SECTION 5 PLOT CONFIGURATION FILES

1. SECTION 5 PLOT CONFIGURATION FILES

3. Plot Configuration Files • This section explains plot configuration files, how to create them, and how to review the results of your analyses.

4. Plot Configuration Files • What’s in this section: • Plot Configuration Files • Creating Plot Configuration Files • Creating Plots Using a Plot Configuration File • Format of Plot Configuration Files • Example Plot Configuration File

5. Plot Configuration Files • Plot configuration files tell your template-based product: • Which plots to create • The vertical and horizontal components that it should plot • General settings and preferences, such as titles, labels, horizontal and vertical spacing's, scaling, legend text, and more • The files currently support only one plot per page, which can contain multiple axes. You can cross-plot multiple analyses of the same type using one plot configuration file. • Plot configuration files are TeimOrbit files and are stored in your database in the plot_configs.tbl directory. • You can access the plot configuration file functionality in Adams/PostProcessor.

6. Creating Plot Configuration Files • You can create a plot configuration file containing all of the plots currently in Adams/PostProcessor or only a selected set of plots. Your template-based product stores the configuration files in the plot_config table of your default writable database. • Note that you can create only one plot per page.

7. Creating Plot Configuration Files (Cont.) • To create a plot configuration file: • Create and configure plots as desired, including specifying labels and spacing. For example, you can create a set of plots and add subtitles to all of them that describe the type of analysis with which the plots are associated. • From the File menu, point to Export, and then select Plot Configuration File. The Save Plot Configuration File dialog box appears. • In the Configuration File Name text box, enter the name for the plot configuration. • Select the plots and curves that you want to include. • Select OK.

8. Creating Plots Using a Plot Configuration File • After you've run an analysis, you can view the series of plots defined in a plot configuration file. If your plot configuration file contains customization command keywords and it has created the plots and curves, you can have your template-based product invoke the macro that contains a command keyword in its user-entered command. • The plot configuration file specifies a subtitle for your plots. In addition, in the File Import • you can: • Add a title to all the plots. • Plot results of multiple analyses on one plot using the Cross Plotting option. • Change the look of your plot, such as fonts and size, using the option Execute Custom Macros. To use this option, you must have a macro that defines the commands to be executed.

9. Creating Plots Using a Plot Configuration File (Cont.) • To view the plots defined in a plot configuration file: • From the Plot menu, select Create Plots. The File Import dialog box appears. • In the Analyses text box, enter the analysis or analyses from which you want to view results. • In the Plot Configuration File text box, enter the name of the plot configuration file defining the plots that you want to view. • Select OK. • For details, see the Plot tab in the Adams/Car online help.

10. Format of Plot Configuration Files • Plot Data Block • The plot data block has the following structure: • NAME • SUBTITLE • TIME_LOWER_LIMIT • TIME_UPPER_LIMIT • PLOT_AXES (subblock) • COMMAND • command_keyword • After your template-based product creates each plot, it executes the following commands if you defined a command keyword: acar custom_plots <command_keyword> & plot_name=<plot_name> • The command acar custom_plots <command_keyword> must already be created in the current session, either interactively or already present in the acar.bin, aengine.bin, or arail.bin file. • For more information, see KBA 8848 at: http://support.Adams.com/kb/faq.asp?ID=kb8848.html.

11. Format of Plot Configuration Files (Cont.) • Plot-Curve Data Block • The plot-curve data block has the following structure: • NAME • PLOT • VERTICAL_AXIS • HORIZONTAL_AXIS • VERTICAL_COMPONENT • HORIZONTAL_COMPONENT • LEGEND_TEXT • COLOR • red, blue, yellow, magenta, cyan, black, white, skyblue, midnight_blue, blue_gray, dark_gray, silver, peach, maize • STYLE • solid, dash, dotdash, dot • SYMBOL • none, x, o, plus, star, at • LINE_WEIGHT • Real value from 1-4 • COMMAND • command_keyword

12. Format of Plot Configuration Files (Cont.) • After your template-based product creates each curve, it executes the following commands if you defined a command keyword: • The command acar custom_plots <command_keyword> must already be created in the current session, either interactively or already present in the acar.bin, aengine.bin, or arail.bin file. • For more information, see KBA 8848 at: http://support.mscsoftware.com/kb/results_kb.cfm?S_ID=1-KB8848 • We provide several example plot configuration files in the Adams/Car shared database. For details of the output they plot, see KBA 10652 at: http://support.mscsoftware.com/kb/results_kb.cfm?S_ID=1-KB10652

13. Example Plot Configuration File • The following is an example of an Adams/Car plot configuration file: