General Module Function
load_glyph replaces the Glyphs sub-library that was in the tools library. It reads glyphs saved in any of the three primary EVS/MVS field file formats and allows you to modify the shape and orientation of the glyph to allow it to be used in various modules that emply glyphs in slightly different ways. These include glyph, geo_glyph, place_glyph, drive_glyph, drive_glyphs, advector, post_samples, etc. Most modules EXCEPT post_samples will use the glyphs without chaning the default alignment. The supported file formats are:
1) .eff ASCII format, best if you want to be able to open the file in an editor or print it
2) .efz GNU Zip compressed ASCII, same as .eff but in a zip archive
3) .efb binary compressed format, the smallest & fastest format due to its binary form
For a description of the .EFF file formats click here.
The objects saved in the .efx files should be simple geometric objects ideally designed to fit in a unit box centered at the origin (0,0,0). For optimal performance the objects should not include nodal or cell data. You may create your own objects or use any of the ones that C Tech supplies in the ctech\data\glyphs folder.
Module Input Ports
The load_glyph module is shown above. It has no input ports. It obtains the EVS Field input data by reading a file with a file browser.
Module Output Ports
load_glyph has two output ports. The first port (closest to the left) passes the mesh and data components to other modules which accept Field data types. The second port is used to send data directly to the viewer for rendering.
Module Control Panel
The user interface for load_glyph consists of:
1) The Read Glyph File buttton which opens a file browser to select the glyph file. The file browser is used for selecting the file with the following suffixes *.eff;*.efz; or *.efb. Double clicking on a filename or selecting a file name and choosing OK reads the selected file into memory and closes the file browser. After the file has been read into memory, the mesh and is modified by the other parameters in the module and then passed to any downstream modules in the application. Selecting a different file, after one has been read in, will replace the first file's mesh a with the new file's mesh and all modules will be updated with the new glyph.
2) Offset Base is a toggle that changes the origin from the centroid of the glyph to the base. This is useful for modules like advector or glyph if you want the glyph to be centered about its base vs. its centroid.
3) Roll is a slider that lets you control the rotation about the roll axis (glyph directional axis)
4) Length is a slider that lets you scale the length of the glyph. The default scale value and default length are 1.0.
5) Width is a slider that lets you scale the widthof the glyph. The default scale value and default length are 1.0.
6) Height is a slider that lets you scale the height of the glyph. The default scale value and default length are 1.0.
Related Modules
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