Using ADFview and ADFmovie beta version 2004.02
Feedback
Since this is beta software we are very much interested in getting feedback. Both technical remarks (problems, bugs, etc.) and suggestions for improving the interface or feature set are very welcome. If some features are hard to understand, let us know!
Following is a short description of the main features of the programs. We hope you will not need to read it ... but if you get stuck it might help. But please let us know where you are getting stuck so we can improve the interface.
Starting the programs
The name of the ADFview beta version is adfv. Thus, to start you should type adfv on the commandline, not adfview. Similarly, the name of the ADFmovie beta program is adfm.
Both ADFview beta and ADFmovie beta work very well over the network using the X11 protocol. Thus you can start ADFview on the machine where your calculation results are (the TAPE41), and have it use your local display to visualize those results. You do this as with any X11 program: by setting the DISPLAY environment variable properly.
Since ADFview beta and ADFmovie beta use OpenGL to get a good performance, they need to use the graphics card of your local computer. To get this working properly:
- you must have an X11 installation including GLX on both computers (local and remote)
- if you normally route your X11 connection through ssh you might have trouble (failure to start up ADFview, or very slow performance). In that case set your DISPLAY variable to make a direct connection to your local display (and on your local machine, use xhost to allow this connection). Of course this connection will not be secure!
ADFview beta tips
Opening and saving
ADFview can only read TAPE41 files as created by densf. The file should have a .t41 extension, and you can specify the file to read on the commandline (as only argument of adfv), or you can use the File:Open menu command to select the file.
When saving a picture, you need to supply a filename with extension. The extension determines the format used to save the picture. Currently supported formats are: PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP and PS.
Add visual items
If you go to the Add menu, you will find a couple of ways to add visual elements to your picture. The isosurfaces are just that (same as in ADFview), but you can also add Cut planes. These cut planes are either colored by some function value, or they show contour lines of some function.
After you added a visual item, below the picture a line with controls specifically for that item appears. Just try what the different controls do. With the first pull-down menu you can show even more controls (Show Details).
If you make an object transparent (Show Details, and then reduce the opacity), results might contain lots of artefacts. Especially when you are looking through several transparent surfaces at the same time.
Using the mouse
By clicking and dragging in the picture you can rotate, translate and zoom your surfaces:
- left mouse button: rotate
- left mouse button AND control key: rotate in-plane
- middle mouse button, OR left AND alt key: translate
- right mouse button, OR left AND command key: zoom
When rotating the picture you have two different modes:
Press the 'j' key to get in 'joystick' mode. The picture will continuously rotate in the direction of the mouse (or in-plane when using the control key).
Press the 't' key to get in 'trackball' mode. The picture will follow the mouse. This is the default mode.
Fields
Use the Fields menu to generate new fields from the fields already present on your input file.
One type of field is a 'calculated' field: it is constructed by combining the existing fields in some way. Once generated, you can use them as any other field.
Another type of field is an 'interpolated' field: it is constructed using interpolation from an existing field. You can use it to create a field with more points to get smoother lines and surfaces. Or you can use it to create a field with less data points to make the visualization faster.
View
By default, the visual items are lighted by a light fixed with respect to the viewer. By activating a scene light you can also add a light in a position fixed with respect to the visual objects. You can manipulate the position of the scene light by selecting 'Position light', and moving the little ball over the surface of the sphere that appears. You can also set the intensity of the scene light, and of course turn it on or off.
You can activate anti-aliasing to get pictures which look better, especially the edges of objects. This is good if you want to save a high-quality picture. But it is also extremely time-consuming, so you should probably leave it off in most cases.
Using the background menu you can select the background color for your picture.
ADFmovie beta tips
Opening and saving
As with the old ADFmovie, you can open logfiles, TAPE21's or .amv files.
When saving a picture, you need to supply a filename with extension. The extension determines the format used to save the picture. Currently supported formats are: PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP and PS.
When saving all picture frames, you need to supply a filename with extension. Again, the extension determines the format used. Next ADFmovie will save each frame of the movie, and the file names will be the name you specified with a sequence number. Next, you should probably use some external program to combine these individual frames into a movie.
Using the mouse
By clicking and dragging in the picture you can rotate, translate and zoom your surfaces:
- left mouse button: rotate
- left mouse button AND control key: rotate in-plane
- middle mouse button, OR left AND alt key: translate
- right mouse button, OR left AND command key: zoom
When rotating the picture you have two different modes:
Press the 'j' key to get in 'joystick' mode. The picture will continuously rotate in the direction of the mouse (or in-plane when using the control key).
Press the 't' key to get in 'trackball' mode. The picture will follow the mouse. This is the default mode.
By clicking ON an atom you select it. By shift-clicking on atoms, you modify the selection by adding or removing the atom clicked on. Information about the selection (bond distances, atom type, angles) will be visible below the picture.
View
You can activate anti-aliasing to get pictures which look better, especially the edges of objects. This is good if you want to save a high-quality picture. But it is also extremely time-consuming, so you should probably leave it off in most cases.
Using the background menu you can select the background color for your picture.
