supervisión y evaluación que permitan ajustar las modalidades de su oper ación o decidir sobre su cancelación
1.11. P rocurar que sea el medio más eficaz y eficiente para alcanzar los objetivos y metas que se pr etenden
How to use the cursors in the STAAD.Pro Selection toolbar:
• In the Project Tasks section of the Start Page, click Open Project… and open the model called Dataset 2_5.std .
• The Selection toolbar is normally docked vertically on the left side of your screen.
• Hover the cursor over any of the toolbar buttons and a tooltip help label pops up with the function of the toolbar button.
• Twelve different cursors are available for selecting the various types of STAAD.Pro entities.
• Each cursor selects specific types of objects for editing or manipulation.
• Having specific cursors can be very convenient when assigning properties where various types of entities are crowded
together.
Cursor Selects
Nodes Cursor Nodes only
Beams Cursor Members only
Plates Cursor Plate elements only
Surface Cursor Surface entities only
Solids Cursor Solid elements only
Select Text Text labels only
Load Edit Cursor Loads only
Support Edit Cursor Supports only
Member Release Edit Cursor Member releases only
Filtered Selection Cursor Multiple types of geometric entities with specific attributes Select Joints Connections defined in the RAM
Connection module
Cursor Facts:
• The Nodes Cursor selects the nearest node when you click anywhere in the drawing area.
• The Beams Cursor selects/deselects individual members by clicking on them. Multiple members are selected by pressing Control (Ctrl) and clicking.
• The Geometry Cursor selects all entities in a certain area, no matter what type of entities they are.
• The Select Text Cursor is disabled or “grayed out” if there are no text objects in the model.
• The Filtered Selection Cursor helps quickly identify the location of entities with certain attributes. (This cursor type will be easier to demonstrate once the model has properties assigned to the members.)
• The Select Joints cursor is disabled or “grayed out” unless you are in the RAM Connection module and at least one connection has been defined.
• In addition to using the toolbars, you can also choose cursors from the Select menu on the Menu Bar.
• Another related toolbar, the Labels toolbar, contains more cursors that are used to turn individual labels on and off. It is explained in more detail in the Module 5 – The Post Processor.
•
Click Select | Selection Mode , and note that three options are available: Drag Box, Drag Line, and Region. This works hand-in-hand with the cursor choice.•
The cursor choice controls WHAT items will be selected. TheSelection Mode controls HOW those items will be selected.
Drag Box:
• Creates a rectangular selection box.
• When the Beams Cursor is used in the Drag Box mode, the rule is that a member will be selected if the box includes the mid-point of the member. This holds true regardless of which direction the box is placed (left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or bottom to top).
Drag Line:
• Creates a selection line.
• When the Beams Cursor is used in the Drag Line mode, any beam crossed by the Drag Line will be selected.
Region:
• Creates a selection polygon of any shape.
• The polygon is always closed, and left-clicking with the mouse inserts additional vertices.
• Can be used to create very irregular shapes to selectively include and exclude various items.
• Double-click to stop creating more vertices and execute the selection.
•
Similar to Drag Box, a member will be selected if the region includes the mid-point of the member.Additional options for member selection:
• Click Select | By List | Beams… from the Menu Bar. • The Select Beams dialog will open with a list box listing all
the beams in the model.
• One option is to select from the list of all beams in the model by clicking individual beam numbers in the list. Control (Ctrl) + click will select multiple beams. Shift + click will select a contiguous group of beam numbers.
• Another option is to type the desired beam numbers in the
Enter list field, separated by spaces.
• To demonstrate the use of the “To” command to select a range of members, enter 1 To 3 in the Enter list field.
• Click the Select Listed Entities button followed by the Close button.
• Click Select | By All | All Beams from the Menu Bar to quickly select all beams in a model.
• Click Select | Entity at Node | Beams from the Menu Bar to select all beams that connect to a particular node to be chosen from a list.
