Desktop
The most frequently used ParaView interface is the desktop application. This Qt-based application is supported on the three most common operating systems – Windows, Linux, and macOS. You can seamlessly use local desktop and remote HPC resources to analyze and visualize your data.
ParaView’s desktop application is intended for the post-processing of simulation results. You can create visualization pipelines that can easily handle complex use cases and generate informative and insightful visualizations. It supports many file formats, and can read additional formats via reader plugins. For more information about ParaView’s readers and filters, visit Solutions.
Displaying Data
You can create different views to visualize data simultaneously and easily identify corresponding data elements. These views can also be customized (e.g. creating C++ plugins to add new types of views).
Filtering Data
Transform your data to generate visualizations that are easier to understand using ParaView filters. While an extensive list of filters is already provided, you can add custom filtering operations through Python scripting via a plugin or with a Programmable Filter.
Querying Data
Besides selecting data in various views interactively, ParaView provides a way to inspect the data by querying for elements that satisfy certain criteria using the “Find Data” dialog. The UI makes it easy to build simple queries to find matching elements. Complex queries are also possible using a Python-based syntax.
Animations
When you open a file with multiple timesteps, ParaView automatically sets up an animation. You can use the “Animation View” to set up complex animations involving changes to parameters of filters or sources, and you can move the camera to orbit around the dataset, along an arbitrary path, or follow data as it moves over time. Generated animations can be exported in common video formats (e.g. AVI, OGG, etc.) or as a series of PNG or JPEG image files.
Exporting Scenes
You can export rendered scenes from ParaView in formats used by 3D rendering tools (e.g. VRML, X3D, and GEO). They can then be imported into other rendering tools or saved as a self-contained HTML page that uses WebGL to do the rendering in a Web browser.
Professional ParaView Support
To get started using ParaView, check out the Resources page. Kitware provides professional support for ParaView, giving you access to its talented research and development team. They can also help customize ParaView, from tailoring it to your workflows to connecting it with your existing tools and more. Learn more about Kitware’s professional support services.