In addition to superimposing the undeformed and deformed shape for a single plot state such as contour plots, you can choose to display multiple plot states in a viewport. By toggling on Allow Multiple Plot States in the toolbox, you can choose any combination of the undeformed and deformed plot shapes with contours, symbols, and material orientations for the selected step and frame of the current output database. ABAQUS/CAE displays the deformed plots using the Common Plot Options and the undeformed plots using the Superimposed Plot Options in combination with the other plot state–independent and dependent options for each plot state.

If you toggle off Allow Multiple Plot States, ABAQUS/CAE uses the following order in combination with the last plot states that were displayed to select the single plot state to display:

For example, if you display contours and material orientations, ABAQUS/CAE retains the contour plot when you toggle off Allow Multiple Plot States. This is the same order that the plot states are listed in the Plot menu and displayed in the toolbox.

To display more complex plot combinations, you must use an Overlay Plot. Overlay plots allow you to display animations or X–Y plots along with the stationary plot states listed above. You can also use overlay plots to plot results from multiple steps, frames, or output databases. For more information, see Chapter 53, “Overlaying multiple plots.”

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