending to the backgroundBottomColor at the bottom of the viewport.
A String specifying one of the two background colors for all viewport windows. The initial color is black. A list of valid color strings is in the colors map in the Session object.
A String specifying one of the two background colors for all viewport windows. This color is used only if backgroundStyle =GRADIENT. The initial color is black. A list of valid color strings is in the colors map in the Session object.
A Boolean specifying whether a viewport background style of GRADIENT can be overridden when displaying certain objects, such as sketches or XY plots. When overridden, the background will be the top color of the gradient background.
A Boolean specifying whether facets that are determined to be facing away from the viewer will be drawn. The default value is ON. backfaceCulling provides a performance enhancement when displaying solid elements where the front side of the element occludes the back side of the element. Set backfaceCulling=OFF if it appears that you are seeing the back side of an element and the front side is missing. You should also set backfaceCulling=OFF if you believe the display is not complete.
A Boolean specifying whether the hardware accelerated graphics driver will be used for off-screen rendering. The default value is ON if graphics hardware acceleration is available and has not been disabled via the hardwareAcceleration option, and the graphics driver supports the underlying technology. When set to OFF, an alternate (slower) technique will be used to create off-screen images. Off-screen rendering is used for Printing, Probe, and backing store (viewport refresh). Setting this value to OFF will force printed images to be rendered without hardware acceleration. This is useful when writing automated tests to produce raster images that you will want to compare across multiple machines that may have different graphics environments.
A Boolean specifying whether a backing store will be used to refresh a viewport after a window occluding the viewport is moved or dismissed. The default value is ON.
A Boolean specifying if the graphics hardware supports the OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL).
An Int specifying whether speed or accuracy is more important when drawing translucent objects. Lower values optimize for speed while higher values optimize for accuracy. The actual meaning of each setting will depend on the setting of shadersAvailable and the capabilities of the graphics hardware and driver. Possible values are 1
None or a GraphicsOptions object specifying the object from which values are to be copied. If other arguments are also supplied to setValues, they will override the values in the options member. The default value is None.
A Float specifying a tolerance used when computing the appropriate scale for transforming result (contour) values to texture values. When set too low the 'out of range' colors may be incorrectly shown for values near the range limits. The default value is 0.5×10–5.
Return value
Exceptions
RangeError.
The GraphicsOptions object can have the following members:
A Boolean specifying whether a viewport background style of GRADIENT can be overridden when displaying certain objects, such as sketches or XY plots. When overridden, the background will be the top color of the gradient background.
A Boolean specifying whether facets that are determined to be facing away from the viewer will be drawn. The default value is ON. backfaceCulling provides a performance enhancement when displaying solid elements where the front side of the element occludes the back side of the element. Set backfaceCulling=OFF if it appears that you are seeing the back side of an element and the front side is missing. You should also set backfaceCulling=OFF if you believe the display is not complete.
A SymbolicConstant specifying the graphics driver to use. Abaqus/CAE currently uses OpenGL exclusively so the only possible value is OPEN_GL. OPEN_GL takes advantage of graphics adapter hardware acceleration.
A Boolean specifying whether double buffering is used. The default value is ON.
Double buffering controls where Abaqus/CAE draws its graphics. When doubleBuffering=OFF, everything is drawn directly to the screen and on many systems you can see the progress of the drawing operations. Most users find this distracting, especially in dynamic situations such as view manipulation or animation of results. When doubleBuffering=ON, the drawing occurs in a separate graphics buffer that is displayed when all the drawing operations are complete. This results in a much smoother display during view changes or animation. It is recommended that you set double buffering to ON.
A Boolean specifying whether a display list will be used to accelerate graphics performance. The default value is ON.
When displayLists=ON, drawing operations are recorded in a list that can be quickly replayed. This results in faster drawing on most systems but requires extra memory to record the drawing operations. In the Visualization module, display lists are only used during view manipulations and then their use is subject to the setting of viewManipDisplayListThreshold.
A SymbolicConstant specifying which rendering is used during dynamic rotations of the view. Possible values are:
The default value is AS_IS.
FAST, specifying a rendering mode where the image is rendered in wireframe.
AS_IS, specifying a rendering mode where the image is rendered as is.
