Copyright © 1988-2024 Tecplot, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. See the complete legal notice in the copyright section of this document.

Additional Resources

In addition to these Release Notes and HTML Help, Tecplot 360 includes access to these manuals to help you explore all of Tecplot 360’s functionality.

Getting Started Manual

Your introduction to Tecplot 360 includes a tutorial that will help you learn your way around the product.

User’s Manual

This manual provides a complete description of working with Tecplot 360 features.

Scripting Guide

This guide provides macro command syntax and information on working with macro files and commands.

Quick Reference Guide

This guide provides syntax for zone header files, macro variables, keyboard shortcuts, and more.

Data Format Guide

This guide provides information on outputting simulator data to Tecplot file format.

Installation Guide

These instructions give a detailed description of how to install Tecplot 360 on your machine.

My Tecplot

My Tecplot is Tecplot’s one-stop portal that allows you to download software, manage your license keys, and more. Visit it at My Tecplot.

Welcome to Tecplot 360 2024 R1 Maintenance Release 1

Updates & Improvements

  • Fixed crash when using TecUtilLineSegProbe() with polyhedral data.

  • Fixed crash when appending SZPLT file to dataset which already contained Ordered data.

  • Updated VTU loader to silently ignore files which have zero points or cells. Improves compatibility with output from SHIPFLOW (www.flowtech.se/).

  • Updated VTU loader to allow loading of files which contain Vertex cells along with other cell shapes. Improves compatibility with output from SHIPFLOW (www.flowtech.se/).

  • Updated VTM reader to allow loading files which do not contain various optional file attributes. Improves compatibility with output from SU2 (su2code.github.io/).

  • Better shading and contour flooding of concave polygonal cells. For zones of type FE-Polygon as well as slices and iso-surfaces where the surface generation method is set to All Polygons, shading and contour flooding of concave polygonal cells are better constrained to stay inside cell boundaries.

concave old

concave new

  • Eliminated a benign command line warning: "libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile", which was displayed on Linux operating systems when running Tecplot Chorus.

  • Updated EnSight loader to recognize *.encas extension, and improved handling of quoted strings within case files. These provide improved support for EnSight files exported from Ansys Fluent.

  • Updated PVD loader to assign solution time as defined by the timestep attribute in the PVD file. Previously the PVD loader would assign a solution time derived from file names of the files referenced in the PVD file.

  • Green-Gauss Derivatives (Beta Feature). The Green-Gauss method for computing derivatives has been updated to support cell-centered data. The previous release would fall back to Moving Least Squares when cell-centered data was encountered. This feature is currently available only via the FEDerivativeMethod = GreenGauss on the $!AlterData Macro Command.

  • Fixed issue with Extend Time MCR add-on in which 'QUERY.NUMTIMESTEPS' could return the wrong number of timesteps.

  • Fixed crash when $!Limits MaxPtsInALine was set to values greater than 32,768.

  • Improved near-boundary accuracy for cell-centered derivatives. Specifically for highly-stretched IJ- or IJK-ordered zones with cell-centered data.

  • Resolved various benign warnings displayed on the Linux command line on startup.

  • Ansys RST variable names have been changed from Flow to Flux for transient data. Example: Total Heat Flow is now Total Heat Flux.

  • Fixed OpenFOAM loader to properly assign zero velocity to no-slip boundary zones.

What Was New in Tecplot 360 2024 R1

Updates & Features

  • Updated Ansys Fluent Common Fluids Format (.cas.h5/.dat.h5) to support Ansys Fluent 2024 R1 files.

  • Added PVD file support. PVD files are an XML-based format that ease loading of collections of (including transient) XML-based VTK files (.vti, .vtp, .vtu). This update improves compatibility with CFD codes such as Kestrel and M-Star CFD Software.

  • Enabled VTK-based data loaders for macOS. Previous releases introduced these data loaders on Windows and Linux.

  • TecIO: If you choose to use Boost 1.75.0 or greater, you will need C++14. You can use Boost 1.69.0, in which case, you do not need C++14.

