Linking viewports

You can control which viewports in your Abaqus/CAE session will be linked and the characteristics that the linked viewports will share.

Several of the linked viewport options are available in all modules; some of the options, such as displaying the same plot state in all linked viewports, are applicable only in the Visualization module.

Related Topics
Using the view manipulation tools
Understanding plot states and plot customization
Customizing viewport annotations
Creating or editing a display group
Reading X–Y data from output database history output
Saving an X–Y data object
Producing an X–Y plot
Selecting section point data
Selecting the results step and frame

  1. Link viewports using one of the following methods:

    • From the main menu bar, select ViewportLink Viewports.

      Tip: You can activate or deactivate linked viewports by clicking in the Viewport toolbar.

    • From the main menu bar, select ViewportLinked Viewports Manager and toggle on Link viewports.

      Tip: You can also display the Linked Viewports Manager by clicking in the Viewport toolbar.

  2. By default, all of the characteristics of the viewports are shared in linked viewports. From the Options portion of the Linked Viewports Manager, you can control which characteristics are shared.

    • Toggle on View manipulations to enable simultaneous view manipulations in the linked viewports.

    • Toggle on Plot states to display the same plot state or states in the linked viewports. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on Plot options to display the same plot options in the linked viewports. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on Field output to display results for the same field output variable in the linked viewports. When you change the field output variable for one of the linked viewports, Abaqus/CAE displays the newly selected field output variable in all viewports with output databases that contain that field output variable. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on Rotation centers to use a common center of rotation across all linked viewports.

    • Toggle on Viewport annotation options to display viewport annotations in the same way across all linked viewports. When you display, hide, or customize the display of a viewport annotation such as the legend in the Viewport Annotation Options dialog box, Abaqus/CAE applies that change across all linked viewports.

    • Toggle on View cuts to display the same view cuts in all linked viewports. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on Display groups to perform selected display group operations simultaneously in all linked viewports. If you select specific items for the display group by names or labels, the same display group operation is performed in all linked viewports that share the items specified. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on XY data from history output to share X–Y data created from history output across viewports. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on Section points to share section point selection across viewports. Linking section point selection by category occurs only if all the section categories in the current viewport are present in the other linked viewports; for envelope plots, this restriction does not exist. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

    • Toggle on Frames to set the step and frame in the linked viewports. This option applies only in the Visualization module.

      • Select Frame navigation to set the step and frame in the linked viewports using the ODB Frame buttons (First, Previous, Next, and Last). For example, Next increments the frame number currently displayed in each of the linked viewports.
      • Select Frame selection to set the linked viewports to the same step and frame number by making a selection in the Step/Frame dialog box or the Frame Selector.

  3. Be default, all viewports in your session are linked when you link viewports. From the Linked Viewports portion of the Linked Viewports Manager, deselect the viewports that you want to remain independent.

  4. If you made changes in the Linked Viewports Manager, click OK to apply your changes and to close the manager.

    The linked viewports exhibit the shared behavior you specified in the Options selections.