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8.1.2. Visualize LAMMPS snapshots

Snapshots from LAMMPS simulations can be viewed, visualized, and analyzed in a variety of ways.

LAMMPS snapshots are created by the dump command, which can create files in several formats. The native LAMMPS dump format is a text file (see dump atom or dump custom) which can be visualized by several visualization tools for MD simulation trajectories. OVITO and VMD seem to be the most popular choices among them.

The dump image and dump movie styles can output internally rendered images or convert them to a movie during the MD run. It is also possible to create visualizations from LAMMPS inputs or restart file with the LAMMPS-GUI, which uses the dump image command internally. The Snapshot Image Viewer can be used to adjust the visualization of the system interactively and then export the corresponding LAMMPS commands to the clipboard to be inserted into input files.

Programs included with LAMMPS as auxiliary tools can convert between LAMMPS format files and other formats. See the Tools page for details. These are rarely needed these days.