XY Plot Workflow

Create an XY plot, choose parts and representations, and adjust properties such as orientation and aspect ratio. Decide when to update the plot, and whether to export the updates to image files.

Right-click on the Plots node and select New Plot > XY Plot.
The XY plot is initially empty.
Choose the parts from which to extract data. Use either of the following techniques, which work with regions and boundaries as well as part surfaces:
- Edit the Parts property directly. If you are creating a template simulation that automatically assigns parts to plots, then apply a dynamic query to the property.
- From the simulation tree, you can drag parts onto the plot. These are added to the Parts property.
  Note The only part types that you can drag onto a plot are regions, boundaries, and derived parts.
Choose the representation from which to extract data.
Normally, this is going to be the volume mesh. However, if you have attached a solution history (.simh) file, change the Representation property of the plot to point to the correct one for the file. You can have multiple .simh files open at the same time.
Adjust other high-level properties in the [xy plot] node.
For example, you can set the Orientation and Aspect Ratio of the chart overall.
For property descriptions, see Plot Properties Reference.
Customize the plot as you see fit. See Customizing Plots. You may want to use data formats other than standard lines and symbols. The following alternatives are available:
- Heatmap style—lets you work with high concentrations of data to view the data more clearly. See Setting and Viewing Heatmaps.
- Bubble style—lets you scale the size of symbols according to a chosen scalar, and to vary the color according to another chosen scalar. See Setting and Viewing Bubble Plots.
- Ensemble style—lets you specify a field function by which to split data into individual plotted components.
To control when you want Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to update the plot with additional data, select the [xy plot] > Update node and set Trigger.
Complete the trigger definition using the corresponding child node.
For example, if you set Trigger to Time Step, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ adds a Time-Step Frequency node that you must configure. See Trigger Types and Trigger Properties.
To export an image file containing the plot on every update, select [xy plot] > Update and activate Save To File.Complete the setup by setting the Output Directory and Base Filename.