• Click Select | By Inverse | Inverse Beam Selection from the
Menu Bar to invert the current selection status of all beams in
• Click Select | Beams Parallel To | (X or Y or Z) from the
Menu Bar to select all beams that are parallel to the selected
axis.
• And others.
How to delete members graphically:
• Ensure that the cursor type is the Beams Cursor.
Check the Selection toolbar in the upper left corner of the screen or pull down the Select menu to see which cursor is active.
• Hold Control (Ctrl) and click on the two highlighted members in the view below.
Figure 2. 155
• Press the Delete key on the keyboard, or click the Delete icon on the Menu Bar, or click Edit | Delete .
• Click OK to confirm.
• Sometimes deleting members leaves nodes without structural element attachment, known as Orphan Nodes.
• If Orphan Nodes are created when members are deleted graphically, STAAD.Pro will prompt for a decision as to whether to delete these nodes or not.
Using the spreadsheets to delete or modify geometry:
• It is also possible to delete beams (one at a time or many at once) from the Beams spreadsheet.
This method may be useful if the beams to be deleted are in sequential numerical order, making them easy to select from a list.
• Click the Geometry page tab in the Page Control area. • Click on the Beam sub-page tab.
• Notice the Nodes and Beams tables in the Data Area that resemble spreadsheets.
If the table names are not visible, make their windows wider.
• These tables are actually compatible with Microsoft Excel worksheets. They can be copied and pasted into Microsoft Excel. The structure geometry can also be created in a spreadsheet and then copied and pasted into STAAD.Pro.
When pasting from Excel, select the first row in the
STAAD.Pro table, right mouse click, and choose Paste. Use the column mapping table to map the data into the appropriate columns.
• Table data can also be copied and pasted from RAM Advanse into STAAD.Pro.
• These tables are completely interactive with the graphics display.
• Ensure that the Beams Cursor is active, and click on any member .
• The corresponding member in the table is highlighted. • Select the Nodes Cursor and fence around any node. • The line in the Nodes table corresponding to that node
becomes highlighted.
• Click any row in the Beams or Nodes tables and the corresponding beam or node is highlighted in the graphic display.
• Change one of the coordinates in the Nodes table and watch the display change, then change it back to its original value .
• Delete any line from the Beams spreadsheet and note the effect in the graphic display.
• Click Undo to get the beam back.
If Orphan Nodes are created when members are deleted from the spreadsheet, STAAD.Pro does not automatically prompt for a decision as to whether to delete them or not.
However, they can be automatically detected with Tools |
Orphan Nodes | Highlight, or they can be automatically
deleted with Tools | Orphan Nodes | Delete.
• A copy of this model is already saved in the dataset, and is named Dataset 2_6.std.
• Click File | Close to return to the Start Page. • Click No when asked if you want to save.
Using the STAAD.Pro Editor to modify structure geometry:
• Click Open Project… in the Project Tasks section of the Start Page
.
• Open Dataset 2_6.std.
• As you create your structure using the graphic interface, STAAD.Pro converts your actions into a command language and stores them in a command file, a simple text file in ASCII format.
• STAAD.Pro appends the command file with the extension .std. • Experienced STAAD.Pro users often find that if they just want to make a quick change to a value, it is easier to edit the value in the command file, rather than modifying it with the graphic interface.
Early releases of STAAD did not include a graphical user interface (GUI). All program input had to be performed by writing statements in a command file.
The STAAD.Pro Examples manual contains twenty-nine example problems and fourteen verification problems created using the input file as the primary input method. You can study these examples if you wish to learn how to write or interpret STAAD.Pro command files.
You can also issue a command using the graphic interface, and then open the command file to see what the equivalent
command language is.
• Open the editor by clicking Edit | Edit Input Command File or by clicking the icon on the File toolbar.
• Any standard text editor can actually be used to create or edit the STAAD.Pro input file.
• The STAAD.Pro command file editor offers the advantage of syntax checking.
