Introduction

StressCheck provides an integrated graphing function for viewing computed data. A graph pane of computed data is automatically produced by all Results output classes except Plot Solution. A graph pane may also be displayed to illustrate nonlinear material properties and nonlinear radiation boundary condition coefficients. The graph pane is automatically formatted for each type of data, but it is sometimes desirable to change the format from the default (as described in the following).

Graph Appearance

The following is an example of a graph pane produced after a Min/Max extraction (Figure 1):

Note that the graph pane is split into two distinct regions: the plot area (top) and the table area (bottom). By default, the plot area is displayed with a gray background and a light blue frame, with plotted data connected by straight lines. The plot area can be customized by right-clicking on the plot area and selecting from the available options (as discussed in the following). The table area contains one column for each data variable represented (e.g. maximum S1, global X-location), and a row for each value of each column (e.g. Run number, point number). Note that the format of the tabular data may be specified in the “Format:” field of the Results dialog before the computation is executed.

Setting Independent/Dependent Variables

Depending on the type of plot, StressCheck will select a column of data to be the independent variable representing the X-axis of the graph. By default, the following are the independent variables for the Results classes:

• Error: DOF
• Min/Max: DOF
• Points: Point number (N)
• Resultant: DOF
• Fracture: DOF

Each column of data can be plotted as an independent or dependent variable on the graph by left-clicking on the column’s header label and selecting “Independent Variable” or “Dependent Variable”, respectively. For example, the user may choose to plot a Points extraction based on an independent variable of the Y-coordinate instead of the point number (N):

To display more/fewer dependent variables in the plot area, you may left click the desired data column and select/deselect “Dependent Variable”. Note: only one independent variable may be selected, but multiple dependent variables may be simultaneously displayed. You may read the data value for any point on the graph by positioning the mouse cursor over the data point of interest. A cross-hair will appear over the data point and the X and Y values of the data point will be displayed at the bottom of the graph.

Copying/Pasting Tabular Data

The tabular data may be copied to the Microsoft Windows clipboard by right-clicking on the table area and selecting “Copy grid to clipboard”. Once the table is deposited on the clipboard, it may be pasted into any other Windows application which accepts tabular data from the clipboard (e.g. Microsoft Excel), using the Paste command (Ctrl-V). For example, tabular data may be copied from the graph pane and pasted into Microsoft Excel:

Copying/Pasting Graph Image

An image of the graph may be copied to the Microsoft Windows clipboard by right-clicking on the plot area and selecting “Copy chart to clipboard”. Once the graph is deposited on the clipboard, it may be pasted into any other Windows application which accepts graphic data from the clipboard (e.g. Microsoft Word), using the Paste command (Ctrl-V). For example, an image of the graph may be copied from the graph pane and pasted into Microsoft Word:

Graph Options

The right-click menu on the plot area provides graphical appearance and customization options (Figure 2):

• Monochrome: changes graph to black/white
• Logarithmic X Axis: changes X-axis (dependent variable) to logarithmic scale
• Logarithmic Y Axis: changes Y-axis (independent variable) to logarithmic scale
• Show Grid: activates gridlines on the graph pane
• Axes Labels: controls independent variable axis format. Select from “Scientific”, “Decimal” or “Alternate”
• Copy chart to clipboard: copies an image of the graph to the Microsoft Windows clipboard
• Viewing Style: select from many different graph styles and formats
• Border Style: select graph region border (default is “Thin Line”)
• Font Size: select “Large”, “Medium” or “Small” (default is “Medium”)
• Show Legend: displays the legend
• Numeric Precision: select up to 3 decimals (default is 1 decimal)
• Plotting Method: select from many options for plot rendering (default is “Points + Line”)
• Data Shadows: select shadow option (default is “Off”)
• Grid Options: select from many options for gridline display (defaults are “Hide Grid Lines” and “One Pixel Grid Lines”)
• Include Data Labels: activates display of data labels for each data point
• Customization Dialog: controls the axis data ranges, fonts for the graph title, labels, etc., graph colors, and graph point/line style (see below).
• Export Dialog: options for exporting data/images (see below).

Customization Dialog

Axis Options

Select the Y Axis and X Axis settings, axis type, min, max or min/max values.

Font Options

Select the font family and style for the Main Title, Sub-Title and Subset/Point/Axis Labels.

Color Options

Set the foreground/background for the graph, as well as shadow and border styles.

Style Options

Set the marker/line symbols and colors for the dependent variable(s).

Export Dialog

The format of the export can be image files, like bitmap (BMP), JPG or PNG, but also “Text/Data” is available.

• The export destination can be to the “ClipBoard”, or can be to a file or sent to your printer.
• The export size can be in millimeters/inches for EMF/WMF, or pixels for image files.

Text/Data Options

Select the “Text/Data” toggle and click the “Export” button to view the Text/Data options.

• Select Subsets and Points: use all data, or selected data. Hold CTRL to select subsets (columns) and points (rows).
• Export What: export data or data/labels.
• Export Style: export data as a list (single column) or data (row/column).
• Delimited: export data as tab or comma delimited (List export style).
• Row vs Column: export data as subsets/points or points/subsets (Data export style).
• Numeric Precision: export data using current precision or the maximum session precision.