  • List of data loaders in the File > Load Data dialog have been alphabetized to make loader selection easier. Tecplot file format loaders remain listed at the top.

data loaders list

  • Updated the Probe Dialog to allow adjusting the numeric precision. The eliding (the ‘…​’ in the right-hand image) was also updated to be in the center. These two changes make it much easier to recognize the order of magnitude of the probed values.

probe 5 precision

probe 18 precision

  • Green-Gauss Derivatives (Beta Feature). The Green-Gauss method for computing derivatives can improve the quality of gradient calculations particularly near the walls when the grid is highly stretched. This feature is currently partially complete and available only via an option (FEDerivativeMethod = GreenGauss) on the $!AlterData Macro Command. Green-Gauss is not implemented for some zone types and will automatically fall back to the default, Moving Least Squares, method. The left image below is dudy() computed with Green-Gauss and the right image is with Moving-Least-Squares. The Green-Gauss derivatives closely match the analytical solution.

green gauss

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed regression with CGNS loader in which some data files containing polyhedral data could not be loaded. This issue was introduced in 360 2023 R1 and resolved in 360 2024 R1.

  • Fixed SZPLT data file only problem where self-referential equations using the IF operator could result in incorrect results.

    • Example equation: {MyVariable} = IF(X > 0, 1, {MyVariable})

  • Fixed issue with the Ansys Fluent CFF loader in which it would crash on newer Linux systems, such as Rocky 9 and Ubuntu 24.04.

  • Fixed crash with CGNS files that were written with CGNS 3.4 and utilize polyhedral cells. Note that CGNS 3.4.0 was effectively recalled and should be avoided. See the note under CGNS 4.0.0 here: cgns.github.io/download.html

  • Resolved memory leak in VTI and VTP loaders.

  • Fixed issue which prevented loading of polyhedral data with more than 2 billion faces.

  • Fixed issue which prevented the tec360-env script from working on newer Linux systems, such as Ubuntu 22.04 and newer. The tec360-env script is commonly used in conjunction with PyTecplot. See tecplot.azureedge.net/products/pytecplot/docs/install.html#environment-setup-batch-only

  • Fixed CONVERGE HDF5 loader so it will load parcel data from CONVERGE version 4.0 files.

  • Fixed a bug that prevented TecUtilLineSegProbe() from working with polyhedral data.

  • Fixed issue where surface streamtraces did not propagate properly when placed on no-slip wall zones composed of 4-corner polygons.

  • Fixed crash with surface streamtraces placed on no-slip wall zones.

  • Fixed crash when changing solution time while a LineMap is selected and there are 2D or 3D Frames with linked solution time.

  • Eliminated a benign command line warning: "libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile", which was displayed on Linux operating systems.

  • Windows Installer now installs additional dependencies which prevented some Tecplot add-ons from loading.

  • Implemented TecUtilDialogLaunch(Dialog_ZoneMapStyle) to allow the Zone Style dialog to be launched programmatically from Tecplot add-ons.

  • Fixed crash with $!CreateFEBoundary macro command with small (~ < 2500 cells) surface zones.

  • Update the End User License Agreement in all products Feb 2024.

  • Published Pytecplot 1.6.2 (only change is EULA update).

Python Version Support

Tecplot software which supports Python will be supported on Python versions which are under active support. For details refer to: devguide.python.org/versions

Platform Support

The 2024 R1 release is supported on the following platforms:

  • Linux:

    • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS

    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) 15

    • RedHat 7.8+, 8, and 9

    • CentOS 7.8+

    • Rocky Linux 8 and 9

  • Windows: 10 and 11

  • macOS: 12, 13, and 14

Platform End of Life Updates

  • CentOS 7 support ends, June 30th, 2024. Tecplot software released after this date will not be supported on CentOS 7.

  • RedHat 7 support ends, June 30th, 2024. Tecplot software released after this date will not be supported on RedHat 7.

