Strand7 Software:  Release History:  Release 2.2

What's new in Strand7 Release 2.2

February 24, 2003

With the release of Strand7 2.2 come two exciting new options, the Sparse Solver (for faster solving of large models) and the API (allowing users to interface with Strand7 via external programs). Release 2.2 is also packed with many new features and enhancements to make designing and analysing that much easier. The following is a summary of What's New in 2.2.

  Sparse Solver
  API
  New Import and Export Options
  New Force Units
  Changes to View Options
  New Selection Option
  Automeshing
  New Beam Options
  New Beam Sections
  New Plate and Brick Options
  Laminate Changes
  New Solver Options
  Modifications to the Spectral Solver
  New Results Options
  New Peek Options
  New Graphing Options
  New Sub-Model Options
  Reporting
  Functionality Enhancements
  Email Options

Notes:
  1. Models created in a previous release of Strand7 are fully compatible with Release 2.2. Models created or saved in Release 2.2 cannot be opened in any previous release. However, a backwards compatible text export option is available.
  2. Release 2.2 requires a new authorisation key.
  3. A number of fully documented automeshing tutorials are now included in the Help/Tutorial section of the main toolbar.

Sparse Solver
Top of Page

There are two major improvements in the solver of Release 2.2: an efficient sparse solver and a new constraint (link) algorithm.

Sparse Solver
A completely new solver based on sparse matrix methods has been developed. Large problems can now be solved in a much shorter time, and problems that were previously not solveable due to model size can now be solved. The direct sparse algorithm developed is based on a more efficient data storage and manipulation strategy and therefore, the speed-up does not sacrifice solution accuracy. The solution derived with the new solver should be the same as that with the current skyline solver when numerical round-off error is taken into account. Similarly to the skyline solver, the sparse solver requires the nodes in a model to be reordered. Unlike the skyline solver, which needs reordering to reduce the matrix bandwidth, the sparse solver needs reordering to reduce the number of non-zero entries in the global stiffness matrix. An Approximate Minimum Degree (AMD) algorithm is used to re-number the nodes for internal use during the solution.

There are different variations of minimum degree ordering algorithms, and all of them are heuristic in nature. These algorithms are widely used because they produce orderings with relatively low fill-ins on a wide range of matrices in the numerical factorisation process and dramatically reduce the time requirements. The option to reorder nodes using the AMD method is available prior to solving from the the solver dialog.

Similarly to the other node reordering options, the AMD option is also an option in the Node Reorder tool, should you wish to permanently reorder your nodes according to the AMD.



On the solver setup dialog, the Sparse option will appear if the version is licensed for the sparse solver.
Constraint Algorithm
A new algorithm is now used to deal with link elements, replacing the Lagrange Multiplier method. As a direct result of this change, the number of unknowns is reduced for all models with enforced nodal displacements and links. Another advantage of the new approach is that the condition of the global stiffness matrix will not deteriorate when constraint conditions (ie links and enforced displacements) are used. The new algorithm is based on the elimination of dependent displacement components. When a constraint condition is applied, the solver will automatically put the related displacement components into two sets, the independent and the dependent component sets, and then determine the relationship between these sets of components. Once the dependent displacement components can be expressed in terms of the independent components, they can be eliminated from the global equilibrium equations, effectively reducing the matrix size and shortening the solution time. The results of the dependent displacements are calculated after the independent components are determined by solving the global equilibrium equations.

Mass Matrices for Dynamic Analysis
The option to choose between a lumped (diagonal) mass matrix and a consistent (full) mass matrix has been available in Strand7 since its first release. The lumped mass option is considerably faster than the consistent mass option, but may not be as accurate as the consistent mass option, particularly in coarse meshes. In addition, to fully account for the effects of beam and plate offsets, rotational masses not aligned with the global system, masses connected to link elements, etc, the consistent mass matrix option is needed.