When set to dragMode=FAST, a wireframe outline is drawn during view changes by rotation, pan, or zoom. When dragMode=AS_IS, everything displayed in the window will be drawn during view changes; however, the display may lag behind the mouse movement when the model is complex especially if you are using an older or slower system. For newer systems with graphics hardware acceleration the AS_IS setting can be accommodated without significant loss of performance.
A Boolean specifying whether lines will be smoothed to reduce the jagged effect of rasterization. The default value is ON.
A Boolean specifying whether the model is automatically resized to fit the viewport after each view rotation. The default value is OFF.
A Float specifying the offset added when drawing the faces of a polygon. The polygonOffsetConstant argument affects the behavior of only the OpenGL driver. Possible values are 0.0
A Float specifying the factor that multiplies the slope of each line before the line is added to the vertexes of a polygon face. The polygonOffsetSlope argument affects the behavior of only the OpenGL driver. Possible values are 0.0
A Float specifying the offset added when drawing the faces of a polygon. printPolygonOffsetConstant is similar to polygonOffsetConstant; however, printPolygonOffsetConstant is used when printing and polygonOffsetConstant is used for display. Some systems, especially Windows, use different OpenGL drivers for printing and display, and you may have to use different offset values for each driver.
A Float specifying the factor that multiplies the slope of each line before the line is added to the vertexes of a polygon face. printPolygonOffsetSlope is similar to polygonOffsetSlope; however, printPolygonOffsetSlope is used when printing and polygonOffsetSlope is used for display. Some systems, especially Windows, use different OpenGL drivers for printing and display, and you may have to use different offset values for each driver.
A Boolean specifying how the three-dimensional vertices of the model are processed. When vertexArrays=OFF, each vertex of the model is processed separately. When vertexArrays=ON, the vertices are processed in large blocks resulting in faster display. Not all graphics adapters support this capability correctly. An indicator that the graphics adapters is not processing three-dimensional vertices correctly is the absence of graphics during “rubber banding” operations. For example, when dynamically dragging the radius of a circle in the Sketcher, the circle should be visible. The default value is ON.
A Boolean specifying whether the vertexArrays setting should temporarily be set to OFF when building a display list. The default value is ON.
Some graphics adapters do not properly support using vertex arrays inside a display list. Setting vertexArraysInDisplayLists to OFF has a smaller impact on graphics performance than setting vertexArrays or displayLists to OFF.
An Int specifying how large a display list may be created in order to accelerate view manipulation operations. Increasing this value when viewing large models will increase the delay before a view manipulation operation begins in order to obtain improved graphics performance during the view manipulation. If set high with a large model, the delay can be many seconds. In excessive cases, graphics memory can be exceeded and the result may be an empty display list (no visible model) for the view manipulation. This setting is treated as 0 if displayLists=OFF. Possible values are 0
A Boolean specifying how Abaqus renders X11 graphics operations. When directRendering=OFF, the graphics are rendered through the X Server. When directRendering=ON, the graphics operations are sent directly to the graphics adapter producing faster displays. For maximum performance, the initial value is ON. This argument is used only when you first start Abaqus/CAE; you cannot configure directRendering during a session.
A Boolean specifying whether a hardware accelerated OpenGL graphics driver will be used on Windows platforms. The default value is ON.
When hardwareAcceleration=OFF, the graphics driver uses a software implementation of OpenGL that is included with the operating system. This results in slower drawing on most systems; however, you may have to use the software implementation of OpenGL if the hardware graphics driver is incompatible with Abaqus/CAE.
hardwareAcceleration is used only when you first start Abaqus/CAE on a Windows platform; you cannot configure hardwareAcceleration during a session.hardwareAcceleration is not used when you start Abaqus/CAE on an X-Windows platform and display to a Windows platform running Exceed or any other X-Windows server.
A Boolean specifying whether hardware overlay planes will be used if available. The default value is the same value as the hardwareOverlayAvailable member.
When hardwareOverlayAvailable=OFF, it will not be possible to set hardwareOverlay to ON and the HARDWARE_OVERLAY highlight method will not be available. If viewports display a solid color and will not display the model, it will be necessary to inhibit hardware overlay completely by setting the ABAQUS_EMULATE_OVERLAYS environment variable (to any value) before starting Abaqus/CAE.
hardwareOverlay is used only when you first start Abaqus/CAE; you cannot configure hardwareOverlay during a session.
