Settings for legend and post-processing

Hi @Matej , I’d like to press a very simple yet useful request. When producing output reports, I often plot the stress and suchlike, alongside safety factors (SF). For the former I usually use the standard legend and I am interested in the max value, for the latter I need to invert the color range, apply a manual scale and specify I am interested in the min value. Since I have several components, I have to do this several times, switching back and forth the settings for each component. Would it be hard to have a separate set of settings for each equation I create ? This would help a lot, because when producing the SF with an equation, I would also adopt the relevant specifications for the legend and post-processing. Sounds reasonable ? Thanks, Andrea

That would be difficult to add. Why do you need multiple equations for SF computation?

You know that you can use built in feature Create Field Output → Limit to get the safety factor based on material or part limits?

Hi @Matej no I didn’t know. But still I need to have a colour map of SF that is red for low values, so I need to reverse the colour range I believe, and customize the colour range usually to conform to code regulations (say SF should be at least 2).

Aha, I see your problem. Currently, the legend settings of max/min limit values are saved for each field output. But the number of colors, inverse color legend, … are not. So, all legend settings should be independent from field output to field output. Would that suffice?

Precisely so. I expected this to be in your initial intentions because, as you say, settings are partly indipendent. However only to a minimal amount. I’d like if you could enlarge such set of independently set parameters, for example as you propose. I expect everyone who is using ppm professionally faces this need, and I am surprised I am the first to ask.

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I would say some settings should be global, and others should be field-based. Currently, only the limits are field-based since the limit values are field-dependent. The number of colors in the color legend is a global setting since the user usually likes to keep it the same for all fields. If I make all settings field-based, and a user would like to change, for example, the number of colors from default 12 to 15, it would have to be done separately for each field output. And that is probably not wanted.

Yes sure. You could also set up two different sets of settings, one is default and the other you can choose instead when you need it. This is probably the easiest. So you get to change settings in the field you need to change by simply picking the second standard set. But of course details are up to you, the easiest to implement.