Software: Support

Miscellaneous

The questions addressed below may be pertinent to any of Itasca's codes, and represent areas that are best considered "advice" more than technical support.

 

• What is the best method for moving my Itasca-code plot to my word processor/presentation/other software program?
• What is the best way to make an animation using output from my Itasca code?

 

What is the best method for moving my Itasca-code plot to my word processor/presentation/other software program?

Itasca codes provide the ability to output images (plots) in a variety of formats, with additional controls to specify size, and in some cases, number of colors. Within this range of options, there is no "best practice" to be followed. The set of choices available should allow users, in any context, to generate images of a quality sufficient to their needs.

Though we are unable to propose a "one size fits all" solution to these difficulties, the following general guidelines are the ones that we ourselves observe when using our codes for consulting work at Itasca.

1. Though it is admittedly handy, avoid using the clipboard. Doing so creates a situation in which the only "original" copy of the graphic output is that which has been copied-and-pasted into the destination software, which can become a problem later on (for instance, such copied-and-pasted "originals" in Microsoft Word often are intractable to subsequent editing; or for instance, consider the difficulty posed by the loss of such an image when accidentally deleted or as a result of a program crash).

2. Don't hesitate to switch formats; if one output is not working well, use another.

3. Do not confuse the Itasca code with a graphics-editing package. If annotations, cropping, or other image editing is necessary, create a high-quality (high resolution bitmap) plot and make edits to it using a graphics-editing package. Itasca software is not designed to create image-art. Nor, for that matter, are word processor and presentation programs.

4. Be ready to work around. When a quick, low resolution image is all that is needed, one favorite is to use the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. This puts a bitmapped copy of your entire screen on the Windows clipboard and can be pasted into another program (using the "Alt" key + "Print Screen" will capture only the active window, if you prefer).

What is the best way to make an animation using output from my Itasca code?

FLAC, UDEC, and PFC2D contain commands that can be used to build a movie file when the program cycles. The principal limitation of the command is that only one movie at a time can be created. FLAC3D, 3DEC, and PFC3D (with EV ) do not produce movie files at all. However, these codes provide the facility to specify that any plot currently available in the program can be used as the basis for creating a string of bitmaps (at user-specified cycle intervals) during cycling. Such a series of bitmaps can then be turned into a movie.

It has been our experience that the latter approach used by FLAC3D, 3DEC, and PFC3D is preferable, since it only requires that the code provide the necessary source material for a movie. In addition to the fundamental task of stringing together a set of images, movie building requires consideration of a number of factors, such as frame rate, compression, color depth, and format. Since there will not be a "one size fits all" configuration for the user's movie, we have been most successful in using third party tools to build movies and to determine those configuation issues at the time the movie is to be built, rather than setting them prior to the code run and hoping that the configuation settings yield a successful result. That said, a few tips and tricks are offered below.

1. Use an easy, low (QuickTime Pro) or no (Windows Movie Maker) cost tool. There are many tools for this operation that have been designed to be easy to use, with a minimum of fuss. QuickTime may be the best of them, and is available at a very low cost from Apple. If you have Windows XP or later, you already have a movie building tool — Windows Movie Maker. Like QuickTime, this program is easy to use, though it is limited to producing WMV format video, a restriction worth keeping in mind.

2. Use the ubiquitous PowerPoint — and do not create a movie file at all. Users who have tried to include/embed movie files within PowerPoint have probably encountered, sooner or later, the problem that an included movie will not run because the source file for it is not included with the presentation, or the files have been moved from their original location, creating bad "links" in the presentation. This can be avoided by simply putting the bitmap series directly into the presentation, then setting the slide timings between them to zero, thus making a movie directly in the presentation.

3. Skip making a movie. Use an image previewer program to view a series of images. Set the series up as a slide show with zero second timings between images, and the result is "movie" without the hassle of making a movie file.

4. Remember FISH. Though FLAC, UDEC, and PFC2D do not provide a built-in functionality to create multiple sets of bitmap series from multiple plots, this can easily be accomplished using FISH.

5. Invest in the appropriate tool. The solutions above are probably available to most users at little to no cost. However, some users will find that their needs in this area are more sophisticated, or more demanding that what these simpler options will allow. If this is the case, we recommend the user investigate movie-producing software products that will suit their needs. There are many available, in a wide range of prices, and there is sure to be one among them that will provide the right combination of features, functionality, and value for a discriminating movie maker.