You can insert Comment objects, Image objects, or Figure objects under various parent objects in the Mechanical tree to add text or graphical information that pertain specifically to those parent objects. Refer to their individual objects reference pages for descriptions. The use of a Comment and/or an Image, is essentially intuitive. However, for the and the Figure options, there are additional capabilities and characteristics, as discussed below.
Image Plane
The option enables you to import an image into Mechanical and place it on or around you model based on a coordinate system setting. The option is primarily used with the Construction Line feature to overlay and accurately sketch one or more line segments. However, you can use it any way you want. For example, you can place logos on your model, specify a background, set up physical rulers to help measure deformations. You may also wish to use it with an ACT extensions to generate images or 2D graphics that you can then programmatically/automatically render when you import a model into Mechanical.
Figure
Figures allow you to:
Preserve different ways of viewing an object (viewpoints and settings).
Define illustrations and captions for a report.
Capture result contours, mesh previews, environment annotations etc., for later display in Report.
Clicking the button in the Home Tab creates a new Figure object inside the selected object in the Outline. Any object that displays 3D graphics may contain figures. The new figure object copies all current view settings, including those defined in the Options, such as the Font Magnification Factor, and gets focus in the Outline automatically.
View settings maintained by a figure include:
Camera settings
Result settings
Legend configuration
A figure's view settings are fully independent from the global view settings. Global view settings are maintained independently of figures.
Figure Behaviors
If you select a figure after selecting its parent in the Outline, the Geometry window transforms to the figure's stored view settings automatically (for example, the graphics may automatically pan/zoom/rotate).
If you change the view while a figure is selected in the Outline, the figure's view settings are updated.
If you reselect the figure's parent in the Outline, the Geometry window resumes the global view settings. That is, figure view settings override but do not change global view settings.
Figures always display the data of their parent object. For example, following a geometry Update and Solve, a result and its figures display different information but reuse the existing view and graphics options. Figures may be moved or copied among objects in the Outline to display different information from the same view with the same settings.
You may delete a figure without affecting its parent object. Deleting a parent object deletes all figures (and other children).
In the Outline, the name of a figure defaults to simply Figure appended by a number as needed.
You may enter a caption for a figure as a string in the figure's details. It is your responsibility to maintain custom captions when copying figures.
For a result object that includes one or more Figure objects, if you clear ( option) the parent object's data or re-solve the analysis, the application also clears any result settings of the child Figure objects. The application does maintain Camera settings and legend configurations, as noted above, such as the last viewing setting.