I have an animation file (sequence-1.cxa) with approximately 500 associated hmf files.

When I read the animation file into the Fluent playback utility, I can play all of the frames.

However, when I attempt to write these files to hardcopy or mpeg output, it can only write a certain number of frames (394 frames in this case). After that point I get the following errors with each frame:

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Error message from graphics function Metafile reading (internal): Error reading file '/home/mfrain/Thomas_Basin_3m/08152003/Animation_Files/sequence-1_0395.hmf' at line 38902 Syntax error: '3588.:' is not a legal float

Error message from graphics function Delete_By_Key: Can't delete '/driver/x11/:1.0+w0/inner/main' - subsegment '/driver/x11/:1.0+w0/inner/main/xform/geom/model/@846FB590/@846FB562' is still open

Error message from graphics function Delete_Segment: Can't delete '/driver/x11/:1.0+w0/inner' - subsegment '/driver/x11/:1.0+w0/inner/main/xform/geom/model/@846FB590/@846FB562' is still open

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Can anyone make sense of this? Also, does anyone know if it is possible to manipulate just a subset of the animation frames within Fluent (say frames 394-500, instead of 1-500). Alternatively, can the hmf files be manipulated with any other software?

Thanks, Matt Frain

It sounds like your sequence-1_0395.hmf file is corrupted. It happened also to me some time ago and I had to open those files with a text editor and fix the problem (there were some "0" missing just before the "."...I don't know if I made myself clear...).

By the way, are you working on a UNIX platform? I'm always getting errors while trying to create mpeg files from my transient simulations, and Fluent support is not able to fix the problem, so I have to convert manually every frame into a postscript or whatever and then join them with an external application...

You can manipulate a subset of frames by creating your own .cxa file. The syntax is very easy. Open one of them with a text editor and have a look. It works.

I once found out on a google search a software (not freeware) which is able to manipulate hmf files (I think it is also a Fluent partner), but I can't remmbre its name now...

Hope it helps,

Edi.

I am actually running on Linux. I wasn't aware you could fiddle with these files in a text editor.

I am curious to know what is corrupting the files after a certain point. In my case, every hmf file after 0395 is trashed.

Thanks for your help. Let me see if I can get things sorted out.

Problem resolved. For some reason fluent was occaisionally writing '.:' instead of '.0' in some of the .hmf files.

Thanks for your help edi.

Matt