Starting Visit

Visit reads HDF5 files and can recognize them from the File open screen, provided they have the .hdf extension. If a collection of .hdf files with the same numbering convention exists in a directory, Visit will group them together and open them as a batch, which makes producing images and animations easier. The process is as follows:

1. Click File->Open file... to bring up the File open screen.

2. Enter the directory path of the files in the Path field.

3. The grouped HDF5 files are listed as .hdf databases in the File open window, with the individual files under the group header. Select the group you want and make sure that the "Open as File Type" box is set to "Chombo".

Making Movies in Visit

1. Once you have drawn your plot, press the Play button on the main screen. This will give you a preview of your animation.

2. Click File->Save Movie and follow the on-screen instructions. If saving frames as .png files, follow the next step to convert the images into a movie.

3. Type "convert -quality 100 file_name00*.png movie.gif" from the command line within the directory the movie stills are located. This command strings together the .png files into an animated .gif file called "movie.gif". The asterisk indicates "all files that begin with…". message