Mechanical APDL Basic Analysis Guide

10.2.1.1. X11 and X11C.

Graphics Device Name = X11:The X11 graphics driver incorporates X - a distributed windowing system
developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that a variety of platforms support. It provides 2-
D graphics capability. The ANSYS program currently supports Version 11 (thus, "X11") Release 6 of the
X-Window system.

X separat es the functionality of traditional graphics systems into two parts: the X server and the X client.
The server is the part of the system that controls the physical display device. A client is a piece of applic-
ation software, such as the ANSYS or DISPLAY programs. A single server may respond to multiple clients.
The server and client may reside on different machines connected to a network. X transparently handles
all communication between server and client.

Graphics Device Name = X11C: On 2-D display devices that have more than 16 colors (more than four
graphics bit planes; usually eight), the ANSYS program displays the model using light-source shading.
Light-source shading means that when the model is viewed obliquely, the display appears to be 3-D.
You can activate the extra colors using the NCPL field on the /SHOW command (Utility Menu> PlotCtrls>
Device Options).

These devices also offer a 128-contour color option ("C-option").This option allows contour displays to
use the extra colors by adding more colors with a single intensity each. By default, the extra colors are
used to display nine contour colors with varying intensities that simulate light-source shading. You ac-
tivate the 128-contour color option by using X11C for the graphics device name on the /SHOW command.

Individual items can also be selected and displayed with varying degrees of translucency on 2-D devices.
Translucent items will show black on the initial replot, since the 2-D driver generat es only the visible
face. The /SHRINK command (Utility Menu> PlotCtrls> Style> Translucency) will force the hardware
to plot all of the faces and provide the desired translucent effect.

10.2.1.2. 3D.

Graphics Device Name = 3D: If you have a 3-D graphics device, you should specify 3D as the graphics
device name. A 2-D device contains a "flat" 2-D projection of your model (image manipulation is per-
formed in software), but a 3-D device contains a 3-D model in its local memory (image manipulation is
performed by the display hardware). As a result, 3-D devices perform certain graphics functions in ANSYS
more efficiently, and 2-D devices do not support certain functions. The 3-D functions in ANSYS include
"real-time" dynamic transformation (rotation, translation, etc.) of your actual model, translucency, and
control of various lighting options, including reflectance, intensity, light direction, and shading. If you
are using a 3-D device, you can set certain display option modes using the /DV3D command (Utility
Menu> PlotCtrls> Device Options).

10.2.2. Graphics Drivers and Capabilities Supported on UNIX Systems

Table 10.1: ANSYS-Supported 3-D Drivers and Capabilities for UNIX (p. 234) lists the capabilities that
ANSYS supports in various UNIX environments. The supported capabilities are noted with a Y in the
driver column:

Table 10.1: ANSYS-Supported 3-D Drivers and Capabilities for UNIX

Sun

OpenGL

SGI

OpenGL

IBM

OpenGL

HP

OpenGL

DEC

OpenGL

Window Device Y Y Y Y Y

Hot Keyboard/Mouse Y Y Y Y Y

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Getting Started with Graphics