When you select a mesh metric, a bar graph is displayed as shown in Figure 57: Mesh Metrics Bar Graph (p. 138). For this illustration, the Element Quality mesh metric was selected in the Details View, so the bar graph displays the minimum to maximum Element Quality values over the entire mesh.
Figure 57: Mesh Metrics Bar Graph
In Figure 57: Mesh Metrics Bar Graph (p. 138), the X-axis represents the value of the selected mesh metric.
Using the Y-Axis Option setting described in Using the Bar Graph Controls (p. 141), you control whether the Y-axis represents the number of elements within a particular quality factor range (the de-fault), or the percentage of the total volume represented by the elements within a particular quality factor range. In Figure 57: Mesh Metrics Bar Graph (p. 138), the Y-axis represents the number of elements.
The alternative would be for the Y-axis to represent the percentage of the total volume. Remember that a model could have a large number of poorly shaped elements that are confined to a small local area. The total volume of these elements might not be significant compared to the volume of the entire model. As a result, the bar corresponding to this low quality factor may not be significant. The Mesh Metric option displays the selected mesh metric without qualifying the elements for acceptability.
Additional characteristics of the bar graph include:
• The graph is displayed only when a mesh metric is selected. If you set Mesh Metric to None, the graph is not displayed. Alternatively, you can click the Metric Graph button on the toolbar to hide/show the graph.
• Resuming a model retains the last-saved state of the graph.
• Clicking the Controls button accesses the graph controls described in Using the Bar Graph Con-trols (p. 141).
• The location of an individual bar along the X-axis is the mid-point of the range of metric values covered by that bar.
• Clicking an individual bar on the graph (or in the column of white space above the bar) changes the view in the Geometry window. The geometry becomes transparent and only those elements meeting the criteria values corresponding to the selected bar are displayed, as shown in Figure 58: Geometry View After Selecting an Individual Bar (p. 139). (The option to click in the column above the bar is helpful if the graph contains very short bars that are difficult to click.)
Figure 58: Geometry View After Selecting an Individual Bar
• If you click and hold the cursor on an individual bar or column, you see a tooltip showing the metric value associated with the bar, along with either a number of elements or the percent of total volume represented by the elements (depending on the Y-Axis Option setting). For example, in Figure 59: Click-ing and HoldClick-ing on an Individual Bar (p. 140), 0.176 is the mid-point of the range of metric values covered by the selected bar, and there are 10 elements with values that fall within that range. The 10 elements are displayed in the Geometry window.
Figure 59: Clicking and Holding on an Individual Bar
• To select multiple bars, hold the CTRL key and click all desired bars. All elements corresponding to all selected bars are displayed in the Geometry window.
• To return the Geometry window to the full mesh view (no transparency; all elements are displayed), click on empty white space on the graph. Empty white space does not include the column of white space above a bar, as clicking in this area selects the bar and displays only those elements associated with it.
• If you click in a column for which there are 0 elements, all that is displayed in the Geometry window is the transparent geometry.
• The graph can be filtered based on element types. See Using the Bar Graph Controls (p. 141) for more information.
• The graph respects section planes and hiding of bodies in the Geometry window. For example, if you hide a body and then click an individual bar to view the elements corresponding to the selected bar, elements in the hidden body are not displayed in the Geometry window, even if they meet the criteria that the bar represents.
• To zoom the graph, hold the ALT key and use your mouse to define a selection box on the graph (i.e., click on the graph and drag the mouse downward and to the right to define the area to zoom; then release the mouse button). To reset the graph to its initial view, hold the ALT key, click on the graph and drag the mouse downward and to the left; then release the mouse button.
• The values of the X-axis and Y-axis labels on the graph correspond to the visible ranges, rather than to global values. For example, the value 198 in Figure 59: Clicking and Holding on an Individual Bar (p. 140) is the maximum end of the range for the Y-axis, based on the current content of the graph. If you zoom the graph or define a new range of values to display as described in Using the Bar Graph Controls (p. 141), the values of the X-axis and Y-axis labels change accordingly along with the content of the graph.