Graphics Tab

Activate the command: Application Menu Options Graphics tab, or Tools Options Application Options Graphics tab.

Select one of the items listed in the lower left portion of the Graphics tab to see the associated settings. The graphics settings are organized into the following nine groups:

Background

• Primary background color pull-down: Sets the color of the background. If not using a gradient color, the entire display area will be this color. If using a gradient color, the primary color will start at the top of the display area.
• Gradient background color check box and pull-down: If activated, sets the color of the display at the bottom.

Mini-Axis

• Position pull-down: Sets where the mini-axis is shown on the screen.
• Show axis labels check box: Causes the X. Y and Z labels on the miniaxis to appear or disappear. To hide the mini-axis entirely, use the View: Miniaxis Display command.
• Include gravity (when applied) check box: When activated, the direction of the applied gravity is shown super-imposed on the mini-axis. The letter G at the end of the arrow distinguishes the gravity from the XYZ arrows. When not activated, the direction of the gravity is shown at the center of the box that encloses the model.
• Size slider: Controls the size of the mini-axis.

Lighting

• Preview model pull-down: Controls the display of the preview at the top of the dialog. This option does not affect the display area.
• Light to edit pull-down: Sets the light source to edit.
• Enable check box: If activated, the chosen Light to edit is turned on. Use the horizontal and vertical sliders to control the position of the light source. Use the color palette to set the color of the light.
• Reset button: Resets the chosen Light to edit to the defaults.

Local Zoom

• Position drop-down: Sets the location of the preview window for View Appearance User Interface Show Local Zoom.
• Size slider: This primarily controls the size of the preview window. Moving the slider towards Larger will cover more of the display area with the preview window. Since the magnification factor is fixed with the Zoom Level slider, changing the size of the preview window also changes the size of the magnifier window by the same factor.
• Zoom Level slider: This controls the magnification factor of the local zoom. Moving the slider towards Closer gives a higher magnification factor (18X); moving it towards Further gives a lower magnification factor (2X).

Scale ruler

• Show ruler by default in new windows check box: If activated, the scale ruler is shown in new windows when they are created. The ruler can be hidden in any given window by using the View: Scale Ruler command.
• Size slider: Sets the size of the scale ruler.

Miscellaneous

• Miscellaneous subsection:
  • Keyboard rotation: This input field controls the viewpoint rotation increment (in degrees) when using the cursor keys.
  • Draw thicker lines: If this checkbox is activated, all mesh lines are drawn with a heavier weight.
  • Big mouse cursor (Ctrl-NumPad +) If this checkbox is activated, the cursor cross-hairs stretch across the entire display area, vertically and horizontally.
• When model is moving: This subsection controls the default model display behavior while the viewpoint is being manipulated (that is, when you zoom, pan, rotate, or change to a different pre-defined view):
  • FEA Editor drop-down menu:
    • Shaded geometry and FEA objects: Surface shading and FEA objects (arrows and glyphs) remain visible during viewpoint motion.
    • Shaded geometry: Surface shading remains visible during viewpoint motion, but FEA objects are temporarily hidden.
    • Wireframe: Surface shading and FEA objects are invisible during viewpoint motion. A wireframe view of the model is displayed instead. This setting uses fewer system resources and can improve graphics performance when larger models are manipulated.
  • Results drop-down menu:
    • Shaded geometry: Surface shading remains visible during viewpoint motion.
    • Wireframe: Surface shading is invisible during viewpoint motion. A wireframe view of the model is displayed instead. This setting uses fewer system resources and can improve graphics performance when larger or complex models are manipulated.
    Note: For the current model, you can override the default behavior using the Results Options View Show Wireframe During Movement ribbon command.

Hardware

• Enable OpenGL hardware acceleration check box: If the graphics card has the ability to use OpenGL acceleration, activating the check box will use it for the graphics acceleration. Toggling the setting can fix problems with the display (items not showing, display is not clean, and so on). If the graphics card does not have OpenGL acceleration capability, or if the user is not an administrator, then this option is unavailable.
• Information button: Displays the rendering information.

Navigation Tools

• Show Navigation Bar checkbox: Toggles the visibility of the navigation bar, the toolbar that appears beneath the ViewCube with different viewing commands.
• ViewCube button: Displays the options for the ViewCube including position and display.
• Steering Wheel button: Displays the options for the SteeringWheels.

Highlight and Selection

• Enable Prehighlight: Select to pre-highlight objects in the graphics window when passed over by the mouse. Choose the prehighlight color in the adjacent drop-down control.
• Enable Selection Highlight: Select to specify the highlight color when you pass the mouse over selected objects. Choose the selection highlight color in the adjacent drop-down control.
• Selection: Drop-down control sets the color for selected objects.