Coloring nodes or elements in the Visualization module

When an output database is selected in the current viewport, you can color code selected Nodes and Elements to customize the display of your results in a viewport. For step-by-step instructions on using the Color Code dialog box, see Coloring geometry and mesh elements. To color code by selected item attributes instead of nodes or elements, see Customizing the display color of individual objects.

See Also
Coloring geometry and mesh elements
Customizing the display color of individual objects

For the Element and Node item types, your item choices vary with the method that you select from the By list at the top of the Color Code dialog box. Some selection methods require you to complete the information in the Color Mappings table. Regardless of whether the Color Mappings table is completed by Abaqus/CAE or by you, once it is complete, you can select multiple cells to change node and element colors, node symbol shapes, and node symbol sizes (see Selecting multiple items from lists and tables for more information).

When you change node and element colors, you must select the colors you want from the Select Color dialog box. Abaqus/CAE does not support automatic color coding for nodes and elements. In addition, the columns in the Color Mappings table are not sortable when you examine color mappings for Nodes and Elements; consider using the filter if you need to find node or element names from a large list.

The Color Code dialog box does not retain node and element color selections when you close the dialog box or switch viewports. You should consider saving color macros frequently when you change node and element colors; see Saving and restoring custom color mappings, for more information.

Choose from the following selection methods to color elements and nodes in your model:

Pick from viewport

Select Pick from viewport to specify elements or nodes by picking them directly from the viewport. Click Edit Selection or Add Selection, respectively, to edit an existing row or to add a new row to the Color Mappings table. Abaqus/CAE automatically enters pick mode, and Select items for color coding appears in the prompt area. See Selecting objects within the viewport for more information on picking items in the viewport. Click Delete Selection to delete a highlighted row from the table.

Element labels (Node labels)

Select Element labels or Node labels to specify elements or nodes by number. For each row in the Color Mappings table, select the name of the part instance to which the nodes or elements belong from the list in the Part instance column and type a list of element or node numbers separated by commas or a range of numbers such as 1:4 into the Labels field. If desired, you can specify a range using a number other than 1 as the operator; for example, 1:21:5 selects items labeled 1, 6, 11, 16, and 21.

Result value

Select Result value to specify elements or nodes containing results within a given range of values.

The output variable to be considered is displayed at the bottom of the Color Mappings table, to the right of the Field Output button. To select a new result variable, click Field Output; see Selecting the field output to display for more information on the Field Output dialog box. Choose from the filtering methods in the Type cell; the symbols represent results below , inside , outside , or above the selected value or range. Enter the required value or values in the Min value and Max value cells to specify the range for the filter type that you selected. You can add rows to the table and select different filtering methods and result ranges, but all rows refer to the same field output variable. Every element (or node) in the model is used in the filtering process, regardless of the current active display group in the model.

Note:

The bounds for filtering based on element or nodal output variables are always based on the values of a variable at the nodes. Therefore, element-based output quantities are extrapolated and averaged at the nodes before comparing them against the user-defined bounds. The averaging settings in the Result Options dialog box determine how element-based variables are calculated at the nodes. For example, consider a case where elements are filtered based on Mises stress using the default averaging threshold of 75%. After extrapolation to the nodes, the values are averaged according to this threshold. This conditional averaging may result in several distinct values of Mises stress at the node based on contributions from the various elements to which the node belongs. Any element whose Mises stress contribution falls within the user-defined bounds is included in the color coding selection.

All elements (All nodes)

Select All elements or All nodes to select all items of the specified type in your model. No further item specification is necessary.

Node sets

Select Node sets to specify a new color for node sets saved in your model. The Color Mappings table lists all the available set names. You can select element sets by using the All item type.

Internal sets

Select Internal sets to specify internal (created by Abaqus/CAE) node or element sets. The Color Mappings table lists all the available set names.

Display groups

Select Display groups to specify a saved display group. The Color Mappings table lists all the available display group names.

Part instances

Select Part instances to specify a new color for all nodes in the selected part instance. The Color Mappings table lists all part instances in the model.

To select all the elements in a part instance, use the Part instances method for the All item type.