How to use the Field Viewer

Objective:

This article will guide you through using the Field Viewer to visualize and inspect field data in your model.

Note:

The Field Viewer lets you inspect field data by visualizing it on a plane, offering insights into field values. You can access this tool with the “Field Viewer” button in the view toolbar, the “F” hotkey, or by right-clicking on an object and choosing “Field Viewer” in the menu.

You can read more about the Field Viewer in the Documentation by going to Help > Documentation in nTop.

Procedure:

1. Activate the Field Viewer

    • Activate with the “Field Viewer” button in the view toolbar, the “F” hotkey, or right-click on an object and choose “Field Viewer” in the menu.
    • The Field Viewer will automatically activate on the object that you have selected. If no object is selected, the tool will open, and you can manually specify the object by typing the object's name into the Object Input in the panel.

2. Adjust the Field Plane Display

    • Transparency: By default, the Field Viewer will display the field with semi-transparency, so you can see the field data overlaid on your object while maintaining visibility of the underlying geometry. Use the Opacity Slider in the Tools panel to adjust the transparency level. 
    • Size of the Field Plane: The size of the field plane is automatically adjusted based on the selected object or the current view in the 3D scene, ensuring it is appropriately scaled for your visualization. If you want to reset the size of the plane, click the Reset Button next to the size input in the Tools panel to quickly set the plane to a size that fits the current viewport. You can also manually adjust the size of the plane by modifying the Size input in the panel.
    • Position and Orientation of the Field Plane: When the Field Viewer is triggered by right-clicking on an object in the viewport, the field plane will automatically be centered on the selected object and oriented based on the surface normal. This provides a quick way to inspect the field data on the object's surface. You can adjust the position or rotation of the plane manually if needed using the controls in the Tools panel and the gimbal in the 3D scene.
    • The Colormap: The Field Viewer allows you to select different colormaps for better visual representation of the field data.
      • Implicit Bodies: An Implicit colormap will be applied automatically when analyzing implicit bodies. This colormap is optimized to provide a clearer distinction of field values inside and outside the body.
      • Scalar Fields: The default colormap for scalar fields is Turbo. However, you can select the Distance Field colormap or the Implicit colormap from the Colormap Dropdown to view the field with a different color scheme.
    • Field Value Display: Isolines help visualize the shape of the field data by showing lines of equal field value. By default, isolines are enabled and automatically adjust their visible interval as you zoom in or out, ensuring they are always visible. You can customize the interval of the isolines by entering specific values in the Interval input in the panel (0 is the adaptive interval). You can also display a specific range of values using the Custom Range option.

3. Using the Probe Feature

    • The Probe feature is enabled by default, allowing you to see the field values at any point on the field. When you hover over the field, the probe will display the field value at that location and highlight the corresponding isoline to show where that value occurs. This feature helps you quickly inspect the distribution of field values and understand how they vary across the field. You can disable the probe feature in the panel.

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