Use File | New or choose New from the Home screen to open the New form, where the mode type (project, single design section or single design beam) and design code can be selected.
A project typically contains a set of Materials, a Structural Model and any number of Design Sections or Design Beams which can be assigned to the members of the structural model. In addition to the structure geometry, the project will typically contain other Structural Analysis components, typically Loads, Compilations, and Envelopes.
The design sections and beams can be assigned as Structure Properties in one of two ways:
| Linked Design Section Or Beam | A single design section or beam, saved as a standalone file, can be linked to multiple projects to allow for re-use. |
| Embedded Design Section Or Beam | One or more design sections or beams can be created and designed wholly within a project rather than linked to an external file. |
A linked design object can easily be converted to an embedded design object (choose Unlink | Break and Embed on the contextual tab) and vice versa (choose Link | Create Link File on the contextual tab).
A Design Section defined using File | New | Single Design Section is a standalone section which could be linked to one or more projects.
A Design Beam defined using File | New | Single Design Beam is a standalone beam which could be linked to one or more projects.
The following topics detail typical workflows:
Integrated Analysis and Design Workflow
Data Preparation Overview - Refined Analysis
Data Preparation Overview - Line Beam
The Design Code can be changed by clicking the Design Code item on the status bar.
The following start-up options can be configured from Options:
| Preferences | There are three groups of preference items which can be customized to become the default for new projects. |
| Edit Units | Allows the units used for data entry and results to be changed. |
| Company Identity | The organization details entered here are stored in the registry. |
| Memory Management | Allows advanced memory settings to be configured. |
The following topics cover user interface components