The Load Case and Node Output tab is used to specify which load case or cases and which node or nodes are to be translated from the existing results file to the new results file. You can specify to translate the entire file, or specify particular load cases and nodes.
- Specify Cases, All Nodes option (Load Case list): This option is available for binary and text input files. When this radio button is selected, the items on the left half of the tab are activated. Indicate which load cases (or time steps, or mode shape, and so on, depending on the analysis type) to translate by checking the appropriate cases in the load case list. A check mark indicates the case will be translated. All nodes for the checked load cases will be written to new results file. Use the Select All, Select None, and Toggle Selected buttons to change which items are checked in the list. Note: In a few circumstances when the existing results file is a text format, the analysis type is not uniquely known from the analysis code in the header. Therefore, it is not known whether the results are a load case or time step and whether the first result is load case 1 or time step 0. The Nodal Results Translator attempts to compensate for this by searching the first 20 lines of the text file to see if an Existing Results File is listed. If so, it assumes that the extension for the listed file accurately describes the data contained in the text file. If the analysis code in the header does not distinguish the type of data, and no existing results file can be identified, the label in the list will default to Load case and start with load case 1. It is even more complicated for linear static stress reaction forces! (See the Appendix Analysis Types and Analysis Codes in the DO File.)
- Specify Load Cases and Nodes option (Load Case spreadsheet): This option is available only for binary input files. When this radio button is selected, the items on the right half of the tab are activated. Indicate which load cases and the corresponding nodes to translate in the appropriate columns of the load case spreadsheet. Dashes (-) and commas (,) can be used to specify a range of values and separate values, respectively, within a given cell. For example, the following entries:
would write the results for nodes 4 through 10 and 20 through 30 for load case 3, and then the same nodes for load case 6. Ranges must be in ascending order (lower value - higher value). Up to 50 entries can be in a given cell. Forty nine commas can be used to separate 50 values (either individual values or ranges). The results will be translated to the new results file in the order provided in the spreadsheet.
While working in the load case spreadsheet, the following shortcut keys can be used:
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| F2 or double-click | Edit the current cell. |
| Enter | Move to the next cell (and add a blank line if necessary) |
| Ctrl+D | Fills the highlighted column with a copy of the first cell (copy Down). This functions on a single column. |
| Ctrl+S |
Fills the highlighted column with a Series of numbers. When activated, you are prompted to enter an increment value for each entry in the first cell. (A range, such as 1-5, counts as two entries.) Each increment value is added to the value in the preceding cell to create a value for the next cell. If there are more entries in the first cell than increment values provided, then zero (0) will be used for the unspecified values. This functions on a single column. See the Appendix Examples. |
| Delete | Clears the entries from the highlighted cells. |
| right-click | Display a popup menu of available commands. |
Both the width of the cells and height of the rows can be adjusted to display the complete contents. Entries will wrap to the next line if a space is included between the values. Use the Delete Row and Insert Row buttons to delete selected rows or insert blank rows in front of the selected rows (in effect, move the selected rows down). Other notes are as follows:
- When entries are placed into a cell, they are checked for validity. For example, you normally do not enter a time step number greater than the last time step in the file (shown on the upper right of the Load Case and Node Output tab). In such situations, a warning pop-up will appear. However, since you may be entering the input solely to use the Store Input button, and since this can theoretically be done before the model has been run to completion, you have the option to disable the warnings. (Invalid entries are set to a valid entry when the Create File button is clicked. This may create more or different output than expected.)
- The load case spreadsheet cannot be used when the existing results file type is text. As a workaround, translate the text file to a binary format. (Create the text file with all nodes, all six degree of freedom values (not the magnitudes) for the appropriate load cases. Make the changes to the text file without removing any of the results.) Then, select the newly created binary file as the existing results file and use the load case spreadsheet to output selected nodes.
- A potential problem can arise in the header when using the load case spreadsheet. In a complete results file, the number of lines of six degrees of freedom values equals (LC load cases) x (N nodes). Yet this assumes that each load case has the same number of N nodes in the results file. By using the load case spreadsheet, you do not need to translate the same number of nodes for each load case. Thus, the number of nodes in the header is based on the maximum number written to any load case. The number of load cases in the header is the sum of the quantity of load cases implied by each row of the spreadsheet, taking merged rows into account, but not considering the actual load case number itself. Thus, inputting the following
produces an output header with two load cases (based on two rows) and 11 nodes (based on the first row). The software reads such a result file, so you are responsible for making sure that the specified load cases and nodes make sense, and that you correctly interpret the resultant load cases.
Merge Load Case button
Although the spreadsheet cells can be expanded, it may be inconvenient to put too many entries into a given cell. Instead of placing all the entries into the Node(s) column of the spreadsheet, the entries can be placed in multiple row. In such situations, highlight the multiple rows and click the Merge Load Case button. Clicking the button does three things:
- The load case entry in the first cell is copied to the other cells in the selected range.
- The load case entries in the selected range are bolded. (This is for visual purposes only, so you can distinguish between merged load cases and regular rows.)
- The number of load cases in the output behaves as if the merged rows were entered on one row of the spreadsheet.
The differences between the merged load cases and regular rows can be seen in the following example.
| User Input | Resulting Output | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Load Case | Node | ||
| Merged load cases: | |||
|
1 | 3 | |
| 1 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 7 | ||
| 1 | 10 | <--- nodes from merged cells (row 2) are output before the next load case | |
| 1 | 11 | ||
| 1 | 12 | ||
| 1 | 13 | ||
| 2 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 10 | <--- | |
| 2 | 11 | ||
| 2 | 12 | ||
| 2 | 13 | ||
The above scheme is equivalent to this input:
Split Load Case button
When multiple rows are selected, click the Split Load Case button to remove any merged load cases. It does not restore the load case entries that may have existed before the Merge Load Case button forced all entries to be the same as the first entry.
| User Input | Resulting Output | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Load Case | Node | ||
|
Split load cases (not merged): (input table values same as previous example) |
|||
|
|
1 | 3 | |
| 1 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 3 | <--- each load case output before nodes from the next row (row 2) | |
| 2 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 7 | ||
| 1 | 10 | ||
| 1 | 11 | ||
| 1 | 12 | ||
| 1 | 13 | ||
| 2 | 10 | <--- | |
| 2 | 11 | ||
| 2 | 12 | ||
| 2 | 13 | ||