Graphic Selection

You may graphically select items in order to view or modify part of the model or to print part of the results. When used in conjunction with the graphic editing features it allows you to quickly model and make modifications to the model. If used with results it allows you to view and print only the input or results that you want.

The elements that you see in the model views have two possible states; selected and unselected. By default, all items are selected, and therefore fully displayed. If you unselect any items, they are drawn in a gray or “ghosted” shade. To select or unselect an item simply click on it with the left mouse button. You may also use one of the selection tools below to select multiple items.

Note

• As an alternative to using the selection tools, some operations offer a Click to Apply option, which allows you to modify items by clicking or boxing them with the mouse. This is useful when working with a few items.
• Unselected items remain as part of the model for the solution. To remove items from the analysis you need to make them inactive.
• If you choose not to display items by turning them off in the Model Display Options Dialog, they remain in the current selected state and can still be selected/unselected.

Selection Modes

The Selection Toolbar is the vertical toolbar located on the left side of the screen. This toolbar is for selecting points, beams, and slabs in model views. This toolbar will not be available when a model view is not active. You may also access the selection tools from the View Menu.

Some of the tools are for one-time applications such as Select All. Other tools, such as Box Select, place you in a selection mode that remains active until you cancel it. The current mode is indicated by the mouse pointer and by the state of the button. While in a selection mode the button will stay depressed until you click it again, choose another button, or press the ESC key. You may have more than one model view open and may be in different modes in each view.

Note

• There are other types of graphic modes such as editing and viewing (zooming) modes. The viewing mode overrides the selection mode, which overrides the editing mode. This is so that while you are editing the model you can alter the selected state. You will be returned to the current editing mode when you terminate a selection mode.
• To cancel a selection mode re-click the same button so that it is in the "up" position, or press the ESC key, or click the right mouse button.
• You can cancel a box, line, or polygon selection that is underway by dragging the mouse off the model view while still holding the mouse button down.

Select All and Unselect All

Clicking Select All  and Unselect All tools will select or unselect all of the active points, beams, and columns in the model.

Box Select and Unselect Modes

The Box Select  and Box Unselect  tools allow you to draw a box around the items that you wish to select or unselect. Beams and columns must be entirely within the box in order for them to be affected.

Polygon Select and Unselect

The Polygon Select and Polygon Unselect  tools allow you to draw a polygon around the items that you wish to select or unselect. Beams and columns must be entirely within the polygon in order for them to be affected.

Line Select and Unselect

The Line Select  and Line Unselect  tools allow you to draw a line through the items that you wish to select or unselect. Any element the line crosses will be affected. This is useful when choosing items between other items.

Inverting Selections

The Invert Selection button is used to invert the selected state of the model. When clicked, all selected items are made unselected and all previously unselected items are made selected. For example, this can be very useful when just a few items are to be selected in a large model. Simply click on the desired items to unselect them, then click the Invert Selection button to make them selected and everything else unselected.

Criteria Selections

The Criteria Selection button allows you to select items based on a wide range of criteria such as coordinates, labels and many other conditions. When the Criteria Select button is clicked, you will be presented with the Criteria Selection Dialog with options grouped by tabs across the top. Each tab represents groups of criteria that you may use to refine your selection.

The options are numerous making it easy to quickly achieve complicated selections. This is a powerful tool so it is worth taking the time to experiment with the options so that you will know how to use it to your advantage. The various tabs in the dialog are described below.

Points

You may Select or Unselect Points as follows.

Point Range - You may specify a range of point labels. Specifying only one label selects just that one point.

Point Properties - You may specify a Min Horizontal, Max Horizontal, Min Vertical, and/or Max Vertical coordinate location.

Note

• If no criteria is specified, all the Points will be selected/unselected.

Columns

You may Select or Unselect Columns as follows.

Column Range – You may specify a range of Column labels.  Specifying only one label selects just that one Column.

Column Properties – You may specify a Material Type, Shape, or Function when selecting columns.

Perimeter Selection – Checking this box will select only the perimeter columns of your building.

Note

• If no criteria is specified, all the Columns will be selected/unselected.

Beams

You may Select or Unselect beams as follows.

Beam Range – You may specify a range of Beam labels.  Specifying only one label selects just that one beam.

Beam Properties – You may specify a Material Type, Shape, Function, or Orientation when selecting beams.

Perimeter Selection – Checking this box will select only the buildings perimeter beams.

Note

• If no criteria are specified, all the Beams will be selected/unselected.

Walls

You may Select or Unselect walls as follows.

Wall Range – You may specify a range of Wall labels.  Specifying only one label selects just that one wall.

Wall Properties – You may specify a Function or Thickness when selecting walls.

Perimeter Selection – Checking this box will select only the buildings perimeter walls.

Elevated Walls – Checking this box will select only the walls that have been modified using the Elevation Offset tool.

Note

• If no criteria are specified, all the Walls will be selected/unselected.

Slabs

You may Select or Unselect slabs as follows.

Support Line Label – You may specify a range of Support Line labels.  Specifying only one label selects just that one support line.

Strip Properties – You may specify an Orientation or Design Rule when selecting support lines.

Note

• If no criteria are specified, all the Support Lines will be selected/unselected.

Lock & Dim Lock

Click the Lock Unselected button to cause all currently unselected items to stay unselected and be visually removed from the current model view. This is useful when you are editing or printing a portion of a model and need to clear the model view of all items not involved.

To Unlock the unselected members in the model view, click the Unlock Unselected button and the unselected items that were previously "removed" from the model view will be returned to the view in the unselected state.

Graphic Selection from Spreadsheets

In many spreadsheets, both Data Entry and Results, you can select rows on the spreadsheet and use the right-click menu to select the Select Marked Lines in Current View or Unselect Marked Lines in the Current View options. This will graphically select or unselect the items corresponding to the selected rows in the top most model view window. This is very useful for highlighting failing members in a spreadsheet and then having them graphically selected in a model view to see where the problems are.

Saving Selections

You can save and recall various selection states for a model. If the model is altered after a selection state has been saved, the saved selection state will also be altered. Any new items (points, beams…) will be set to "selected" in any selection states saved prior to the creation of the new item.

To save a selection state, click the Save Selection State  button on the Selection Toolbar.

Click the Save button and provide a name for the saved selection. You can have up to 15 different saved selections in a model. To retrieve a saved selection, choose the selection state from the drop down list and click the Retrieve button. To delete a saved selection, choose the selection state from the drop down list and click the Delete button.