1.35 Animate Plots in Layer

Summary

The Animate Plots in Layer app is used to play plots in a graph layer by group or select plots by a slider. Plots in different groups can be compared by animation.

Note: Animate Plots in Layer App is used to show the animation in Origin Graph window, not for export. To export the animation, please consider build-in tool: Tools > Video Builder , or Graph Anim App.

Tutorial

  1. Start this tutorial with the app Animate Plots in Layer installed. If you have not installed this app, please click Add Apps button in Apps Gallery to open App Center to search and install the app.
  2. Right-click on the app icon Animate Plots in Layer icon.png to select Show Samples Folder context menu to open the sample folder and drag-and-drop the sample file "AnimatePlotsEx.opju".
    Animate Plots in Layer 01.png
  3. Activate the graph window, click the app icon. A toolbar with two buttons will appear: Play/Browse and Add Surface Plots.
    Animate Plots in Layer 02.png

Play/Browse

In this example, the graph shows a bar's temperature distribution along its length direction as time goes by under two boundary conditions: fixed temperatures at both ends (black lines, columns C-BA) and heat flux at both ends (red lines, columns BB-CY). And the blue line(column B) shows initial temperature distribution.

  1. Click on the Play/Browse button. In the opened dialog, choose Mode: Play to animate plots in the layer. Choosing Mode: Browse will show specified plots by a slider.
    Animate Plots in Layer 03.png
  2. In the Settings branch, choose the plot "[Book1]Temp!A(X), C(Y)" and "[Book1]Temp!A(X), BB(Y)" in the Select First Plot in Each Group list box to divide all plots as two groups: C-BA and BB-CY.
    Animate Plots in Layer 04.png
    Plot "B" is before the first plot of the first group, has been treated as background plot which will always be shown in the animation or browser. The first plot in the two groups, plot "C" and plot "BB", have been plotted in the graph layer as first frame.
    Animate Plots in Layer 05.png
  3. Specify Number of Frames per Second (FPS) as 5. This is the animation speed which should be positive. Click Play button, a progress box will show the animation progress, and an animation will be played in the graph layer.
    Animate Plots in Layer 06.png
    Note: In Browse mode, Browse Plots slider can be dragged to show specified plots.
    Click End button in the progress box, and the animation will stop at this frame. Click Play button again, it will continue to play from this frame.
    Switch to Browse mode, the slider will stay at the stopped frame. Drag the slider to see details in frames around the stopped frame. Use the left or right arrow key in the keyboard to move to the previous or next frame.
  4. Click Close button to close the dialog.

Add Surface Plots

This function can add multiple surface plots with XYZ...Z data in a worksheet and set a specified fill color.

  1. Make a 3D graph layer active. It can include background plots. Click the Add Surface Plots button. In the opened dialog, select the worksheet with XYZ...Z columns for surface plot data. Choose Fill Color for these surface plots.
  2. Click OK button. Surface plots will be added to the graph layer. Use Add Surface Plots button several times, and it can create groups of surface plots in a layer with different colors for different worksheets. Then click Play/Browse button to animate plots in the graph layer.