A Boolean specifying whether textures will be used to display contour plots. The default value is ON.
Turning off texture mapping is necessary only if viewports will not correctly display a contour plot of your model.
A Boolean specifying whether textures will be used to display contour plots. The default value is ON.
Turning off texture mapping for printing is necessary only if printed output does not correctly display a contour plot of your model. printTextureMapping is similar to textureMapping; however, printTextureMapping is used when printing and textureMapping is used for display. Some systems, especially Windows, use different OpenGL drivers for printing and display, and you may have to use different settings for each driver.
A SymbolicConstant specifying the background style to be used for all viewport windows. Possible values are SOLID and GRADIENT. The default value is SOLID.
If backgroundStyle=SOLID, the viewport background will appear as a solid color as specified by backgroundColor. If backgroundStyle=GRADIENT, the viewport background will be drawn as a gradient beginning with the backgroundColor at the top of the viewport and gradually blending to the backgroundBottomColor at the bottom of the viewport.
A Boolean specifying whether the hardware accelerated graphics driver will be used for off-screen rendering. The default value is ON if graphics hardware acceleration is available and has not been disabled via the hardwareAcceleration option, and the graphics driver supports the underlying technology. When set to OFF, an alternate (slower) technique will be used to create off-screen images. Off-screen rendering is used for Printing, Probe, and backing store (viewport refresh). Setting this value to OFF will force printed images to be rendered without hardware acceleration. This is useful when writing automated tests to produce raster images that you will want to compare across multiple machines that may have different graphics environments.
A Boolean specifying whether a backing store will be used to refresh a viewport after a window occluding the viewport is moved or dismissed. The default value is ON.
A SymbolicConstant specifying the highlight method. For the GraphicsOptions object, possible values of the member are HARDWARE_OVERLAY, XOR, SOFTWARE_OVERLAY, and BLEND.
A Boolean specifying if the graphics hardware supports hardware overlay.
A Boolean specifying if the graphics hardware supports the OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL).
An Int specifying whether speed or accuracy is more important when drawing translucent objects. Lower values optimize for speed while higher values optimize for accuracy. The actual meaning of each setting will depend on the setting of shadersAvailable and the capabilities of the graphics hardware and driver. Possible values are 1
A Float specifying a tolerance used when computing the appropriate scale for transforming result (contour) values to texture values. When set too low the 'out of range' colors may be incorrectly shown for values near the range limits. The default value is 0.5×10–5.
None or a GraphicsOptions object specifying the object from which values are to be copied. If other arguments are also supplied to setValues, they will override the values in the options member. The default value is None.
A tuple of SymbolicConstants specifying a hint used to modify the highlight method. Possible values are:
The default value is (HARDWARE_OVERLAY, XOR, SOFTWARE_OVERLAY, BLEND).
HARDWARE_OVERLAY, specifying a hint of hardware overlay. The best graphics performance is achieved using hardware overlay, but not all systems and graphics adapters support hardware overlay.
XOR, specifying a hint of XOR technique. The XOR technique uses a boolean pixel operation to simulate the drawing operations but can produce different colors depending on the color of the underlying pixels.
SOFTWARE_OVERLAY, specifying a hint of software overlay. The software overlay method simulates the effect of hardware overlay.
BLEND, specifying a hint of blend method. The blend method combines the color of the underlying pixel with the desired color producing an approximation of the transient graphics.
The values of this sequence are applied by Abaqus when you start a session in first to last order. The first successful value becomes the default highlight method. Not all graphics adapters support the HARDWARE_OVERLAY value and you must use the highlightMethodHint argument to provide an alternative.
You can use a single value to set the first element of the list, or you can use a tuple with one to four unique values. Abaqus sets any remaining elements of the tuple to unique values based on the default order.
A String specifying one of the two background colors for all viewport windows. The initial color is black. A list of valid color strings is in the colors map in the Session object.
A String specifying one of the two background colors for all viewport windows. This color is used only if backgroundStyle =GRADIENT. The initial color is black. A list of valid color strings is in the colors map in the Session object.