.. _user-interface-reference:
*************
GUI reference
*************
Main toolbar
============
The Main toolbar is located at the top of the GUI window.
The following table illustrates the icons in the toolbar.
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Icon | Description |
+=======================+============================================+
| |Menu| | :ref:`menu` |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |save| | Saves the current project file |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |start| | Start/resume MFIX simulation |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |pause| | Pause simulation |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |stop| | Stop simulation |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |reset| | Reset - clear output files |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |Build button| | :ref:`build-dialog` |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |Parameters button| | :ref:`parameters` |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |Settings button| | General MFiX settings |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |Help button| | MFiX help (documentation) |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| |Search button| | Search for MFIX keywords |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+
The interactive solver sends its status during the simulation, and the
solver controls will be enabled or disabled, depending on the solver
state.
Solver controls:
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| | Solver state is.... |
| +---------------------------+---------------------------+
| | ...Running and.... | ...Stopped with... |
| +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| | ...Unpaused.| ...Paused. | no RES. | RES. |
+=================+=============+=============+=============+=============+
| |start| Start | Disabled | Unpause | Start | Resume |
+-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| |pause| Pause | Pause | Disabled |
+-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| |stop| Stop | Stops the solver | Disabled |
+-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| |reset| Reset | Disabled | Clear RES |
+-----------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
If no MFiX job is currently running, the Start button will open the run
dialog where settings for a job can be changed. The simulation can be
started from this dialog. If an MFiX job is running, you can pause it
with the pause button and un-pause it with the start button. You can
stop a running MFiX job with the stop button. A stopped job leaves
restart (\*.RES) and output files to resume the simulation. Starting a
job by pressing the Start button with \*.RES files present will resume
the job where it stopped. The Reset button will allow the option to
delete the \*.RES files and output files from the project directory.
This will allow the simulation to start from the beginning the next time the
Start button is pressed.
.. _run-dialog:
Run dialog
~~~~~~~~~~
The run dialog is used for entering options on starting the solver.
Different solvers can be selected.
If a custom solver is compiled with SMP or DMP support, the following options may be available:
- Threads (number of threads used for OpenMP)
- NODESI (number divisions in X direction)
- NODESJ (number divisions in Y direction)
- NODESK (number divisions in Z direction)
:math:`NODESI \times NODESJ \times NODESK = n` where :math:`n` is the
number of MPI processes running. If not using MPI,
:math:`NODESI=NODESJ=NODESK=1`.
The GUI supports running both locally as well as submitting to a queue.
.. note::
SMP and DMP options are disabled for the default solver.
You will need to build a custom solver with DMP or SMP flags
to enable these options.
Run locally
^^^^^^^^^^^
To run locally, select a solver
from the drop-down list or click the browse button to specify a solver that
is not in the list. Usually the default installed solver should be sufficient.
If running a case with UDFs, you need to first build a case-specific MFiX as
described in the :ref:`setup-guide`. You may want to build your own solver for
other reasons, such as specifying various compiler flags to optimize the
executable for your specific hardware.
Make sure the "Submit to queue" checkbox is unchecked, and
click "Run" in the Run dialog to start the solver.
Submit to queue
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
To submit a job to a queue (submit to queuing system, e.g. Grid Engine,
PBS, SLURM), select the "Submit to Queue" tab. Select an executable from
the drop-down list or click the browse button to specify an executable
that is not in the list. Next, select a template from the drop-down list
or click the browse button to choose a template that is not in the
drop-down list. Based on the selected template, the widgets in the
"queue options" section will update automatically. Once the options are
specified, click "submit" in the run dialog to submit the job to the
queue.
Custom queue scripts are supported. The format for this script is
described in the `Queue Templates <#queue-templates>`__ section.
.. _build-dialog:
Build dialog
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The build dialog is used for building custom solvers in project run directories.
This is used to build :ref:`build-custom`.
There is a combo box to select the Fortran compiler command. It will be
populated with any :ref:`known Fortran compilers <compiler-list>` in ``PATH``.
Alternatively, type in the command for the compiler.
There is a field to type in the flags for the Fortran compiler. See your
compiler manual for details, such as the `GNU Fortran Manual
<https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gfortran/Option-Summary.html>`_.
There are checkboxes for building with SMP or DMP support. Note that DMP support
requires both checking the DMP box, and selecting an MPI compiler (such as
`mpifort`). The "Build solver in parallel" checkbox will run ``make`` with
multiple jobs. DMP and SMP are not available on Windows.
If "Enable developer mode" is checked in :ref:`settings`, then there will be a
checkbox for building either the interactive solver or the batch solver.
"Build command" displays the command line used for building the solver with
the selected options.
Reset dialog
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Reset dialog allows for optional deleting of output files from the
run directory. These files include:
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| File type | Wild-card match |
+=============+=====================================================================+
| Restart | \*.RES |
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SPx | \*.SP? |
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| VTK | \*.vtp, \*.vtu, \*.pid |
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Other | \*.OUT, \*.pid, \*.error, \*.e[0-9]\*, \*.pe[0-9]\*, \*.po[0-9]\* |
+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
\*.RES and \*.SPx files have to be removed from the run directory before
a simulation can be played from the beginning. It is recommended to
remove VTK files from the run directory as well because they will be
over-written.
.. note::
If there are restart files present in the run directory, some widgets will
be disabled because certain model parameters can not be edited during a
resume, or restart state.
.. _parameters:
Parameter dialog
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The parameter dialog allows users to create parameters, or variables,
that can then be referenced in widgets that support the use of these
parameters. This functionality allows user to create relationships among
various inputs and change the values of multiple items by changing the
value of a single parameter. In many respects, this is similar to features
present in most commercial CAD packages.
There are six special parameters; ``xmin``, ``xmax``, ``ymin``, ``ymax``,
``zmin``, and ``zmax`` that reference the simulation domain extents, entered on
the geometry pane. These parameters make it easy to setup regions that
automatically adjust to the simulation domain if the extents change.
.. _menu:
Menu
=========
The main menu allows for opening, creating, copying, and exporting
projects as well as viewing project meta data, changing settings, and
viewing available help documentation, including this document.
Project Info
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting File > Project Info displays metadata about the current project file.
The following table details the content of the metadata.
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Label | Description |
+=============================+==========================================================+
| File name | full path to MFiX project file |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Project version | version number, incremented each time project is saved |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Created with MFiX version | version of MFiX that project was created with |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Author | user name who created the project |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Modified By | list of user names that edited the project |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Last modified | date and time the project was last modified |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Created | date and time the project was created |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Notes | area where the user can record notes about the project |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------+
.. _new-project:
New
~~~
Selecting File > New creates a new project file from a template file. When a template is
selected, the GUI will ask for a project name and parent directory to
save the project to. A new directory with the project name will be
created in the parent directory. A .mfx file will be created in that
directory by copying the contents of the selected template file. Any
other files, such as \*.stl files, will also be copied if present. The
list of templates can be filtered by selecting one or more of the
following model types:
.. include:: /template_icons.rst
Open
~~~~
Selecting File > Open accesses a file dialog where the user can navigate
to and select an existing project file both in .mfx format of the
older mfix.dat format. Note that mfix.dat files used with older released
versions of MFiX will be saved in the current .mfx format.
The GUI also performs a number of updates, including keyword amendments
and CGS to SI unit conversion. Any user files are not converted. It is strongly
suggested that the project be checked after this update.
Save
~~~~
Selecting File > Save saves the current project files in the current project directory.
Export project
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Export the current project to a new directory and/or as a new filename,
but keeps the original project opened.
Submit bug report
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When reporting issues, errors, or questions to the :ref:`support-forum`, it is
helpful to include your project file, UDFs, and any other files associated with
your project, along with the current versions of MFiX and its dependencies, so
that we may reproduce the reported issue.
We offer a convenient way of sending this information in a single file.
Clicking on 'Submit bug report' will create a .ZIP file the current directory,
containing the relevant project files, and some version information about your
system.
**The bug report is not automatically transmitted to the MFiX developers.** You are
encouraged to open the zipfile and examine the files, if you have any concern
about what information is being shared. Then post the zipfile as an attachment
to https://mfix.netl.doe.gov/forum.
The bug report dialog will also pop up automatically if an exception occurs
while using MFiX. This kind of report is especially helpful to MFiX
developers, because it includes the stack trace.
.. _settings:
Settings
~~~~~~~~
Choosing File > Settings opens a dialog where the user can change settings
that affect how the GUI behaves. Available options are listed in the
following table.
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Option | Description |
+======================+=====================================================+
| Style | change the application style |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Enable animations | enable or disable animated widgets |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Animation Speed | set the speed at which animations occur |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Enable Developer | hide/show widgets that are mainly for developers of |
| Tools | the GUI |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
Help
~~~~
Selecting File > Help opens a dialog linking the user to available documentation
(including this document) and tutorials, both text
based and videos (if connected to the Internet) demonstrating features of the
GUI.
About
~~~~~
Choosing File > About displays the version of MFiX and the versions of the various
dependencies that the GUI is using. If issues are discovered while using the
GUI, it is recommended that any reports include this version information which
can be easily copied by pressing the "copy version info" button.
Quit
~~~~
Selecting File > Quit exits MFiX. The GUI will ask for confirmation if project is unsaved or if a job
is running.
Model panes
===========
Each pane in the main window allows editing of different options for an MFiX
project. The Panes are ordered in a logical progression for traditional CFD problem setups:
Model defines the overall solver type (TFM, DEM, PIC).
Geometry and Mesh define the overall domain space of the solver.
Regions are geometrical surfaces and volumes within the overall domain.
Fluid and Solids specify details on the phases the solver deals with.
Initial conditions (ICs), Boundary conditions (BCs), Point sources (PSs),
and Internal surfaces (ISs) depend on Regions, Fluid, and Solids, so they come next.
Chemistry provides options for reacting cases, and Numerics specifies
details on the Eulerian solver.
Output specifies how output data is written.
Monitors provides options to probe the flow field at select locations and compute basic
quantities of interest.
Run specifies how long to run the solver for.
(Post is not yet implemented).
.. note::
Selections on panes may enable or disable widgets based on what input
parameters are required or available.
Model setup
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Model pane is used to specify overall options for the project.
Depending on what is selected, other panes may be enabled or disabled.
Options that are specified on this pane include:
- Solver (Single-phase, Two-Fluid Model, DEM, PIC, Hybrid)
- Option to disable the fluid phase
- Option to enable thermal energy equations
- Option to enable turbulence, if the fluid phase is enabled
- Gravity in the x, y, and z directions
- Drag Model including parameters for the selected drag model
Other advanced options that can be selected include:
- Momentum formulation (Model a, Model B, Jackson, or Ishii)
- Sub-grid model (only available with TFM, Wen-Yu drag model, etc...)
- Sub-grid filter size
- Sub-grid wall correction
Geometry
~~~~~~~~
Mesh
~~~~
Regions
~~~~~~~
Fluid
~~~~~
The fluid pane is used to define the physical properties of the fluid phase.
This includes adding fluid phase species which can either be imported from the
BURCAT_ thermodynamic database or created by the user. The GUI will generate the correct
data format to use thermodynamic data in MFiX.
.. _BURCAT: http://garfield.chem.elte.hu/Burcat/burcat.html
Solids
~~~~~~
The solids pane is used to define the physical properties of each solid(s)
phase. Names can be given to each solid. This name will be used throughout the
GUI to reference that solid phase (i.e. when defining initial conditions,
boundary conditions, etc.). The solid phase model (TFM, DEM, or PIC) can also be
specified here, however the selectable solid phase model depends on the solver
selected on the model pane.
The selected solver will also enable/disable the TFM, DEM, and PIC sub-panes
where various options for those solids models can be accessed.
.. _initial-conditions:
Initial conditions (ICs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The initial conditions pane is used to define initial conditions for
a selected Region (defined on each Region pane) for each phase (defined on
Fluid or Solids panes). Initial conditions are required to cover the entire
domain and provide an initial value for certain quantities that the solver will use to
start the simulation. Experienced CFD users realize that providing reasonable
initial values for volume fraction, temperature,
pressure, and velocity allow simulations to reach/meet convergence criteria more quickly.
To create a new initial condition, press the |add| button which will bring up
the Region selection dialog. Select a region to associate with the new initial
condition and press OK. Regions that are not volumes or are already used by
another initial condition will not be selectable.
Once the region has been created, values can be edited. Sub-panes will be
created dynamically based on model parameters as well as the number of solid
phases.
.. note::
Initial condition regions may overlap. When an overlap occurs, the
initial condition with the higher IC number will be used at that location.
.. _boundary-conditions:
Boundary conditions (BCs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The boundary conditions pane is used to define boundary conditions for
a selected Region (defined on each Region pane) for each phase (defined on
Fluid or Solids panes). This is where inflow, outflow, pressure, walls, and
cyclic boundary conditions are created.
To create a new boundary condition, press the |add| button which will bring up
the Region selection dialog. Next, select a boundary type from the combo box.
Regions will be enabled/disabled based on the selected boundary type and whether
or not the region is already used by a boundary condition. Boundary conditions
must be surfaces, either planes or collections of facets (STL). Pressing OK will
create the boundary condition.
The sub-panes are created dynamically for each boundary condition based on the
boundary condition type as well as other model parameters including the number
of solid species.
.. note::
Two boundary surfaces must not intersect.
.. _point-sources:
Point sources (PSs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Point sources (PSs) are used in place of mass inlets where either the geometry
and/or grid resolution prohibit traditional boundary condition specification. For
example, a point source may be used to model an injector with dimensions smaller
than the grid. Point sources may be defined within a single computational cell,
along a plane, or as a volume of computational cells.
Point sources introduce mass directly into a computational cell unlike a
boundary condition which specifies flow along a cell face. One consequence of
this implementation is that point sources are subjected to convection/diffusion
forces and may not travel parallel to the specified directional preference.
Directional preference is specified with a velocity vector (i.e., PS_U_g,
PS_V_g, etc.), however, it is not required.
To create a new point source, press the |add| button which will bring up
the Region selection dialog. Select a region to associate with the new point
source and press OK.
The sub-panes are created dynamically for each point source based on the model
parameters including the number of solid species.
.. _internal-surfaces:
Internal surfaces (ISs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internal surfaces allow the user to create a zero-thickness walls that are normal to one
of the coordinate directions and coincide with one of the faces of the scalar control volume.
Two types of internal surfaces are available: Impermeable, which acts as a free-slip wall for
both gas and solids phases, and Semi-Impermeable, which allows only the gas phase to pass through
the internal surface.
To create a new internal surface, press the |add| button which will bring up
the Region selection dialog. Select a region to associate with the new Internal Surface.
Select the type of Internal surface and press OK. For Semi-Impermeable surfaces, the fluid permeability
and Internal Resistance Coefficient must be provided as well.
Typically, the region associated with an Internal Surface will be a plane. To specify a large number of
internal surfaces in a region, a 3D region may be selected. In this case, a prefix (X\_, Y\_, or Z\_) is added to the
Internal Surface type to indicate the direction of the internal surfaces; e.g., X_IMPERMEABLE specifies
impermeable internal surfaces parallel to the X coordinate.
Internal surfaces act as free-slip walls in stress computations. This default condition
cannot be changed.
Chemistry
~~~~~~~~~
Setting up a project with chemical reactions is a multi-step process that requires coding the reactions
rates in ``usr_rates.f`` for TFM or ``usr_rates_des.f`` for DEM. The solver needs to be built to take the reaction rates
into account. A brief overview is outlined below. The Silane pyrolysis tutorial is an good way for the user to familiarize
him/herself with setting up chemical reactions in MFiX.
- Check the "Enable user-defined subroutine" checkbox in the "Model" pane.
- Check the "Enable Species equations" checkbox and define species in the "Fluid" and "Solids" panes.
- In the "Chemistry" pane, define chemical equations by pressing the |add| button.
Define the reaction equation name, and add reactants and products with the |add| button.
Select the phase and species from the dropdown list, and enter the stoichiometric coefficient.
Repeat until all products and reactants are defined, and press OK to validate. Specific heats of reactions are
computed automatically, but this setting can be manually overwritten if needed by checking the "Specify Heat of Reaction" checkbox,
entering the heat of reaction and assigning the gas and solids phases fractions.
- (Optional) turn on the stiff chemistry solver in the "Chemistry" pane by checking the "Enable stiff chemistry solver" checkbox.
- Edit and save the ``usr_rates.f`` or ``usr_rates_des.f`` UDF, and any other UDF needed for the reaction rates calculation.
- Build the custom solver by pressing the |Build button| button.
Numerics
~~~~~~~~
The Numerics panes defines various numerical parameters, which are grouped in several sub panes:
- Residuals: Defines convergence criteria for each type of equation, as well as the maximum number of iterations and residual normalization options.
- Discretization: Defines temporal, spatial discretization schemes and relaxation factors for each equation.
- Linear Solver: Defines the Linear Equation solver, tolerance and maximum number of iterations for each equation.
- Preconditioner: Defines the preconditioner options for each equation.
- Advanced: Defines less common parameters, such as the maximum inlet velocity factor, drag and IA theory underrelaxation factors and fourth order interpolation scheme.
Outputs
~~~~~~~
A variety of output formats can be written by the solver including
restart files (``*.RES``), VTK files (``*.pvd``, ``*.vtp``, ``*.vtu``),
and legacy Single Precision files (``*.SP?``). The VTK files
can be read by and displayed in the GUI. Most of these files can be viewed with
the post-processing programs ParaView_ and VisIt_.
The Basic sub-pane is where the restart file write frequency as well as the
VTK and SPx outputs can be enabled. Once these are enabled, the
associated sub-pane will be enabled, allowing for specific control over these
outputs.
The VTK output has the most flexibility. Selected particle data or cell data
variables can be exported at a specific region and write frequency. To create a
new VTK output, press the |add| button which will bring up the Region selection
dialog. Next, select an output type (particle or cell), select a region, and
press OK. The file pattern name, write frequency, and variables can be selected
for the newly created VTK output.
The following table lists the files typically associated with an MFiX run. In addition, their
associated file type, data content and readability by ParaView and VisIt is indicated.
.. include:: /output_format_table.rst
Monitors
~~~~~~~~
.. _run-pane:
Run
~~~
The Run pane is used to define parameters related to how long the solver
runs, time-step controls, as well as options to cleanly terminate a
solver after a certain amount of time. These options are particularly useful
when running in a queue environment because they allow the solver to cleanly
exit before the job gets killed by the queuing system. This minimizes the
chance of corrupting output files if the process is killed while writing a file.
Visualization window
====================
The visualization window provides a collection of 3D views and 2D plots for
visualizing the model setup and model outputs. New windows, or tabs, can
be created by pressing the |add| button. Once the tab has been added,
the type of view can be selected. A Tab can be closed by pressing the
|close| button located in its upper right hand corner.
Model
~~~~~
The Model tab is always present and cannot be closed. This 3D view shows
the setup of the project including the background mesh, geometry, and
regions.
The scene can be manipulated with the mouse and the toolbar buttons defined in the
following table:
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Icon | Description |
+=================+=======================================================+
| |overscan| | Reset view, make all items visible |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| |xy| | Change to XY view |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| |xz| | Change to XZ view |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| |yz| | Change to YZ View |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| |perspective| | Toggle between perspective and parallel projections |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| |camera| | Save an image of the current view |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| |visibility| | Change the visibility and properties of actors |
+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------+
The visibility menu allows the user to manipulate objects in the scene by:
- changing the visibility with the |visibility| button
- changing the representation (wire, solids, edges, and points)
- changing the color
- changing the transparency of the objects
Plot Tab(s)
~~~~~~~~~~~
The plot tab(s) can be used to graph live statistics from the
solver while it is running. Values such as the time step (dt), number
of iterations (nit), and the simulated time (time) can be plotted. The
plot can be manipulated with the mouse, and a ``right-click`` menu
provides access to options that can be changed. In addition, export options
for saving an image of the plot or exporting the data to a text file are
available in this menu.
.. note::
Plotting only available when solver is running
.. _vtk-tabs:
VTK Tab(s)
~~~~~~~~~~
The VTK tab provides a way to quickly view results from the solver. For more
complex visualization of solver data, ParaView_ or VisIt_ is recommended.
.. _Paraview: https://www.paraview.org/
.. _Visit: https://wci.llnl.gov/simulation/computer-codes/visit/
The tab automatically sets-up VTK pipelines for reading and displaying the
content of \*.vtu and \*.vtp files.
.. note::
The directory is automatically searched every second for
\*.pvd files. If a \*.pvd file is found, the GUI will read and show
the new VTK file if the |play| button is pressed.
Results display can be "played" as well as manipulated using the
following toolbar:
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Icon | Description |
+=================+======================================================================+
| |overscan| | Reset view, make all items visible |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |xy| | Change to XY view |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |xz| | Change to XZ view |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |yz| | Change to YZ View |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |perspective| | Toggle between perspective and parallel projections |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |camera| | Save an image of the current view |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |visibility| | Change the visibility and properties of actors |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |first| | Go to the first frame |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |back| | Go back one frame |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |play| | Play available frames, starting at the current frame |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |next| | Go to the next frame |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |last| | Go to the last frame |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |speed| | Change the playback speed, or the amount of time in between frames |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
The visibility menu allows for the manipulation of how the objects in
the scene represented including:
- visibility
- the data array used to color
- color bars
- transparency
Further options for the points can be adjusted by clicking the |more|
button next to the label including:
- Maximum number of particles to be displayed
- The mapper (sprites requires VTK version 7.0+)
- The glyph object
.. _terminal-window:
Terminal window
===============
The terminal window displays the output of the solver job that would
be displayed when running the solver on the command line. Error messages
and warnings, from both the GUI and a running solver, are displayed
and colored in red.
Informational messages from the GUI unrelated to the solver are colored
in blue.
Mode bar
========
The Mode bar allows switching the GUI between various modes including:
- Mesher, used to set up a mesh when in SMS mode
- Modeler, used to set up and run simulations
- Nodeworks, feature to support creation, management, post
processing, and optimization of projects.
A status bar is also present, showing the current status of the GUI or a
running solver, including a progress bar showing the current
progress of the solver and elapsed time.