Contour Colors Tab

Activating the command: In the Results environment, Results Contours Settings Legend Properties Contour Colors tab.

Presets

You can select from numerous preset color sets to use for the results contours in this drop-down box. all the presets create a smooth transition from one color to another except for the following; these presets will have distinct borders between the stress regions:

• 10-Color Blue to Red (blue associated with the minimum value)
• Bi-color scheme (blue associated with the minimum value, red with the maximum)
• Standard 7-Color Palette (rainbow palette with violet associated with the minimum value, red with the maximum)
• Tri-color scheme (blue associated with the minimum value, yellow with intermediate, and red with the maximum)

Activating the Custom check box will allow you to customize the colors using the Color Settings section. You may want to start with one of the presets closest to the custom color scheme to be defined before activating the Custom check box.

Color Settings section

The Color Settings section is used to change the color contours beyond the available presets.

Reverse Colors and Invert Min Max Locations is where you change the order of the colors and/or values in the contour legend. The preview shows the effect of each option. Activating only the Reverse Colors check box will reverse the colors but not the location of the minimum and maximum values. Activating only the Invert Min Max Locations check box will reverse the colors and place the minimum value at the top of the legend and the maximum value at the bottom. Activating both check boxes keeps the order of the colors the same as the default but switch the location of the minimum and maximum values in the legend.

The remaining controls in the Color Settings section are used when the Custom check box is activating, so you can customize the colors used in the contour.

• Total Colors. Use this field to specify how many colors will be used to shade the model. More colors will result in a smoother transition across the model.
• Color Index. This is used to specify the color to use for each index. Index 1 is the lowest value. The indices will increase until the maximum index which is defined by the value in the Total Colors field. The color for each index is shown in the color box to the right. Click the color box and select the color to be used for the indicated index.
• Advanced Button. Clicking this button will access the Advanced Contour Colors dialog. The end result of using this dialog is similar to using the Color Index to change the colors one by one, but the Advanced Contour Colors dialog can operate on several color sections simultaneously, insert colors into the contour, and blend the colors from one setting to another.
  • Total Colors. You can either increase or decrease the total number of colors used in the contour with this field. Colors will be added and subtracted from the right end of the list.
  • Selection Section. To select a color in the list above, click it. To select multiple colors, hold down the Ctrl key and click individual colors, or use the Shift key to select all the colors between the first click and the second click. To select all the colors, press the Select All button. To clear the selection set, press the Select None button. Once a color is selected, you can use the buttons below to operate on the selected colors.
    • Insert Button. If you have a single color selected or multiple colors in consecutive order, the Insert button will be available. New colors will be inserted to the left of the current selection set. all the inserted colors will be the color shown in the color for Inserted Cells color box.
    • Edit Button. Once a color is selected, you can edit it by pressing this button. You will be transferred to a screen where you can define a color based on the hue, saturation and luminescence values. The hue increases from the left to right. The saturation increases from the bottom to top. The luminescence can be controlled by the slider to the right of the screen. Once you have the appropriate color selected, click OK. To save this color as a custom color, press the Add to Custom Colors button.
    • Delete Button. Press this button to remove a selected color from the contour.
  • Blend Section. The controls in this section will blend the colors smoothly between the first and last consecutive block of colors selected.
    • Blend Button. Once you have multiple colors selected that are in consecutive order, you can press this button to automatically generate colors that will provide a smooth transition from the color on the left end of the selection set to the color on the right end.
    • Undo Button. Click the Undo button to undo a blend operation.
    • Options Button. Pressing this button will access a screen where you can control the color properties that are used to generate the colors in the blend operation. You can have the contour colors blended using the RGB scheme or the HSV scheme. You can also specify which properties to use within each scheme. The current settings will be displayed beside this button.