Mesh Part Manager

The Mesh Part Manager displays all the mesh parts in a model and provides you with a quick reference on the mesh status and several basic mesh parameters.

You can also use the manager to edit, delete, remove, update, or control the display of meshes.

The Mesh Part Manager provides a convenient display to view the status and basic parameters of all the mesh parts in a model. You can display the Mesh Part Manager by selecting from the Mesh section of the action bar.

The Mesh Part List displays each mesh name, and you can double-click a mesh name to open its editor. The first five columns after the mesh part name describe different aspects of the status of each mesh part.

Column Description
Activity (A) Describes whether the selected mesh part is deactivated ( ) or active (blank). The simulation ignores deactivated mesh parts and does not generate a mesh; therefore, you cannot edit or update the mesh. You can activate or deactivate the selected mesh part from the context menu.
Color (C) Indicates the applied mesh color. You can click the icon to select a new color.
Visibility (V) Describes whether each mesh part is displayed () or hidden (). You can click the icon to display or hide the selected mesh part.
Construction (C) Describes whether the selected mesh part is for construction ( ) or active (blank). The simulation generates a mesh for a construction mesh part but does not include the mesh in the simulation. You can edit and update the mesh, but the solver ignores its nodes and elements and excludes them from the simulation. You can designate the selected mesh part as a construction mesh part from the context menu.
Publication (P) Displays a publication icon ( ) if the mesh has not yet been published.
Update (U) Displays an update icon ( ) if the mesh is not up to date.

The simulation excludes a deactivated mesh part. You cannot edit or update a deactivated mesh part, as it does not have a result.

The Dimension column indicates whether a mesh is a 1D (beam), 2D (surface), or 3D mesh; and the Type column lists the mesh type. By default, the Type column is hidden. Right-click the table to display the Type column. You can then filter the Type column to show specific mesh types, for example, beam meshes or tetrahedron meshes. In addition, you can alter the visibility of the mesh parts in the model. You can display parts that are presently visible or invisible in the model, and invert the visibility settings as required.

The Status column indicates whether there are any problems with the mesh definition. For assemblies, the Status column also indicates if there are any finite element models that are not loaded for editing. (The number of components loaded when you open an assembly is controlled by your user Preferences. For more information, see Model.) If you expand an unloaded component, it loads so that you can review and edit the mesh information.

You can change the display preferences of the mesh part list. The default view is an expanded tree in which you can display either the finite element model or the product structure as the parent. You can also flatten the tree to view only the current level. The Preferences control ( ) is located near the right end of the manager title bar.

Numerous display and editing options are available through context menus. The choices available depend on the pointer position. For example, the column headings provide typical table options, such as the ability to hide, show, or resize columns. A few of the contextual options within the table include the ability to open the editor for a mesh, remove meshes, and modify some mesh parameters without opening a mesh editor. You can also run a quality analysis from the context menu.

You can list all mesh parts under the current finite element model representation, and modify the Size, Sag, and Order on multiple meshes at the same time. This allows you to change these parameters and make certain they match throughout a complete model in a single action. You can also edit the values individually by clicking in the appropriate cells of the manager.

The Mesh Part Manager displays the update status of each mesh, and you can update meshes individually or update all meshes in a single operation. The Mesh Part Manager also provides an alternative to the tree for manipulating object visibility. You can hide, show, or isolate objects in the display; these actions are available from the context menus on one or more mesh part selections.

You can filter the list using the filter icons in each column. The filter types depend on the type of content allowed. The Mesh Part List is filtered by name. For example, adding a filter "tet" to this column would eliminate Surface Triangle Mesh.1 from the list. Numeric entry columns (such as Size and Elements) have filters for greater than, equal to, or less than a value. Limited selection columns (such as Dimensions and Status) filter the types of content (2D, 3D, OK, To Be Updated) to include or exclude.

Note: Filter results include content in unexpanded children nodes.

You can check the quality of the elements in one or more mesh parts by highlighting the appropriate rows, right-clicking, and selecting Check Quality from the context menu. Once you perform this verification, the quality checking algorithm reviews each mesh part and lists the percentage of bad elements in the Quality column.