ParaView Exodus Rendering
render_exodus.py renders an ExodusII file with ParaView's Python interface, coloring the mesh by a chosen field. A file holding a single timestep produces one PNG; a file holding several produces a numbered PNG series. visualize_exodus.sh wraps the renderer and encodes that series into an MP4 with ffmpeg. Both live in python/paraview_exodus.
Standard Usage
The renderer runs under pvpython, which ParaView installs alongside its application:
pvpython python/paraview_exodus/render_exodus.py result.e --field temperature
To list the fields a file holds before choosing one:
pvpython python/paraview_exodus/render_exodus.py result.e --list-fields
The wrapper takes the same options, adds --fps and --keep-frames, and locates the renderer next to itself, so it may be invoked from any directory:
python/paraview_exodus/visualize_exodus.sh result.e --field temperature --colormap coolwarm
Outputs are written to the current working directory, named after the input file unless --output is given. -h lists every option, including the colormap selection, background and text colors, resolution, and the color range strategy used across a time series.
Frame Fitting
--auto-aspect reshapes the frame so the mesh fills it, treating --resolution as a bounding size. Every frame is rendered off screen first and the mesh silhouette is measured from those pixels, so the final frame contains the mesh at every timestep, including meshes that deform or move over time. This renders the series twice and requires Pillow in the pvpython interpreter; without Pillow the fixed --resolution is used.