TecPLUS Subscriptions

A TecPLUS support subscription gives you:

  • No-charge upgrades to Tecplot 360 during your subscription period

  • Unlimited technical support

  • One free hour of online training per year

Additionally, an active TecPLUS subscription gives you access to the following components, boosting your Tecplot 360 license to a whole new level of value:

Tecplot Chorus

Our simulation analytics product for engineers who work with large numbers of cases. Previously, Chorus included Tecplot 360 to view individual cases’ data files; we’ve flipped that, and now offer every Tecplot 360 user access to this powerful tool.

PyTecplot

Tecplot and the Python programming language reunite! PyTecplot works with your system’s installed Python and with popular Python tools like NumPy, SciPy, and Jupyter. PyTecplot features an easy-to-use object-oriented approach to working with your data and plots using the engine that powers Tecplot 360.

Tecplot SZL Server

When your data is too big to move around comfortably, you can install this lightweight server on most Linux hosts to quickly and securely access your remote data.

Your basic Tecplot 360 license is perpetual: even if your TecPLUS subscription expires, you will still be licensed to run any version of Tecplot 360 released while your subscription was active—forever.[1]. However, your access to these additional software components (Tecplot Chorus, PyTecplot, and Tecplot SZL Server) ends when your TecPLUS subscription expires.

Most Tecplot 360 users now receive a new license key annually, even those without TecPLUS. If you currently have a Tecplot 360 license with active TecPLUS, you can manage your license via My Tecplot (my.tecplot.com) or by contacting sales@tecplot.com.

Usage Data Collection

To help us better understand how our customers use our products and improve them further, Tecplot 360 includes an analytics feature that reports user activity over the Internet using the Google Analytics™ platform. This feature tells us which dialogs you use and which controls you manipulate in them. However, to protect your privacy and trade secrets, we do not see names associated with your data (such as variable, zone, or file names) or the actual values of fields in dialogs, nor do we receive any information about you or your organization’s identity.

If you do not wish to participate in this program, turn off "Collect Anonymous Usage Data" in the Help menu.

We receive basic information about your operating system, product version, and license at each launch of Tecplot 360, even if you have opted out of the usage data program. This information is not tied to any usage data collected.

No usage data of any kind is collected if you do not have access to the Internet or if the Google Analytics service is blocked by a firewall.

Crash Reporting

Please help us make Tecplot 360 better by sending a crash report to us in the event that the application terminates unexpectedly.

On Windows, Tecplot 360 creates a crash dump file. You will receive a message indicating that a crash dump file has been created. Click Yes in this dialog to open the folder where the file is created. You can then e-mail the most recent .dmp file in this folder, along with a description of what you were trying to do, to support@tecplot.com.

On other platforms, no crash dump file is created. However, we urge you to send us a report anyway with as much detail as you can remember.

If you have a moment and a desire to be extra helpful, please re-open Tecplot 360 and choose Enable Diagnostic Logging in the Help menu. Then redo the steps you took to cause the crash. Tecplot 360 will record your actions as a macro file. If you are able to reproduce the crash, send the resulting .mcr file to us (along with the .dmp file if you use Windows). On non-Windows platforms, you can find the .mcr file in /usr/tmp/tecplot_$USER/tpa_diagnostics.

Crash dumps and diagnostic macros are stored in a temporary folder and will be eventually be deleted by the system. There is no need to delete them manually.

Graphics Drivers

For best results, please make sure that you are using the latest graphics drivers compatible with your hardware and operating system. These can be obtained from your graphics adapter vendor’s Web site. Old versions may have issues with Tecplot 360, especially with larger data sets.

Platform-Specific Notes

The following table outlines the support for various platform-specific features in Tecplot 360 2024 R1.

Linux Mac Windows

Ansys Fluent CFF loader

FLOW3D loader

ABAQUS loader

Excel Loader

Tecplot Chorus

Tecplot SZL Server.[2]

Refer to the remainder of this section for issues specific to your operating system.