• In the STAAD.Pro editor, STAAD.Pro keywords, numeric data, comments, etc., are displayed in distinct colors:
• Red = Commands
• Black = User-defined text labels and names • Blue = Numerical values
• Green = Remarks and comments
• The command language syntax resembles ordinary English. From the Joint Coordinates statement, you can see that the node definitions consist of node numbers followed by the XYZ coordinates. Node data fields are separated (delimited) by semicolons (;).
• Find the coordinates of node number 3, and edit the Y coordinate from 8 to 12 {from 2.5 to 4 }.
• Click File | Save and then File | Exit in the STAAD Editor’s menu bar (not the STAAD.Pro menu bar).
• Click the Geometry tab.
• Note that node number 3 in the graphic display has moved. The node table in the Data Area now shows a value of 12 {4} for the Y coordinate of node number 3.
• Go back into the editor and change the Y coordinate for node 3 back to 8 {2.5} .
• Click File | Save and then File | Exit in the STAAD Editor’s menu bar.
• Remember to never make changes in the command file and in the graphics input mode simultaneously.
• Always be sure to save and close the command file before going back to working on the model in the graphic interface.
• Click File | Close to return to the Start Page. • Click No when asked if you want to save.
How to merge members:
• Open Dataset 2_7.std.
• Click View | Structure Diagrams… from the Menu Bar. • Click the Labels tab.
• Click the checkboxes to view Beam Numbers and Node Points , and then click OK .
• Notice that the top horizontal beam is segmented into three individual members of various lengths, with two intermediate nodes.
This was caused by the diagonal members that were modeled and then subsequently deleted.
• Since there is no longer a reason to maintain those particular intermediate nodes, they can be removed, and the individual members can be merged into one.
• Ensure that the Beams Cursor is active, and select the three horizontal members .
• The Merge Selected Beams dialog opens, and the three member numbers are listed.
• In the Beam No. to Keep list, choose 10.
If materials and properties had already been assigned, this dialog also provides the ability to specify which to keep as multiple members are merged into one.
• Click Merge and Close.
• The top horizontal member has been consolidated into one member with number 10.
How to split a beam into two or more members:
• Ensure that Dataset 2_7.std is still open.
• Assume that the top horizontal member needs to be segmented into three, equal-length segments.
• Select the top horizontal member. • Click Geometry | Split Beam.
• The Insert Nodes into Beam dialog displays the member number and length. It contains three options for specifying where to insert new nodes along the beam: Add New Point,
Add Mid Point, Add n Points.
Add New Point:
• Distance from the starting node to the new node can be entered in the Distance field, or
• A ratio can be entered in the Proportion field, where the value represents distance from the starting end of the
member to the new node divided by the total length, expressed as a decimal value.
For example, to add a node ¼ the distance from the starting end to the ending end, type 0.25 in the Proportion field.
Add Mid Point:
• Creates an insertion point at the midpoint of the member.
Add n Points:
• Enter the number of nodes to insert into a beam in the “n
=” field. The program divides the beam into n+1 equal
segments, separated by n nodes.
• Enter a value of 2 in the n = field. • Click Add n Points.
• Click OK.
Geometry | Insert Node… and Geometry | Split Beam are
identical commands provided for convenience.
The Insert Node command is also accessible through the menu that pops up from a right-click of the mouse in the Main Window.
Note that the Insert Node command will not appear in the pop- up menu unless at least one member has been selected.
How to create a connection between two intersecting members:
• Ensure that Dataset 2_7.std is still open.
• The two diagonal members form a cross-brace, but there is currently no connection between them. The cross braces are independent members, and cannot transfer any load to each other.
• Assume that the intent is for the bracing members to be connected and to transfer load at their intersection.
• This condition can be achieved easily in STAAD.Pro by splitting and connecting these members at their intersection.
• To highlight the two diagonal members, ensure that the Beams
Cursor is active.
• Click on one of the cross-braces, hold down the Control (Ctrl) key, and then click on the other cross-brace .