In previous releases, a warning message was issued in situations when the lumped mass matrix was requested but the model required consistent mass to fully account for the behaviour of attributes such as beam and plate offsets, rotational masses not aligned with the global system etc. With Release 2.2, if a dynamic analysis has been requested using the lumped mass matrix, but the solution requires consistent mass (due to the presence of offsets, rotational masses in UCS, masses connected to links, etc.) the consistent mass is automatically used by the solver. If the model does not require consistent mass to account for any of the abovementioned attributes, and lumped mass has been requested, then the solution proceeds with lumped mass.

Verification Manual
This has been completely revised, with every problem re-run using the new solver. The Verification Manual is a PDF included in the Strand7 release. Also included are the ST7 files for every verification problem in the book - over 70MB of Strand7 model files!

Other improvements
Solution speed has increased for all solution types even when the skyline solver is used. The eigenvalue solver for natural frequency and linear buckling analyses has also been modified and the time for the sub-space iteration is reduced. Parts of the harmonic and spectral response solvers have been optimised and significant solution time saving has been achieved here also.

The table below provides a comparison between the Sparse and Skyline Solvers.

Model Elements Solver Load
Cases
/
Modes		 Equations R210 Skyline Solver New Sparse Solver
RAM
(MB)		 Time
(hh:mm:ss)		 RAM
(MB)		 Time
(hh:mm:ss)
11 794 Nodes
423 Beams
11 201 Plates
384 Bricks		 Non-linear
Transient		 100
time
steps		 68 896 41 48:02:12 77 00:58:36
35 138 Nodes
142 642 Tet4		 Natural
Frequency		 20
modes		 102 764 165 01:13:30 141 00:03:59
91 737 Nodes
393 284 Tet4		 Linear
Static		 1 257 067 272 11:24:22 204 00:13:46
Model Elements Solver R210 Skyline Solver New Sparse Solver
Time
(hh:mm:ss)		 Time
(hh:mm:ss)
11 794 Nodes
423 Beams
11 201 Plates
384 Bricks		 Non-linear
Transient		 48:02:12 00:58:36
35 138 Nodes
142 642 Tet4		 Natural
Frequency		 01:13:30 00:03:59
91 737 Nodes
393 284 Tet4		 Linear
Static		 11:24:22 00:13:46


Top of Page

API
Top of Page

Introduction
Commencing with Release 2.2, a new and very powerful Strand7 tool is available - the Strand7 Application Programming Interface (API). The Strand7 API allows users to interact with Strand7 via an external computer program. This provides the capability to completely bypass the Strand7 Interactive Environment or to perform specialised functions that are currently not available within Strand7 itself.
The words Application Programming Interface (API), within the Strand7 context, can be defined as follows:
  • The Application is Strand7 (including pre-processing, post-processing and solving functionality).
  • The Interface is a Win32 DLL file called "St7API.DLL". DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library and is itself basically a computer program. However, a DLL cannot run by itself like a program (which usually has the extension EXE) - instead, the DLL provides functions to perform specific tasks, which can be executed by calling them from an external computer program.
  • Programming refers to the fact that the connection to Strand7 is made via an external computer program instead of the more common interaction between a user and the Strand7 Graphical User Interface (GUI). A programmer can develop a program that executes Strand7 functions by calling the functions provided by the API.
Any computer program written in a Windows' supported computer language can utilise the Strand7 API, provided the program is configured to dynamically load Windows DLL files and uses standard Windows calling conventions. It is possible to achieve this in languages such as C, C++, Pascal, Delphi, Visual Basic, FORTRAN, and so on. The choice of language used will largely depend upon the programmer's experience and preference rather than any specific performance or compatibility issues. The Strand7 API itself is written using Delphi.

Basic Functionality
In simple terms, the Strand7 API allows users to incorporate Strand7 within their own programs. More specifically it can be used to:
  1. Directly create new Strand7 model files (binary ST7 files) from scratch.
  2. Modify existing Strand7 model files.
  3. Execute the Strand7 solvers.
  4. Extract and process the results of a solution.
Although these functions can be performed by using the Strand7 GUI directly, and data can be transferred between Strand7 and other applications via text-based import/export functions, copy-paste, etc, such an approach can require a significant amount of additional data processing or repetitive, manual procedures when the same operation is to be performed many times. The API approach provides a totally transparent way of interacting with the Strand7 data and repetitive tasks can be easily automated. Importantly, if the format of the Strand7 data files changes, such changes are fully absorbed by the API so that no changes to the external programs are required to use a more up-to-date version of Strand7 or the API.