Windows

Your account must have administrator rights on your computer to install Tecplot 360, or else right-click the installer and choose "Run as Administrator."

Linux

Temporary Directory

Tecplot 360 relies on being able to create temporary files in the system temporary directory. On Linux, this directory is typically /usr/tmp or /var/tmp. If your user account does not have permission to write into the system temporary directory, you can use a different directory either by setting the TMPDIR environment variable in your profile or by setting the TEMPFILEPATH in the tecplot.cfg file.

Menu Shortcuts

Menu shortcut keys may not work if the Num Lock is on. You may set the Num Lock to turn off automatically at boot in your computer’s BIOS.

SELinux

SELinux (provided with some Linux distributions) adds an extra layer of security. If you see this error message:

//lib/libtec.so: cannot restore segment prot after reloc: Permission
Denied

Enter these two commands, replacing /path/to/tecplot/lib with the actual path of your installed Tecplot 360 lib directory (your account needs sudo permission):

sudo chcon -v -R -u system_u -r object_r -t lib_t /path/to/tecplot/lib/
sudo chcon -t texrel_shlib_t /path/to/tecplot/lib/

You can then run Tecplot 360 without disabling SELinux.

Mac

Keyboard Shortcuts

Previous versions of Tecplot 360 used the Control key for most keyboard shortcuts, rather than the Mac standard Command key. Tecplot 360 EX changes these shortcuts to use the Command key under Mac. Similarly, when rotating a 3D plot, you now hold down the Command key while dragging with the right mouse button.

Note that the Alt key may be called Option on some Mac keyboards.

Right Mouse Button

If your Mac’s mouse has only a single button, hold the Control key while clicking to access right-click functionality.

Middle Mouse Button

There is no functionality in Tecplot 360 that requires a middle mouse button; however, it does provide some shortcuts. Users of single-button mice cannot emulate the middle button, but users of mice with two buttons can hold down Control while right-clicking if their mouse does not support a true middle-button click.

Enjoy Tecplot 360 2024 R1 and master the view.

Tecplot 360 Release Notes is for use with Tecplot 360 2024 R1.

Copyright © 1988-2024 Tecplot, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Except for personal use, this manual may not be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of Tecplot, Inc., 3535 Factoria Blvd, Ste. 550; Bellevue, WA 98006 U.S.A.

The software discussed in this documentation and the documentation itself are furnished under license for utilization and duplication only according to the license terms. The copyright for the software is held by Tecplot, Inc. Documentation is provided for information only. It is subject to change without notice. It should not be interpreted as a commitment by Tecplot, Inc. Tecplot, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for documentation errors or inaccuracies.

Tecplot, Inc.
Post Office Box 52708
Bellevue, WA 98015-2708 U.S.A.

Tel:1.800.763.7005 (within the U.S. or Canada), 00 1 (425) 653-1200 (internationally)

E-mail: sales@tecplot.com, support@tecplot.com
Questions, comments or concerns regarding this document: support@tecplot.com

For more information, visit www.tecplot.com

Tecplot®, Tecplot 360,™ Tecplot 360 EX,™ Tecplot Focus, the Tecplot product logos, Preplot,™ Enjoy the View,™ Master the View,™ SZL,™ Sizzle,™ and Framer™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Tecplot, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

NOTICE TO U.S. GOVERNMENT END-USERS

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraphs (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer-Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19 when applicable, or in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, and/or in similar or successor clauses in the DOD or NASA FAR Supplement. Contractor/manufacturer is Tecplot, Inc., 3535 Factoria Blvd, Ste. 550; Bellevue, WA 98006 U.S.A.

Part Number: 23-360-07-2 Build Revision {CI_PIPELINE_ID}

Released: 06/2024

For third-party trademark and copyright information, see the User’s Manual.

1. While your license is perpetual, we cannot guarantee compatibility of today’s Tecplot products with future systems.
2. The SZL Server runs only on Linux, but Tecplot 360 running on any supported platform can connect to the server as a client.