Command-line Converter¶

The ORION command-line converter is a standalone utility for converting scientific data between Tecplot, VTK, and PLOT3D formats without writing any code.

Installation¶

The converter is built automatically when installing ORION from source:

./install.sh build --compiler=gnu --use-tecio

The executable is located at bin/app/ORION.

Adding to PATH¶

To use the converter from any directory:

# Temporary (current session only)
export PATH="/path/to/ORION/bin/app:$PATH"

# Permanent (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
echo 'export PATH="/path/to/ORION/bin/app:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Or use the provided script:

./install.sh setvars

Basic Usage¶

Command Syntax¶

ORION --input-format <format> --input-file <file> \
      --output-format <format> --output-file <file> \
      [OPTIONS]

Required Arguments¶

Argument	Description	Values
`--input-format`	Input file format	`tecplot`, `vtk`, `plot3d`
`--input-file`	Path to input file	Any valid file path
`--output-format`	Output file format	`tecplot`, `vtk`, `plot3d`
`--output-file`	Path to output file	Any valid file path

Optional Arguments¶

Argument	Description	Default
`--help`, `-h`	Display help message	—
`--verbose`, `-v`	Enable verbose output	Off

Conversion Examples¶

Tecplot to VTK

ORION --input-format tecplot --input-file simulation.tec \
      --output-format vtk --output-file visualization.vtk

For Tecplot binary files (.plt, .szplt):

ORION --input-format tecplot --input-file results.szplt \
      --output-format vtk --output-file results.vtk

VTK to Tecplot

ORION --input-format vtk --input-file mesh.vtk \
      --output-format tecplot --output-file mesh.tec

PLOT3D to Tecplot

ORION --input-format plot3d --input-file grid.p3d \
      --output-format tecplot --output-file combined.tec

PLOT3D Files

ORION can work only with grid files.

PLOT3D to VTK

ORION --input-format plot3d --input-file grid.p3d \
      --output-format vtk --output-file output.vtk

PLOT3D Files

ORION can work only with grid files.

Batch Conversion¶

Using Shell Loops

Convert multiple files:

# Convert all .tec files in directory to VTK
for file in *.tec; do
    output="${file%.tec}.vtk"
    ORION --input-format tecplot --input-file "$file" \
          --output-format vtk --output-file "$output"
done

Parallel Processing

For large datasets, use GNU parallel:

# Install parallel
sudo apt install parallel  # Ubuntu/Debian
brew install parallel      # macOS

# Convert files in parallel
ls *.tec | parallel -j 4 \
    'ORION --input-format tecplot --input-file {} \
           --output-format vtk --output-file {.}.vtk'

Batch Script Example

Create a conversion script:

#!/bin/bash
# convert_batch.sh - Convert multiple Tecplot files to VTK

INPUT_DIR="./tecplot_files"
OUTPUT_DIR="./vtk_files"
CONVERTER="/path/to/ORION/bin/app/ORION"

# Create output directory
mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"

# Convert all .tec files
for input_file in "$INPUT_DIR"/*.tec; do
    filename=$(basename "$input_file" .tec)
    output_file="$OUTPUT_DIR/${filename}.vtk"

    echo "Converting $filename..."
    $CONVERTER --input-format tecplot --input-file "$input_file" \
               --output-format vtk --output-file "$output_file"

    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "  ✓ Success"
    else
        echo "  ✗ Failed"
    fi
done

echo "Batch conversion complete!"

Usage:

chmod +x convert_batch.sh
./convert_batch.sh

Troubleshooting¶

File Not Found¶

Error: Cannot open input file

Solution: Check file path and permissions:

ls -l input_file.tec
file input_file.tec

Format Detection Failed¶

Error: Unable to detect input format

Solution: Explicitly specify format:

ORION --input-format tecplot --input-file data.tec \
      --output-format vtk --output-file output.vtk

Memory Error¶

Error: Insufficient memory

Solution:

Check dataset size and available RAM
Process data in chunks if possible
Increase system swap space

TecIO Not Available¶

Error: Binary Tecplot format not supported

Solution: Rebuild with TecIO:

./install.sh build --compiler=gnu --use-tecio

Permission Denied¶

Error: Cannot write output file

Solution: Check output directory permissions:

# Check write permission
ls -ld output_directory/

# Fix permissions if needed
chmod +w output_directory/