Weighted versus Arithmetic Averages and Tecplot

Question: Why is there a difference in Tecplot’s integration average results and the average, or mean, I am calculating over all the data values? Example:  I have nodal data and I want to calculate average U velocity on the following domain (see Figure 1). When I use the integration average feature (Analyze>Perform Integration…>Average>U), I calculate 38.90 m/s. But when I calculate the average over all the nodal U values in […]

» Read More


Converting Raster Metafiles to AVI File Format

Problem: How do I convert raster metafiles to AVI movie file format? The last version of Tecplot 360 that included the rmtoavi.exe was Tecplot 360 2013. Additionally, framer.exe (Framer, the program used to view .rm files) is no longer distributed. As raster metafiles (.rm) have become less common, we no longer include this .rm file conversion in our product. However, we foresee rmtoavi being helpful to users with archives of […]

» Read More


Verifying Surface Normals in Integral Calculations

Problem: How do I verify the direction of my unit surface normal vectors to make the correct integrations? If my surface normals point in an inconsistent direction from one timestep to another, how do I correct the value of my integral? From the User’s Manual: “Integrations involving surface unit normals, such as Mass Flow Rate, and Forces and Moments integration, rely on surface unit normals pointing in a consistent direction. […]

» Read More


Fixing Incorrectly Spaced Dashed Lines in EPS Format Export

Problem: When I export an image of my dashed XY plot as a .EPS file, the dash spacing is altered and irregular. Detailed Example Case: When I export the plot to eps file and open it, the patterns of the dashed and dash-dotted lines are inaccurate. The pattern interval is not uniform and sometimes the dot in the dash-dotted line vanishes. These are highlighted in red: Plot before exporting (correct […]

» Read More


Calling a Macro from Another Macro

Problem: I have a few macros that I use often and want to call them from within another macro. Solution: Tecplot 360 allows for macros and macro functions to be called from other macro files via the $!INCLUDEMACRO command. For example, if you have a macro function to post an equation in a file called add_text.mcr: #!MC 1410 $!MACROFUNCTION NAME = “Equation” $!AttachText   AnchorPos     {     X = […]

» Read More


Calculate Delta Criterion

Problem: How do I calculate Delta Criterion? Solution: The easiest way to do this is to use a Tecplot Macro to automate the calculation. Calculations are derived from https://www.ctr.maths.lu.se/media/thesis/2013/FMA820.pdf First, make sure Tecplot has established the velocity variables via the Field Variables dialog (Analyze -> Field Variables). Then, play the macro via the Scripting menu. The macro commands are as follows: Calculate the Velocity Gradient tensor. (Can also be calculated […]

» Read More


Use Raw Strings to Load Multiple Files Using Multiple Lines

In 2018 R2 we’ve added the capability for raw strings to be used in Macros. This added the capability to space the files out on multiple lines for readability. Before raw strings, all of the files had to be placed on one line which made for terrible readability when loading more than a couple of data files. Here is the syntax for loading multiple files: $!ReadDataSet R”INPUTFILES(“/this/is/a/somewhat/long/file/name/File1.dat”                                                                 “/this/is/a/somewhat/long/file/name/File2.dat”                                                                 […]

» Read More


Calculating Average Normal Velocity to Iso-Surface

Problem: How do I calculate the average normal fluid velocity (or any vector variable) going through an iso-surface? Details: Or stated another way, “I am trying to use a vector dot product with unit normal integration to get the average normal velocity through an extracted iso-surface.”  This question originally relates to this scenario, but it can be used for calculating the average flux though a surface for various cases. Solution: […]

» Read More


Creating Streamtraces on a No-slip Boundary Surface with Multiple Surrounding Volume Zones

Problem: How do I create streamtraces on a no-slip boundary surface with multiple surrounding volume zones? In more detail: In the User’s Manual in the section titled “Surface Streamtraces on No-slip Boundaries”, it describes how to create these surface streamtraces in the context of an ASCII file with one parent (volume) zone. However, if other data file types are used or multiple parent zones, these instructions do not apply. Solution: […]

» Read More


Use of $!BASICSIZE to customize the size selections in Tecplot 360

Problem: The default sizes and line thicknesses are too varied and some are too large. Is there a way to customize the size selections? Solution: Using $!BASICSIZE from the configuration file, users can customize the default sizes in the user interface. For example, these commands will update the Line Thickness options and the Symbol Sizes: $!BASICSIZE LINETHICKNESSES { MEDIUM = 0.2 LARGE = 0.3 HUGE = 0.4 } SYMBOLSIZES { […]

» Read More