SFEPY-VIEW(1)

✨ NAME ✨

sfepy-view — okay so bestie, this lil icon views SfePy meshes or the results of SfePy calculations. That's the whole job. And yes, you're in the SfePy manual rn, welcome 💖

---

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

sfepy-view [-h] [-f field_spec [field_spec …]]
       [--fields-map map [map …]] [-s step] [-l] [-i ISOSURFACES] [-e]
       [-w field] [--factor factor] [--opacity opacity] [--color-map cmap]
       [--axes-options options [options …]] [--no-axes] [--grid-vector1
       grid_vector1] [--grid-vector2 grid_vector2] [--max-plots MAX_PLOTS]
       [--no-labels] [--label-position position] [--no-scalar-bars]
       [--scalar-bar-size size] [--scalar-bar-position position] [-v
       position] [--camera-position camera_position] [--window-size
       window_size] [-a output_file] [-r rate] [-o output_file]
       [--off-screen] [-2] filenames [filenames …]

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

It's a script that gives you quick VTK-based visualizations of your finite element computations results. No cap, that's the vibe: you computed the thing, now you get to look at the thing. 👑

In the examples below it is supposed that sfepy is installed. When using the in-place build, replace sfepy-view by python3 sfepy/scripts/resview.py. (iykyk 🫶)

🎀 Examples 🎀

The examples assume that python -c "import sfepy; sfepy.test('--output-dir=output-tests')" has been run successfully and the resulting data files are present. Do that first, bestie, otherwise it's giving file not found energy 😭

• View data in output-tests/test_navier_stokes.vtk:

sfepy-view output-tests/navier_stokes-navier_stokes.vtk

• Customize the above output: plot0: field p, switch on edges, plot1: field u, surface with opacity 0.4, glyphs scaled by factor 2e-2:

sfepy-view output-tests/navier_stokes-navier_stokes.vtk -f p:e:p0 u:o.4:p1 u:g:f2e-2:p1

• As above, but glyphs are scaled by the factor determined automatically as 20% of the minimum bounding box size:

sfepy-view output-tests/navier_stokes-navier_stokes.vtk -f p:e:p0 u:o.4:p1 u:g:f10%:p1

• View data and take a screenshot:

sfepy-view output-tests/diffusion-poisson.vtk -o image.png

• Take a screenshot without a window popping up (stealth mode ✨):

sfepy-view output-tests/diffusion-poisson.vtk -o image.png --off-screen

• Create animation from output-tests/diffusion-time_poisson.*.vtk:

sfepy-view output-tests/diffusion-time_poisson.*.vtk -a mov.mp4

• Create animation from output-tests/test_hyperelastic.*.vtk, set frame rate to 3, plot displacements and mooney_rivlin_stress:

sfepy-view output-tests/test_hyperelastic_TL.*.vtk -f u:wu:e:p0 mooney_rivlin_stress:p1 -a mov.mp4 -r 3

---

🍓 POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS 🍓

• filenames — your results/mesh files. Feed her the goods. 🌸

---

💅 OPTIONAL ARGUMENTS 💅

• -h, --help — show this help message and exit. Classic. The girlies love a help flag.
• -f field_spec [field_spec …], --fields field_spec [field_spec …] — the fields to plot, bestie, and the options get separated by ":". Here's the whole menu, no skips:
  • "cX" - plot only Xth field component
  • "e" - print edges
  • "fX" - scale factor for warp/glyphs, see --factor option
  • "g" - glyphs (for vector fields only), scale by factor
  • "iX" - plot X isosurfaces
  • "tX" - plot X streamlines, gradient employed for scalar fields
  • "mX" - plot cells with mat_id=X
  • "oX" - set opacity to X
  • "pX" - plot in slot X
  • "r" - recalculate cell data to point data
  • "sX" - plot data in step X
  • "vX" - plotting style: s=surface, w=wireframe, p=points
  • "wX" - warp mesh by vector field X, scale by factor
• --fields-map map [map …] — map fields and cell groups, e.g. 1:u1,p1 2:u2,p2. Matchmaking, but for fields 💘
• -s step, --step step — select data in a given time step.
• -l, --outline — plot mesh outline. Just the silhouette, the contour, the lewk.
• -i ISOSURFACES, --isosurfaces ISOSURFACES — plot isosurfaces [default: 0]
• -e, --edges — plot cell edges.
• -w field, --warp field — warp mesh by vector field.
• --factor factor — scaling factor for mesh warp and glyphs. Append "%" to scale relatively to the minimum bounding box size. (That's the f10% flex from the examples above 👆)
• --opacity opacity — set opacity [default: 1.0]
• --color-map cmap — set color_map, e.g. hot, cool, bone, etc. [default: viridis]
• --axes-options options [options …] — options for directional axes, e.g. xlabel="z1" ylabel="z2", zlabel="z3"
• --no-axes — hide orientation axes. Gone. Poof. 🙈
• --grid-vector1 grid_vector1 — define positions of plots along grid axis 1 [default: "0, 0, 1.6"]
• --grid-vector2 grid_vector2 — define positions of plots along grid axis 2 [default: "0, 1.6, 0"]
• --max-plots MAX_PLOTS — maximum number of plots along grid axis 1 [default: 4]
• --no-labels — hide plot labels.
• --label-position position — define position of plot labels [default: "-1, -1, 0, 0.2"]
• --no-scalar-bars — hide scalar bars.
• --scalar-bar-size size — define size of scalar bars [default: "0.15, 0.05"]
• --scalar-bar-position position — define position of scalar bars [default: "0.8, 0.02, 0, 1.5"]
• -v position, --view position — camera azimuth, elevation angles, and optionally zoom factor [default: "225,75,0.9"]
• --camera-position camera_position — define camera position.
• --window-size window_size — define size of plotting window.
• -a output_file, --animation output_file — create animation, mp4 file type supported. Main character gets a movie deal 🎬
• -r rate, --frame-rate rate — set framerate for animation.
• -o output_file, --screenshot output_file — save screenshot to file.
• --off-screen — off screen plots, e.g. when screenshotting.
• -2, --2d-view — 2d view of XY plane.

---

💜 Author 💜

SfePy developers — the collective, the crew, the founding mothers and fathers of this whole operation 🫶

👑 Copyright 👑

2020, Robert Cimrman and SfePy developers

---

And that's the whole page, bestie. Go visualize something gorgeous. 💅✨

version: 2026.1 — dated Apr 26, 2026 — from the SfePy girlies at SFEPY-VIEW(1). Slay, bye! 🦋🎀