Using the GUI

If you compile mantaflow with the GUI option, and display it using gui.show() in the scene definition file, you can preview the simulation in the integrated GUI.

The main screen on the left shows the simulation domain with a display plane to inspect a 2D slice of the volumetric grids - in the picture above, the smoke density is shown in red and the velocity vector field is displayed as white arrows. The info panel on the right displays the grids selected, simulation dimension, and other user data. It is also possible to add simulation-specific controls and labels in the scene definition file.

Navigation

Here is a summary of the most important keyboard shortcuts. Click the '?' button in the UI for a keyboard map.

Left MB	Rotate view
Right MB	Pan camera
Wheel	Zoom
W/A/S/D/Q/E	Move camera
X	Next integer grid
C	Next scalar grid
Shift + C	Toggle scalar grid display modes
V	Next vector3 grid
Shift + V	Toggle vector display mode, e.g. centered/MAC vectors
B	Next particle system or particle data field
Shift + B	Toggle particle display
M	Next mesh
Shift + M	Toggle mesh display mode
',' and '.'	Scale scalar grid values
';' and '''	Scale vector grid values
Brackets	Scale mesh values
'9' and '0'	Scale particle data values
Plus / Minus	Move display slice
'8' / Multiply	Toggle display slice x/y/z
G	Toggle all grid displays

Simulation control

These hotkeys control simulation flow

P	Pause / Resume simulation
L	Step through simulation
Space	Update grid data while simulating
Escape	Abort the simulation and quit