• Click Geometry | Intersect Selected Members | Intersect. The Enter Tolerance field in the Intersect Members dialog is an option through which to tell the program to find the point of closest approach between 2 lines even when they do not intersect each other. It is useful in a case when a mathematical precision related error in the respective node coordinates causes the 2 lines to be in different planes.
For lines which truly intersect each other, the tolerance can be set to zero, and the intersect members command will function properly.
• Leave the Tolerance set to 0 and click OK.
• Click OK to acknowledge the message box indicating that two new beams have been created.
• Both diagonal members have been split into two, and a new node now exists at the intersection point.
• In the Intersect Selected Members sub-menu, there is another option called Highlight.
• The Highlight function also requests a tolerance value like the
Intersect function.
• The Highlight function then graphically highlights all
intersecting members in the structure that satisfy the tolerance.
This is a useful tool in models with many crossing but unattached members. The highlighted conditions can be graphically examined and selectively split or left as-is.
• A copy of this model is already saved in this state in the dataset, and is named Dataset 2_8.std.
• Click File | Close to return to the Start Page. • Click No when asked if you want to save.
How to renumber beams and nodes:
• Open Dataset 2_8.std.
• Click on the Geometry page tab in the Page Control area. • Click on the Beam sub-page tab.
• Click on the Symbols and Labels icon in the Structure toolbar.
• Click Beam Numbers on the Labels tab, Beams category, and then click OK .
• Looking at the Beams spreadsheet and Nodes spreadsheet, note that the member numbers and node numbers are not in
consecutive numerical order due to editing.
Having members and nodes in numerical order can be a convenience in interpreting results output.
• Click Select | By All | All Beams. All the members in the model are highlighted.
• Click Geometry | Renumber | Members….
• Click Yes in the next dialog to proceed by confirming that renumbering is an irreversible operation.
• Keep the value set to 1 in the Start numbering from field of the Renumber dialog.
This dialog provides multiple criteria for renumbering and allows the assignment of a hierarchy, or “sorting order”, during the renumbering process.
• Click Member No. from the Available Sort Criteria column and move it to the right by clicking so Member No. appears under Selected Sort Criteria.
• Click the Accept button. • Click OK to acknowledge.
• The Beams table shows that beam numbers now run from 1 to 11.
• Click Select | By All | All Nodes. All nodes in the model are highlighted.
• Click Yes in the next dialog to proceed by confirming that renumbering is an irreversible operation.
• Keep the value set to 1 in the Start numbering from field of the Renumber dialog.
• Click Joint No. from the Available Sort Criteria column and move it to the right by clicking so it appears under
Selected Sort Criteria.
• Click the Accept button. • Click OK to acknowledge.
• The Nodes table shows that node (joint) numbers now run from 1 to 9.
Note: If the program fails to renumber, or if it leaves gaps in the numbering sequence, closing the model and reopening it may reinitialize the renumbering process.
• Beams and nodes can also be renumbered by editing the command file.
• A copy of this model is already saved in this state in the dataset, and is named Dataset 2_9.std.
• Click File | Close to return to the Start Page. • Click No when asked if you want to save.
How to copy and paste nodes:
• Open Dataset 2_9.std.
• Click View | Structure Diagrams.
• Assume that the goal is to add a 2.5 foot {0.75 meter} long horizontal cantilever on the left side of node 6.
• Click Geometry | Snap/Grid Node | Beam.
• Note that there is no existing grid defined that would help with this cantilever.
• One option is to create a new grid system.
• Another option is to edit the existing grid system.
• A third option is to edit the Nodes spreadsheet in the Data Area.
• To demonstrate a fourth option, start by activating the Nodes
Cursor.
• Click node number 6. • Click Edit | Copy.
Note that next to the Copy command, the corresponding shortcut key Ctrl+C is shown on the right side of the Edit menu.
This is a standard Windows shortcut to the Copy command.
Instead of selecting Edit | Copy, you can also hold down the
Control (Ctrl) key and press the C key.
• Click Edit | Paste Nodes.
Another alternative is to right-click and choose Paste Nodes, or simply use the standard shortcut key, Control (Ctrl)+V.