File annotations

Andrea

It would be useful to have a window where you can enter notes related to the file.

Sergio

I support that, revisiting old analyses after years can be tricky, and having a short note explaining the reason or boundary conditions can help a lot.

Victor

I'm not sure the best way this should work. I wonder if you two or anyone else could suggest how it might look? Some thoughts:

1. One notes field for the whole model?

2. Plain text, or allowing images and/or formatting, even embedding some other document file?

3. Able to put a separate note on each thing, like a load, component, material, etc.?

4. Notes can appear in the graphics area like callouts pointing to parts of the model?

Sergio

I think that these anotations could be translated into the different input files (CCX and OpenRadioss), so it should be only text.

1. For the analysis could be a separated text field and branch in the model tree (*HEADING card for CCX, don´t know the equivalent for OpenRadioss)

2. Plain text, to be able to write in the input files. There is now an option to include images in the model tree

3. That would be great, translated as comentaries to the input files. Is always good to have a remainder of why we apply such bc or material. For the material maybe could be added a new tab to show such anotations, is a god practice to document complex materials.

4. Well, if we talk about notes on the graphic area... I think that Mecway deserve a full title block for the graphic area, maybe customizable with some kind of variables such as program/version, solver/version, kind of analysis, analyst, analisys file, date and maybe that first text note (heading). Imagine a new tab in the options window with checks for selecting those fields. Just having the program name in each screen capture of the graphic area will serve as good and free publicity for the program.

polymathic

1. One notes field for the whole model?

Yes please! Global revision notes. Very useful by the time you're on iteration 57 of a complex model.

2. Plain text, or allowing images and/or formatting, even embedding some other document file?

Plain text for mine, +1 to Sergio's comment about keeping it plain so it can go into the input deck.

3. Able to put a separate note on each thing, like a load, component, material, etc.?

Now we're getting fancy. But yes please and +1 to everything Sergio said on this item.

4. Notes can appear in the graphics area like callouts pointing to parts of the model?

Hmmm. Not sure I'd use this. It just never works out that way, I am more likely annotating over the top in the report document. But again, 'what Sergio said', more "metadata" in the plot window would be good, provided you can set your default on/off switches for their presence and have those switches persist. I don't know how many billion times I've turned off the various clutter in the plot window in other softwares because of non-persistence.

Edit:
Sorry for the hijack, while we're sort of on the topic of small things that make the software more professional friendly, 'copy plot window to clipboard'. Much faster than save-as image, go to report document, import image.

And persistence of user defined max/min and units in contour plot, ie by defining the user min/max in the field request. Defining persistent user max/min seems like a small thing but when you have 400k+ elements, any avoided click is 15 seconds saved.

JohnM

Victor

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Looks like a good way would be:

Top priority: Global text note field that gets written to the top of the CCX/OpenRadioss input files too.

Lower priority: Configurable title block

Lowest priority: Text notes on individual items. It might not be possible to write them to the solver input files though because they often get broken up and scattered around, especially with CCX.

There is already a copy to clipboard function - Edit -> Copy image. Maybe it's not well named so it's hard to see?

Sergio

About the copy to clipboard function, I use very very few times, maybe if it would be available as an option in the contextual menu in the model tree when we select the field to postprocess, or maybe adding a new contextual menu to the graphic area (including maybe the selection modes, show/hide selected component... and copy to clipboard)