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ParaView

ParaView is an open-source, multi-platform data analysis and visualization application.[1]

Installed Versions

NOT CURRENTLY WORKING - prebuilt executables do not work because the login node does not have a display connected, and remote display does not work for GL 3D graphics. Headless versions should work.

ParaView 5.10.1 and 5.11.0 are installed. Use the modulefile:

paraview/5.10.1 paraview/5.11.0

ParaView provides its own copy of Python 3.x with the command pvpython (instead of python or python3).

“Headless” versions

Command line-only (headless) versions are also installed. They can be used with OpenFOAM, though OpenFOAM provides its own copy. If you are using OpenFOAM, it is recommended you use the one provided with OpenFOAM: there is no separate module to load.

paraview-headless/5.10.1 paraview-headless/5.11.0

The headless versions can also serve the ParaView Lite web interface.[2]

To use it, make sure to set up your PC for remote display.[3] This example uses XQuartz for macOS. N.B. specify a random port number > 1024 (and < 65536).

[MyName@MyPC ~]$ ssh -X juser@picotte001.urcf.drexel.edu
Password: .....
[juser@picotte001 ~]$ module load paraview-headless/5.11.0
[juser@picotte001 ~]$ pvpython -m paraview.apps.lite --data my_data_dir --port 12847 &
[juser@picotte001 ~]$ google-chrome &

The Google Chrome window should appear on your PC. In the search/URL bar, enter the address

localhost:12847

The example below used port 9999.

756px

Then, click on the “CONNECT TO PARAVIEW” rectangle, and you should be connected to your local session that you launched. Click on the “FILES” menu to select the data file to view.

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When done:

  1. Quit Google Chrome
  2. Terminate ParaView Lite in the terminal by first putting it in the foreground with the “fg” command, and then typing “Ctrl-C” to stop it.

thumbnail|500px|ParaView Gallery|Example from Sandia Labs

References

[1] ParaView Official Website

[2] ParaView Lite: A customizable Web client for ParaView

[3] Running GUI Applications on Compute Nodes