ViZiR Legacy is a light, simple and interactive mesh visualization software using OpenGL Legacy graphic pipeline including:
If you are interested to visualize high-order meshes/solutions, try ViZiR 4.
alias vizir='/path/to/vizir.appImage'
$ chmod +x /path/to/vizir.appImage
$ vizir
alias vizir='/Applications/vizir.app/Contents/MacOS/vizir'
$ vizir
File > Open Mesh ViZiR imports meshes stored in .mesh or .meshb files. Files ending by .mesh are ASCII files, and thus need more time to load than .meshb binary files. More information about this format can be found at: https://github.com/LoicMarechal/libMeshb
To import a mesh from the command line:
$ vizir -in FILENAME.mesh(b) ViZiR handles several mesh types that are categorized and described in the next lines. Surface geometries can be meshed using either triangles or quadrilaterals, whereas volume geometries can be meshed using hexahedron, tetrahedron, prisms or pyramids. Each mesh element can be implemented using P1 interpolation or higher order. Each surface and volume element is defined by a set of points and edges:
In order to hide an element, select it with Shift + left mouse and press x. To display hidden elements just press X. A similar thing can be done with whole surfaces: first select an element of the surface you want to hide with Shift + left mouse and then hit s. To show the last surface that has been hidden hit S.
Setting a clip plane through a volume can be achieved via the F1 and F2 meta keys. To enable/disable a cut view press F1. To enter/quit the clip plane editor press F2. When this editor is enabled you can see a frame showing up around the geometry. The following commands are available from this editor:
An other option to set a clip plane is to use the dedicated widget:
Window > Open & Tools > Mesh Visualization > Clip Planes 
Initial mesh / Translating the clip plane / Rotating the clip plane
Once a satisfying view has been obtained, the clipped volume elements can be shown by pressing v. In order to get a flat surface, these elements can be projected on the clip plane by pressing C.
Initial view of the clip plane / Displaying clipped volume elements / Clipped volume elements projected on the plane
A mini-mesh can be described as a subset of the global mesh. It is a convenient way to focus on a small region of the whole geometry, especially if many mesh elements are used to discretize it. To create a mini-mesh, select an element with Shift + left mouse , and then click on the right button of your mouse and select Mini mesh.
Initially, the mini-mesh is made of one element — the one you selected. To extend the mini-mesh to its direct neighbors press +. To shrink the mini-mesh by removing the most exterior elements, press -.
Global mesh / Mini-mesh
Click on P to see all the nodes with their references. If there are too many nodes you may want to focus on an area by creating a mini-mesh, or you can create a clip plane and display the volume entities clipped by the plane.
To search a specific entity by its reference, first select the wanted type in the below toolbox (fourth field from left to right), type the reference number in the search bar just on the right and hit Enter.
Similarly to meshes, solutions can be loaded from .sol or .solb files. To apply a solution to the current mesh, click on the right button of your mouse and select Select solution . Click on m to show/hide the solution and the associated colormap. More options such as isolines or isosurfaces are available under:
Window > Open & Tools > Solution Inspector Once a good image has been obtained, the corresponding state can be saved. Then the same configuration can be achieved quickly on other meshes by loading the aforesaid state. This can be useful to create a movie, since it would require to capture images from the same viewpoint at each iteration.
To save the states in a .state file there are two steps to follow:
Step 1: First save the current state as you manipulate the mesh with:
Save/Load > State > Save Current State Step 2: When you have finished you can save your current states all at once in a file by doing:
Save/Load > State > Save States in File > FILENAME.state To load a state from a .state file do:
Save/Load > State > Load States in File ViZiR also implements the concept of views. A view is similar to a state, however it holds information only regarding the viewing position and angle. Thus loading a view will only change the viewpoint.
To save/load views the process is the same as for states, the only difference being the .view extension that is used by default.
ViZiR offers shortcuts allowing for a fast interaction through the keyboard and the mouse. These shortcuts are summarized in the following tables.
Once the pictures have been generated, they can be put together by an external software to create a video, such as FFMPEG.
3D Reconstruction of Human Sinus from Medical CT-Scan. Presentation of some Vizualization Tools available in ViZiR to manage references.
We show how to :Example of reference’s modification of edges and surfaces. The aim is to define some specific and useful areas in the numerical simulation.
Hybrid Mesh (Quadrilaterals, Hexahedra) of Apollo. Presentation of some Vizualization Tools available in ViZiR to manage hybrid elements.
We show how :Vizualisation of Mixed P1/P2 Mesh.
We show how :Julien Castelneau
Alexis Loyer