How can I modify a Chart in Mechanical?

oliadag

Hello everyone,

I want to modify a chart using Mechanical Scripting, and I managed to get the settings I wanted with this function:

def postprocessing():

    charts = ExtAPI.DataModel.GetObjectsByName("Chart")

    chart = charts[0]  # Assuming there's only one chart

    chart.VisibleProperties[1].InternalValue = 5
    chart.VisibleProperties[5].InternalValue = 'Deflection'
    chart.VisibleProperties[6].InternalValue = 'Force'
    chart.VisibleProperties[9].InternalValue = 'Omit'
    chart.VisibleProperties[10].InternalValue = 'Omit'
    chart.VisibleProperties[11].InternalValue = 'Display'
    chart.VisibleProperties[12].InternalValue = 'Omit'

postprocessing()

While this script works, I'm looking for a way to modify the chart properties more clearly without having to rely on Visible Properties. I think it'd be easier for someone else to follow the script if it didn't rely so much on indexing.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

Olia

Erik Kostson

Hi - that looks pretty good - we did not have an example of that (chart mod.), so thank you.

Erik

PS: I am not sure if there is a better way than this to set these fields

Landon Mitchell Kanner

One option for better readability is to use the PropertyByName method to select the properties. You can first print the VisibleProperties to see a list of the property names,:

But this may have robustness issues, depending on your workflow.

Note that the axis labels have direct APIs:
chart.XAxisLabel = 'Deflection'

oliadag

Thank you both for your replies!

Today I noticed something strange with the script, though. When I create a chart, change the scoping manually, and run the script below, the script doesn’t seem to work at all. Interestingly, if I make a manual adjustment in the chart's details (e.g., modifying X Axis-Chart Controls), the script then functions correctly.

charts = ExtAPI.DataModel.GetObjectsByName("Chart")
chart = charts[0]

chart.PropertyByName("IndependentAxisKey").InternalValue = 5
chart.XAxisLabel = 'Deflection'
chart.YAxisLabel = 'Force'`

It seems like manually changing something in the chart’s details triggers a refresh that allows the script to work as expected. Does anyone know why this might be happening?

Landon Mitchell Kanner

It seems like manually changing something in the chart’s details triggers a refresh that allows the script to work as expected. Does anyone know why this might be happening?

I couldn't reproduce this behavior (running 2024R2). But perhaps adding Tree.Refresh() will help?