AVI animations on Linux or Macintosh platforms

Problem: I have difficulty playing AVI animations created in my Tecplot product when I try to play them on my Macintosh or Linux platform. When I try to play them on my Linux platform the AVI files work with Xanim but Xanim itself does not work very well anymore. On a Macintosh platform, I use Quicktime but the AVI files that the Tecplot product creates do not open in Quicktime. […]

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Cannot find font input file

Problem: I tried to run Tecplot and got this error message when Tecplot tried to start up. What does it mean? Solution: This error message means that the environment variable that holds the path down to the Tecplot installation directory is not set correctly. That name of that variable depends on the product you are installing. For our latest products (2008 series) that variable will be called TEC_FOCUS_2008 or TEC_360_2008. […]

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Err. Unexpected end of file after location

Problem: I tried to load a data file into Tecplot ad got this error message. What does it mean and how can I fix it? Solution: This error message means that the number of points specified in the header of the data file is greater than the number of points the Tecplot found when it read the file. The only way to fix this is to examine the file to […]

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Can a layout file created in Tecplot 10 be loaded to Focus?

Problem: Can Focus load a layout file created with Tecplot 10? Solution: Yes. In most cases, Focus will load a layout file created with Tecplot 10. If the data the layout file was created from was loaded via the Fluent loader or Plot3D loader or CGNS loader then Focus will not be able to load the layout because those loaders do not exist in Focus.


Multiple contour legends

Problem: I am using multiple contour variables C1 C2 C3 and C4 in my plot but I can only see the legend for C1. Solution: You must have the Contour Details dialog set to the desired contour variable (C1 C2 C3 C4) when you toggle on the Legend. And that contour variable must be in active use in the plot. If a variable is assigned to a Zone Layer like […]

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Blanking a corner of plot

Problem: I want to blank my contour plot only in the lower left-hand corner where x < 45 AND y < 30. Solution: You can use equations like the ones below to create a blanking variable equal to 0 only if x < 45 and y < 30. Then you can delete the extra variables {lowerx} and {lowery}. {lowerx} = max (x -45, 0) {lowery} = max (y – 30, […]

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Animating points

Problem: I have some files with some scatter points animated to move in constant velocity. However, the movie shows relative motion of the scatter points making the animation appear jerky. Solution: The reason the scatter points look like they are moving relative to one another has to do with the way they are drawn on the screen. Any object drawn to the screen will be rounded off to the nearest […]

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Average of XY Mapping

Problem: In my XY Line plot, I want to show a line for the average value of one of the XY Mappings. Solution: You can have Tecplot calculate and plot the average for a line mapping: In the Mapping Style dialog Copy the line mapping and make sure the copy is shown. On the Curves page, set the Curve Fit for the new mapping to the General Curve Fit (One […]

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Greek or special character in variable name or text

November 2017 Update: LaTeX Fonts are available in Tecplot 360 2017 Release 3 and later. This gives you the ability to use your installed version of LaTeX to display complex formulae and equations directly on your plots. We test against MiKTeX and TeXLive but should be compatible with other LaTeX engines. Watch the LaTeX video tutorial Problem: Some variable names in my data file include one Greek character or another […]

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Linking with frames Apply Settings to all Frames

Problem: I have several frames in my layout and I set the Within Frame Axis Style to be linked. Then I pressed the button for Apply Settings to All Frames. But when I change the label font for one frame te other frames do not change. Solution: Linking on the Between Frames page of the dialog will cause the changes in one frame to apply to all frames. Linking on […]

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