Adding Annotations To Scenes

A variety of options exist for working with the annotations in Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

To create an annotation:

Expand the Tools node and right-click the Annotations node.

Select an annotation from the New submenu.

A new annotation appears under the Annotations node.

Once the annotation has been created, it can be renamed at any time, modified to specify the required text, or added to any scene or plot.

Note	For plot image and scene image annotations, you can create the annotation and apply it to a scene or plot in one action. Drag and drop the node of the plot or the scene into the visualization display, or onto the node, of the destination scene or plot.

To add an annotation to a scene or plot:

Use any of the following techniques:
- Using drag-and-drop to drag the annotation onto the scene or plot node.
- Using drag-and-drop to drag the annotation into the display.
  
  Wherever you drop the annotation in the scene or plot, it will appear at the coordinates specified in the Default Position expert property.
- Using the object selection dialog.
After you add the annotation in the scene or plot, it is represented in the object tree by an applied annotation -- the object in the scene or plot representing the annotation that you added. (Generally once an applied annotation is in a scene or plot, it can only be changed by modifications to its own properties.)

After you add this object to the scene or plot, editing the properties of the original annotation does not affect the applied annotation. You must remove the applied annotation from the scene(s) and/or plot(s) and then put a revised annotation there. Alternatively, you can edit that applied annotation directly. (The exception is the text content of a simple text annotation, which can only be edited from the original.)

To manipulate a graphic from an annotation:

Import a graphic into the annotation by entering the path to the graphic file in the Path property. Alternatively, click the (Custom Editor) of that property to open a separate dialog.
You can enter coordinates in the Default Position property. Alternatively, you can click and drag the image provided the Interactive expert property is activated.
To reduce the image, navigate to the properties of the applied annotation of the scene or plot. Enter a decimal fraction in the Height property to adjust the size as a percentage of the scene or plot. For example, setting the Height to 0.45 scales down the image to 45% of its original size.

Note While this property allows you to enlarge the image beyond its original size, this step is not recommended since it may give the image a grainy appearance.
To control whether the image appears behind or in front of the model, use the drop-down list in the Location property.
The results appear in the scene or plot display if you have it open. In this illustration, Background is selected so that the picture serves as a backdrop for the geometry model.

To manipulate the logo in the display:

To import your own logo, enter the path to the graphic file in the Path property. Alternatively, click the (Custom Editor) of that property to open a separate dialog.
To restore the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ logo, clear the path to the graphic in the Path property.
To shift the annotation’s position, you can enter coordinates in the Position property.
Alternatively, you can click and drag the logo provided the checkbox of the Interactive expert property is activated.
To adjust the transparency of the annotation, change the value of the Opacity property.

The settings range from 0.0 (completely invisible) to 1.0 (completely opaque).

To set the default transparency of the annotation in every scene or plot:
1. Select Tools > Options.
2. In the Options dialog, select the STAR-CCM+ > Visualization node.
3. Change the value of the Logo Opacity property.
4. Click Close.
To control whether the logo appears behind (Background) or in front of (Foreground) the simulation object(s), use the drop-down list in the Display Location property.
To change the logo size, enter decimal fractions in the Height property to represent percentages of the visualization display height (1.0 equals the full height).
Clear the checkbox of the Interactive expert property if you want to ensure that mouse movements will not accidentally move the logo.

To create a report annotation:

Right-click the relevant report node and choose Create Annotation from Report.
This action adds an annotation node with the same name to the Tools > Annotations node.

To customize annotations:

To have solution state data (iteration, solution time, or time-step) come from a recorded solution view, update the Representation property.
To change the position of a particular annotation, use one of the following techniques:
- Click and drag it within the scene or plot display, provided that the annotation has the Interactive expert property and that property is activated.
- Enter coordinates in the properties of the applied annotation.
  - Enter the position vector directly in the Position property.
  - For a 3D image annotation, this type of entry is in two properties: Position and Normal.
  - Alternatively, click the (Custom Editor) of that property to open a separate text input dialog.
  For most applied annotations, the position can be entered using a choice of visualization display-specific coordinate systems:
  - Normalized Viewport: x,y (0, 1) normalized values in viewport; use this to attach an annotation to a fixed location in the visualization display.
  - World: x,y,z global coordinate values; use this to attach an annotation to a point in the model space. This will result in text that moves with the attachment point when the view is changed.
  These options can be selected from the drop-down list of the Coordinate System property of the appropriate applied annotation.
In the example below, an applied annotation has been used with the Normalized Viewport coordinate system to add a title into the Scalar Scene 1 display. A label has also been added using the World coordinate system.

As the scene is manipulated the title remains in the same location, but the label remains near the same part of the symmetry plane as it moves.
To change the font of an annotation:
1. Select an annotation from the feature tree.
2. Within the Properties window, click the ellipsis button to the right of the Font property.
  This action opens the Font dialog, where a Font and Font Style can be selected.
  
  Clicking OK will apply the font to the currently selected annotation.
To change the font color:
1. Click the ellipsis button to the right of the Font Color property.
  
  This opens the Color dialog, where colors can be selected.
To change the background color of an annotation:
1. Select an annotation.
2. Within the Properties window, activate the Background property.
3. Then, click the ellipsis button to the right of the Background Color property.
  This opens the Background Color dialog, where colors can be selected. See Defining Colors.

Other available options:

To copy properties of annotations:
When properties are copied from one annotation to another, all of the properties are applied so that the destination annotation matches the source annotation. This applies only to user-defined annotations of the same type. For example, the properties of a 2D image annotation can be copied to another 2D image annotation, but not to a 3D image one.
The drag-and-drop technique for annotations is to drag the annotation node into the display of the destination scene or plot.
To remove an annotation from a particular scene or plot without eliminating it, you can use either of the following techniques:
- Access the Annotations property of the scene or plot node.
- Bring into focus the scene or plot from which you want to remove the annotation, then right-click the annotation and select Remove. The pop-up menu with this item is available when you right-click either the annotation in the scene or plot display or its node in the object tree.

See the following knowledge base articles:

How to create annotations from Parameters and 3D-CAD Design Parameters
How do I display the iteration number, time step and solution time on a Scene?
How to format the plot annotation for better visualisation
How to Create an Annotation from a Report
How to Store and Manage Images in .sim File