Linked Previews
Compare two meshes or two runs by linking their previews: open each in its own tab, then let one viewpoint, field, colour range, clip plane or point in physical time drive the other. Every setting is its own switch, because "same camera, own field" and "same field, own camera" are both everyday comparisons.
Linking two previews
Open both meshes (side by side in the editor works well), then in either one choose Advanced ▸ Link previews… (or the Kratos MDPA: Link Previews… command) and press Link with…. Pick the other preview from the list. The preview you asked from reports its view once and the other adopts it; from then on a change in either one follows in the other. Unlink ends it, and closing either preview does too.
| Shared setting | What follows |
|---|---|
| Camera | The viewpoint of the focused pane. Both meshes need to occupy the same coordinates for this to line up. |
| Field | The coloured field, its component and its display modes — when the other mesh has that field. |
| Colour map and range | Colormap, fixed range, log scale and bands, so the same colour means the same value. |
| Clip plane | Axis, position and flip of the clipping plane. |
| Physical time | The frame at the same physical time. |
Panes
In a split layout, an incoming change applies to the Focused pane (the default — the pane the pointer last touched, the same one every panel edits) or to All panes. Reporting always reads the focused pane, so the scope only changes the application side, never what is sent.
Time is matched by time, never by frame number
Two runs seldom share a time grid, so frame 7 of one is usually not frame 7 of the other. A linked preview moves to the frame whose physical time matches:
- Exact time (the default) needs a frame at that time; Nearest within tolerance takes the closest one that is no further away than the tolerance you give, in the series' own time unit.
- A tie — a time exactly halfway between two frames — is refused rather than guessed.
- A time with no counterpart leaves the other preview where it is, and the panel says so under Not synchronised, together with the reason.
- A series whose steps are plain step numbers (a filename series such as
Main_0_12.vtu) has no physical time, so it is never linked on time; the panel explains that too.
Comparing runs on different time bases
When the two runs do not share a time axis at all — seconds against milliseconds, or a run starting at t = 100 against one starting at t = 0 — set a scale and an offset: the peer looks up t × scale + offset for this preview's time t, then matches exactly or nearest as usual. Identity (×1 + 0) is plain physical-time matching. The mapping is disclosed wherever it matters: a match notes which mapped time it answered, and a miss names the mapped time that had no frame (not the raw one, which would send you hunting on the wrong axis). Ties and out-of-tolerance times are refused exactly as without a mapping — a mapped match is never a quieter match.
A field the other mesh does not have
A linked field choice is applied only where the receiving mesh can honour it. If the other mesh has no such field, it keeps its own and the panel lists the field that could not be shared, rather than blanking the display.
What is remembered
The compared runs are saved with the view (the <stem>.kratosview.json sidecar, as paths relative to the mesh), together with which settings were shared. Reopening the mesh links it again as soon as the other preview is open, now or later. The sidecar records only identity — it never opens or reads the other file.
View only
Linking changes what you see, never the mesh: nothing is added to the edit history, no document is marked unsaved and no file is written other than the view sidecar.