D3PLOT 22.1

The Format of the ASCII Groups File (.asc File)

The format of the ASCII groups file (.asc file)

A file contains one or more *GROUP definitions, formatted as follows. All entry is free format.

*GROUP
< title >
< label > (<props>) 		This is a header designating a new group.
<title> may be up to 80 characters wide
<label> is in the range 1 to 99999999 (However large numbers are deprecated )
<props> are optional graphical properties to be applied to this group - see < Properties > below.
< Properties > From D3PLOT 9.3.1 onwards, the following optional "properties" may be added, in free format (space or comma separated) in columns 11 to 80 following < label >
<colour> colour name, or RrrrGgggBbbb
<transparency> 0 - 100
<display mode> WIRE, HIDDEN, SHADED, CURRENT
<overlay mode> NONE, FREE, ALL, CURRENT
<overlay colour> colour name, or RrrrGgggBbbb
<brightness> 0 - 100
<shininess> 0 - 100
<blanking status> BLANKED / UNBLANKED

Only required fields need to be defined, and trailing fields that are omitted result in "no change" to the relevant property.

If intermediate fields are not to be changed then an asterisk "*" should be inserted. For example the line:

10 red * * green * 70

Means:

  • <group label 10>
  • <colour contents red>
  • <no change to display mode>
  • <no change to overlay mode>
  • <overlay colour green>
  • <no change to brightness>
  • <shininess 70%>
  • <no change to blanking status

This "property" information is applied when the group is read in from ASCII file, but in D3PLOT 9.3.1 was not stored inside D3PLOT. If the group was exported to file again this information was not present. From D3PLOT 9.4 onwards, if the group is exported this information is now present, updating properites if they have changed. There are a few rules that D3PLOT follows when writing the "property" information:

  • If the entities in a group all have the same value for a property then this is what is written;
  • If the entities in a group have different values for a property, and the "Use first entity properites" switch is on, the value of the property of the first entity in the group is written;
  • If the entities in a group have different values for a property, and the "Use first entity properites" switch is off, a "*". is written.

    • PRIMER neither reads, stores nor exports this information.

    This "properties" line is an interim development inserted for D3PLOT 9.3.1 and this capability will be developed in the future.

    <item> <range>
    <item>     <range>
    <item> <range>
    etc
    < item > must be one of

    PART, SURFACE, NODE, SOLID, SHELL, BEAM, TSHELL, MASS, DISCRETE, SEATBELT, ACCELEROMETER, SLIPRING, PRETENSIONER, JOINT, RIGIDWALL, SEGMENT.

    If preceded by a minus sign (eg -PART ) then these items are removed from the group.

    < range > must be one of:

    ALL

    		all items in that category eg PART ALL
    <i> : <j> <start> to <end> range eg SHELL 10 : 200
    <i j k l m> Up to 5 discrete labels on a line eg SOLID 10 20 33 45 200

    As many lines as required to define the group may be used.

    BOX suffix is Unsupported

    The "proper" group definition in PRIMER also supports the suffix BOX < label > at the end of a line, meaning that the preceding definitions on that line are limited to what lies within the *BOX definition.

    Because D3PLOT doesn't "know" about boxes these are ignored, and you should avoid the BOX suffix if you are planning to use group files outside PRIMER.

    *END This is optional, and is taken to mean the end of the file. A physical <end of file> is treated as terminating the last group in the file, and no *END is required.
    Any number of group definitions may exist in a file, with the next *GROUP header effectively terminating the previous group definition.
    The easiest way to create a groups file is to write one from D3PLOT, and then look at it in a text editor. The format is extremely simple and easy to understand.

    Warnings:
    a) D3PLOT groups contact surfaces, if they are present, by interface segment.

    Since segments are not numbered in a Ansys LS-DYNA input deck, or indeed may not even be present for contacts defined by anything other than segment sets, attempting to read these back into PRIMER will fail and such definitions should be edited from ascii groups files if they are to be used for this purpose.
    b) Group files written by PRIMER may contain BOX arguments, limiting the geometric region in which items are included.

    Because D3PLOT doesn't "know" about boxes it cannot apply these, and they are ignored. Therefore if you are intending to create groups that are portable across programmes it is recommended that you do not use the BOX argument.

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