Future enhancements to the Strand7 API will include API functions to execute any of the Strand7 Tool Options on the main menu and API functions to render Strand7 graphics to a window or to an image file.

Target Audience
The Strand7 API will appeal to a wide range of users including:
  • Third-party software developers wishing to develop applications that require FEA for some part of the application. Typical examples might include design software, optimisation software, or software for post-processing Strand7 results.
  • Strand7 users who wish to process their Strand7 results in ways that are currently not supported by the Strand7 post-processing environment, or to automatically generate reports in highly customised formats.
  • Strand7 users who wish to create Strand7 models in a parametric manner or in a manner that lends itself to automated creation via a series of steps.
  • Strand7 users who wish to exchange Strand7 data with other applications.
  • Users of other analysis software without pre and post processing capabilities who wish to use the powerful features of the Strand7 pre and post processor but perform their own analysis. For example, a simple Strand7 API program could open a Strand7 file, export the data in the format required by the other analysis software and launch the analysis. Upon completion, the results of the analysis could be configured as contour files for contouring within Strand7.
  • Researchers conducting research into areas that require FEA somewhere in the process. For example, stochastic analysis of structures usually requires the solution of a large sample of models with some statistical spread in parameters. The API can be used to easily develop a program to run all these solutions, collate the results and produce a report.
The API Toolkit
The API Toolkit consists of the following components:
  1. The Dynamic Link Library (St7API.DLL). This provides the interface between the external program and Strand7.
  2. The Header Files. These files allow external programs to communicate with St7API.DLL. The header files define all the constants used and the function calling conventions for each language supported. A different set of header files is needed for each language (e.g. Delphi, C, C++, FORTRAN, etc). Note that in some cases, header files are even compiler product dependent - e.g. the header files for Microsoft Visual C++ will be different to the header files for Borland C++. Release 2.2 comes with header files for Delphi, Microsoft Visual C++ and Borland Builder. Header files for Visual FORTRAN will be available shortly.
  3. A Sample Application. To illustrate the use of the API, the full source code for a simple external program is given. Furthermore, the equivalent code is given in a number of languages.
  4. The Strand7 API Documentation. This is the reference book (as PDF), which details all the functions available, the calling conventions and the error codes. For each function, a short illustrative programming example is given, showing how the function is used. The illustrative programming example is written using the syntax of various programming languages.
Availability
The API is shipped with release 2.2 and needs its own activation code as it is a separately licensed module, just like the sparse solver.

Top of Page

New Import and Export Options
Top of Page

IGES Import Options
When importing IGES files three new options are available to make modelling easier.
IGES Level as Group - If levels or layers are defined in the IGES file, the levels can now be mapped to Group Names and the faces in each level assigned to the appropriate group.
IGES Colour as Property - If this option is set, then property numbers are assigned to the faces based on the colour defined in the IGES file. Faces with the "same colour", (i.e. identical RGB values), are assigned the same property number. Furthermore, the colour of the property (as defined on the plate property dialog) is automatically set as the IGES colour.
Convert Black Colours to - If this option is set, every time a black colour is encountered it is converted to the selected colour. This avoids a common problem of incorrectly defined IGES faces becoming invisible over a black backgound.




STAAD Import Option
An option is now provided to select the default country type for beam sections.




