IES VisualAnalysis User's Guide
Selection and Editing
You can select items normally just by clicking on them with your mouse in a Model, Result or Design view. A single click selects the item and unselects everything else. The object to be selected will be indicated by a highlight color as the mouse hovers over the object. A single click on the background will also unselect everything.
To select multiple items, hold the Ctrl key while clicking. (The Ctrl key lets you toggle the selection state of items without unselecting anything.)
Use the Shift key to select all the visible objects of the type you click. Use Ctrl+Shift to select all the objects of that type that also have the same name prefix. For example, Ctrl+Shift on a member named 'BmX001' would select all the members whose names start with 'BmX'.
To select a group of items in an area, you can drag a selection box by dragging the mouse (primary button). Depending on the direction the box is drawn, two different selection behaviors result. Add the Ctrl key to extend the existing selection with items in your box.
You may create a selection circle using the Shift+right mouse button drag. Add the Ctrl key to extend the selection with items in your circle.
When you have closely spaced objects, selection may be difficult. In these cases, holding down a keyboard “preferred key” while clicking the mouse will chose the nearest of the specified type. The available keys are:
A – areas, area sides, or area side result
C – cables or cable results
L – loads (member, node, area, area side, plate)
N – nodes or node results
M – members or member results
P – plates or plate results
V – vertices (for areas)
Another way to ease selection in tight areas is to use the Tab key while hovering over a point which may have several objects in the ray intersection list. As you press the tab key, objects will be selected in the order based on the distance to each object with front object first. This can be very useful when viewing in the Picture View where sizes are true object size.
If you cannot see an object to select it, you can use the (Ctrl+F) feature to locate a model element by name.
Clicking on an element listed in the Find Tool window (for a Model View) will also select the element so you can edit. Double-clicking in the Find Tool will zoom the graphics view to the region of that element, but keep in mind it may be filtered off.
Use the tab in Project Manager to view the properties of one or more selected objects. If you have multiple types of objects selected, you can use the type selector near the top to choose which type of object to inspect.
When editing multiple objects you may see some properties with the word "varies" to indicate that different objects have different values. You can replace this with a valid setting to change all the objects.
To delete objects, you first need to select them. This can be done graphically or with the Find tool. Use the command or its keyboard shortcut (the Del key by default).
The following hierarchy indicates typical cascading effects of deletion. Items nested further in are dependent upon the items above at the higher level. For example, if you delete a node any elements connected to it are also deleted. If you delete an element, any loads on that element (in all load cases) are also deleted.
There are also implications for building code load combinations if you delete loads or service cases. In the design level, design groups will get removed or modified if you remove members or plates.
VisualAnalysis keeps an limited record of changes to your model and loads. You do not need to be afraid of making a mistake. Use the command to trace back through these operations to undo the additions, deletions, or modifications. An Home | Redo command is also available in case you undo too much.
Some operations are not undoable, notably editing design group parameters or deleting design groups. Please use more caution with these items, until we get these into the undo system.
Be aware that certain operations will reset the undo, making it unavailable. Explicitly saving your project file and other complex or import operations will empty the undo and redo lists. Preference changes can have subtle effects on undo as well.
Most VisualAnalysis edit controls accept both a value and an optional associated physical unit. If you leave off the unit, the unit that was displayed previously is assumed. The unit displayed is controlled by the command and the type of value displayed. You may enter data using any of the built-in units. Here are the basic units supported in VisualAnalysis.
| Quantity Type | Units |
|---|---|
| Length | feet (ft), inches (in), millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), meters (m), mixed feet, inches. (',") |
| Force | pounds (lb), kips (K), Newtons (N), kilonewtons (kN), kilogram force (kgf), and tons (t) |
| Temperature | degrees Fahrenheit (F), degrees Celsius (C) |
| Time | seconds (s), 1/seconds (Hz) |
Other physical quantities are based on these units and will use some practical combination. For example a moment may be expressed in K-ft or K-in, but not in K-mm.
The display units are controlled by a unit-style, that you may select in the menu. You may customize the styles, if none of the built-in ones work perfectly for your situation. You may change styles at any time.
For length units you may also enter mixed feet, inches, and fractions if you use the tick or quotation mark characters. VisualAnalysis will recognize the following expressions:
Just about every place where you enter a number in VisualAnalysis you may also enter a mathematical expression. These boxes will accept expressions including arithmetic operators. Type in expressions as you would any value. Use parentheses () to control order of evaluation. If the value is a physical quantity, place the unit last.
| Math | Available |
|---|---|
| Operators | +, -, *, /, ^, (, ) |
| Constant | PI |
| Exponential Functions | LOG, EXP |
| Trigonometric Functions | SIN, COS, TAN, ASIN, ACOS, ATAN |
VisualAnalysis evaluates your expression and stores only the result. In Project Manager, expressions are evaluated immediately after you click away from the control. In a Dialog box, the expression may stay in the box until you dismiss the dialog.