In the FLAC3D software, how can I generate a video file with the images obtained from the tool: “Generate Movie Frames”?
2 Likes
To make videos from software plots, Itasca has provided a few different ways to do this. All methods involve exporting a series of bitmaps (PNG files) from the software. Then you can use a video editor (Camtasia, Windows’ free Video Editor, or even PowerPoint) to stitch them into a final video. Tools available for exporting images to be used as movie frames include:
Commands/FISH: You can always use FISH and plot commands to export model plots as shown below. This approach gives you a lot of flexibility to control what, when, and how a plot is exported. See: plot export command — FLAC3D 7.0 documentation
Manual export: You can manually export a PNG bitmap by right-clicking on a plot and selecting Export > Bitmap… This works well for figures, but is limited for videos that may require dozens or hundreds of images for multiple plots across different model states. See: The Plot Pane — FLAC3D 7.0 documentation.
Movie settings: To automate exporting plots you can use the Movie settings under Tools > Options > Movie.
Just specify the export frequency, bitmap type, image size, any file prefix, and which existing plots should be exported. If you rerun your model, don’t forget to check the prefix name or reset the index counter used in the bitmap file name. See: Movie Options — FLAC3D 7.0 documentation. You can also control the movie settings using commands. See: plot movie command — FLAC3D 7.0 documentation.
Generate movie frames post-processor: If you didn’t know what you wanted to export as a video in advance, want to modify the plots, or include new plots, the Generate Movie Frames dialog (under Tools) is useful for post-processing plots across multiple result or save files. This tool automates the process of restoring saved model states and exporting one or more plots. This tool is for post-processing only and your project must have existing result or save files.
This dialog allows you to specify which save/result files and plots to include (or exclude), the image resolution, and the output folder. You can also reference a data file to be called each time a model state is restored. This can be useful if you wanted to added add something (e.g., a mine plan as geometry from a DXF file) that wasn’t in the previously saved model state. See: Generate Movie Frames — FLAC3D 7.0 documentation.
2 Likes
Perfect, thank you very much for the information.
One last question related to graph generation, how is it possible to add cycle number or time step information to a result file (file.result)?
The timestep information is included in the results file. The timestep plot-item is off by default, but you can include it by clicking on the Legend plot-item and clicking the Step checkbox.
1 Like
Thank you very much, it was just what I was looking for.
Hi @degagne_test, do you have a similar guideline for FLAC?
In FLAC8 and previous versions, find the Movie button in GUI->Run->Movie, and then follow the steps shown in the movie window, however, you can only create one movie at a time. In FLAC8.1, you can create movies up to 20, but you need to follow the commands stated in the manual.
Hello @jwang, I’ve tried this procedure but only get empty graphs like the below one. Feels like I need to activate de plot before or something similar.
We suggest sending a data file to flacsupport@itascacg.com
Hi all,
is there a way to show the value of a global FISH variable in a plot? I found the function scalars as user defined quantity but it shows all the values of the FISH variable from the begging to the end of the analysis while I would like to show just the latest value.
Thank you.
Francesco
Click one of datafile (not a plot) tag, all global FISH variables will be listed on the right.
Hi,
I was searching a way to include in a plot just a FISH variable value which changes as the analysis progresses, in the same position in which contour plot legends are shown.