NASTRAN Export Options
Increased compatibilty between Strand7 and NASTRAN has been achieved through enhancements to the NASTRAN exporting function. These new options include:
  • Default Freedom Case (SPC = ?) - This is used to select the freedom case to be set as default in the NASTRAN file.
  • Solver - This list offers a selection between Linear Static, Natural Frequency and Linear Buckling.
  • Export Units - NASTRAN does not allow inconsistent units and therefore Strand7 files need to be converted into a consistent set of units on-the-fly. Five options are available: kg-N-m, T-N-mm, sl-lbf-ft, lbf-lbm-in and sl-lbf-in.
  • Sections - For Linear Static solutions there exists an option that allows the definition of up to 10 beam cross sections, and associated coordinates on the cross section, for the calculation of beam stresses. For Linear Buckling and Natural Frequency analysis, there is the option for the number of modes to be calculated.
  • Zero Fields - Some fields in a NASTRAN file must be non-zero (eg the cross section area of a beam in the PBEAM card), but which Strand7 allow to be zero. A default value may now be entered such that fields that are zero in Strand7, but not allowed to be zero in NASTRAN, are set to a value of choice.
  • Finally an option exists that avoids the export of heat transfer data. The Strand7 database allows all material data to co-exist, irrespective of solution type. However this is not true of some NASTRAN file readers, which can incorrectly overwrite the MAT1 data with MAT4 data upon import.



Export Images as JPEG
To prepare reports, the JPEG image format is now available from the File/Export function. This format allows various image compression levels from high compression (low quality image) to low compression (high quality image). In most cases, even with the slider set to the highest quality image, file sizes are significantly smaller than BMP format.



Top of Page

New Force Units
Top of Page

Kips and Tonnes Force Units of Force
Two new Force Units are available: Tonne Force(Tf) = 1000kgf and kip = 1000lbf.



Top of Page

Changes to View Options
Top of Page

New Number Display Option
There is now a new number option, Auto, available which greatly reduces the need to change number formatting between pre and post processing functions. This option automatically converts numbers from Fixed to Scientific formats depending on the number of digits to be displayed. It performs similarly to what would be expected by setting the number of significant digits, rather than decimal digits, with special behaviour for truncating unnecessary zeros.




Hidden Surface Option Removed
The hidden surface sub-options are now no longer available. Hidden surface removal is now much faster, for very large models.



Top of Page

New Selection Option
Top of Page

New Option in Select Connected
A new feature has been included in the Select Connected Entities Tools which allows you to specify the proximity of the elements to be selected with reference to a master element. As an example, if you select plates connected to plate 14 in the figure below and set the proximity to 0, then all plates in the model are selected.



If however the proximity is set to one when the master entity is set to 14, then only plate 14 will be selected.



A proximity setting of 2 will then select all plates that are less than two connections away from Plate 14, and so on.



Top of Page

Automeshing
Top of Page

Geometry Cleaning and Automeshing
Ongoing within Strand7 development is the further enhancement of the automeshing feature. Version 2.2 has further developed and refined the compatibility of Strand7 with the latest CAD packages as well as ensuring quality cleaning and automeshing. Two important advancements are the following.
  • Strand7 can now import a wider range of IGES files.
  • There is now improved mapping of elements during automeshing which gives better control of mesh resolution. An example of this is shown in the figures below. Both were cleaned and meshed using the same settings, however Strand7 2.2 produces elements that are superior to those generated in 2.1.0.


Mesh generated using Strand7 2.1.0.



Mesh generated using Strand7 2.2.

Top of Page

New Beam Options
Top of Page

Auto Assign Beam Offsets
You now have new options to automatically offset T, L and C sections such that the nodes are on the shear centre. When the SC symbol is shown the beam is offset so that it is connected at the shear centre.




Beam Reference Node Assignment
Now instead of the single option of assigning reference nodes to beams, (ie defining a 3-Node beam), you can simply choose to align the beam to the selected node. This will keep the definition of a 2-Node beam but direct the principal 2-axis towards the selected node.



Distributed Moment
A new Beam Attribute available is the distributed moment. This is analogous to the Distributed Load Attribute and is available in the beam's principal axis system.




New Cutoff Bar Option
"Mass always active" has been added to the cutoff bar Section options. The function of this is to include the mass of the cutoff bar, lumped at the nodes, even if the cutoff bar is removed. If not set, then the mass is removed when the cutoff bar is inactive.



Top of Page

New Beam Sections
Top of Page

Added Beam Cross Sections
There are now options to create a trapezoid, triangle or cruciform without the need to create a BXS.


