IES VisualAnalysis User's Guide
Working in Report View

Create a Report

If your reports get long enough, VisualAnalysis may stop trying to recreate the report automatically on every change you make to tables, filters and settings. This allows you to rapidly define the report. When you are ready, click the Create Report button displayed near the top of the Report View.

Modify Report Filters

Use the Modify tab to change how the report is filtered. There is also a 'clear report filters' button in the report toolbar as a quick way to reset all the filters.

Load Case Selection

You can define which load cases to include, all or those selected from a list, which will affect load tables.

Result Case Selection

You can define which result cases to include for analysis-result tables, again by all or those selected. The result-case selection table can be sorted on different columns and allows for standard multiple-selection with the Ctrl key to toggle a row, or click the first item and then Shift+Click the last item in a range.

Selected Item Reports

Similarly, model objects can be included or excluded by either selection or name filtering. If you choose the 'selection' method, you can toggle back and forth between the Report View and another graphic window to change the selection status and the report will dynamically update.

Table Operations

To work with a specific table, click your mouse within the table. The Modify tab will display the table's options and available columns. Note that clicking on a table header will perform sorting. You can rename a table in the modify tab, which is useful if you include a table twice and display different columns in each instance of the table.

Changing Column Widths

To change the width of a column, simply use your mouse to Drag the dotted line separating columns. 

Add or Remove Tables

To add tables to a report use the Add Tables tab. To remove or rearrange tables, use the Modify tab to drag them around or click the X icon. (If you have a table selected, you can click in the white-space of the report to modify the report properties rather than those for a single table.)

Sorting Tables

You can sort any table in a report by clicking on a column-header.

Extreme Rows

One important option on tables that show results, is the ability to compress the table to only rows that contain a minimum or maximum value. If you cannot find the information you need, you can adjust the Extreme Rows Dispaly parameter to 'Show All' to see all of the data in the table.

Save a Report with your Project

Quick reports may be generated in a variety of ways. If you close your report, or create a new report this type of report is "lost" (you may always re-create it the way you did originally). However if you edit a quick report or give it a name, it will be automatically saved with your project file! When you re-open your project file you will be able to access it by name from the Command Bar, when the Report View is active. It is a good idea to give these reports a nice name that will make sense to you.

Please note: The report's data is not saved, just a template (organization, filters, and format) of the report! When you recreate a project report the data is pulled "live" from your model, loads and analysis results. If you wish to save the data from a particular model or analysis run permanently you should print it, or save the report as a separate file!

Save a Report as a New Style

Save a report that you have customized for use on other and future projects. This preserves the report contents and settings in a data file on your machine, independent of any particular project file. See File Preferences for names and locations.

Save a Report to a File

You may wish to save a report permanently to archive the information it contains. Perhaps you want to use a spreadsheet to further process the numbers in a report. You may also need to edit it in a word processor or email the report to someone. In all these situations, you will use File | Save Report As to create a file. Reports may be saved in Rich Text File (.rtf), Plain text (.txt), Comma Delimited (.csv), or Tab Delimited format (.txt). The delimited formats work best for going to spreadsheets. 

In the advanced level of VisualAnalysis you can also save the report directly to Microsoft Excel (.xls) format, or work with the Spreadsheet tab directly for basic spreadsheet manipulations of the data.

Export a Table to a Spreadsheet

Right-click within a report table and you can copy it to the clipboard to paste into another program.

Hint: If you routinely use this feature you might wish to customize reports so they import more easily into the spreadsheet. You may turn clear the box for "Use Table Lines" and the box for "No Table Duplicates". These options are found under Tools | Preferences under the Report tab.

Delete a Saved Project Report

Reports that you customize will accumulate within your project so that you can get back to them easily, and they will be available to others who receive your project file. These report can be manually deleted: first create the report by selecting it from the Quick Report list in the command bar, then use the Modify tab in Project Manager, selecting the Delete Saved? option. The report will be thrown out as soon as another report is generated, or the project is closed.

Print a Report

Use File | Print to print the active Report View or File | Print Preview first to verify how it will appear.

If you need to make some changes before printing, use File | Page Setup, or Tools | Preferences on the Report tab or Font tab.

Member Results at Offsets

There are two types of member result tables: the normal is very concise, showing just the range of forces, stresses, or displacements as one row for each element. The other type contains the word "Detailed" in the title, and allows you to see member results at a specified number of offsets along the member's length.

Change Table Properties

To modify an individual table or summary, Click within the report section you wish to modify. 

Modify Table Columns

Click within any report table, and it appears in the Selected Table tab of Project Manager. The included and available columns appear in a checked-list. You can check or uncheck columns, and rearrange the included columns by dragging them up or down within the list.

Insert a Picture

You may paste any image from the Windows clipboard. This is a good way to get your current Result View included in a report. Use Home | Copy when the Result View is active, and then switch to the Report View, position the cursor, and choose Home | Paste. Once the image is in the report, you may be able to resize it by selecting it and Dragging one of the corners with your mouse. (Any graphic view may be copied to the clipboard through Home | Copy.