The edit feature of the beam cross section dialog also presents the option to calculate an "exact" J value. If set, J is calculated by solving the torsion equation over the section, similarly to the BXS method.

Mirror Beam Sections
Selecting the mirror tab when editing a beam section presents the option of mirroring the geometry to generate the composite sections. Mirroring is available for all shapes except BXS and circular sections in 12 configurations and can be viewed in the property window for easy identification.







New AISC Sections
The Strand7 database now also contains the American Institute of Steel Construction beam sections.

Top of Page

New Plate and Brick Options
Top of Page

Added Plate and Brick Contour Type
Various changes have been made to the options available for plate and brick contour types, these are:
  • Plate thickness has now been replaced by two new contours, Discrete thickness and Continuous thickness. Discrete thickness is the same as previously provided in Strand7 2.1.0. For this contour a discrete colour bar is displayed for each actual thickness value found in the model. Continuous Thickness instead gives a continuous rainbow contour bar, which will be useful in a future release when plate thickness will be set independently of the property.
  • To accommodate meshes containing both TRI and QUAD elements, Internal Angle Ratio is now available to be contoured for plates. The ratio is worked out as follows: TRI = ABS(Angle-60)/60 and QUAD = ABS(Angle-90)/90, making mesh verification that much easier.
  • Brick contours also have a new contour option called Det(Jacobian). This gives the lowest Jacobian determinant at any Gauss point and, if negative, means an invalid brick is defined.


Top of Page

Laminate Changes
Top of Page

Improved Handling of Laminates
Laminates now have their own section in the Property menu, independent of the plate property types.


This independence makes it a simple process to assign a particular layup to multiple Laminate plate elements, provided as a drop-down list in the plate property dialog.



Property Summary Changes
Verification and reporting of composite models is now even easier with the complete layup for each laminate given in the Property Summary.



Printing Laminate Layups
The option is now available to print laminate layups not only in colour but also as black lines. The black lines option is selected via the Solid/Wireframe toggles on the print preview screen.



Top of Page

New Solver Options
Top of Page

CPU Detection
Strand7 can now detect the general class of CPU installed on your computer and launch the solver optimised for that CPU. Located under File/Preferences you can now select the detect CPU option for the optimum solver speed. The second option uses a generic solver compatible with most CPUs. This is provided only as a backup, in case your particular CPU cannot be detected.



Solver Default Tab Changes
The General Tab in the solver window now provides two new options:
Perform Residuals Check - When this option is selected the end of a linear static solution now includes comparison between the work done by the applied loads and the strain energy generated. This difference is an indicator of cumulative round-off error in the matrix decomposition phase, (or a measure of the matrix condition).
Suppress All Singularities - With this option any local singularities in the model that are detected are assigned a small stiffness to allow the matrix decomposition to continue. This is comparable to the previously available suppression of drilling freedoms within Strand7, except now it is applied to all local singularities. If this option is not set then Strand7 will terminate the solver as in previous releases.


The Elements Tab in the Solver Window also has a new feature available, the option to choose the strain definition in GNL situations.
Nominal Strain - Strand7 Release 2.1.0 uses this option for strain calculation. For this case, local strains are calculated with reference to the deformed coordinate system. For a simple 1D problem the strain magnitude is reported as ΔL/(L+ΔL).
Engineering Strain - This option gives local strain with reference to the deformed coordinate system, but as a ratio of the original undeformed size. For a simple 1D problem the strain magnitude is reported as ΔL/L.
Green's Strain - This is a mathematical measure of strain. While it is the strain that is used internally by the solver during iterations, the local strains are reported in the original undeformed system.



Node Flux
Node Flux is now available as an option to be calculated in heat transfer solutions, as well as the previously available element flux. It is analogous to Node reaction available in structural solutions and is particularly useful when summing to determine the total heat flux over some region - as the convention is that positive node flux flows out of the structure while negative flows in, determining the heat flow is as simple as adding the node fluxes. In previous releases this had to calculated by integrating the element fluxes which was time consuming and less accurate than this new approach.





Solver Log File
The solver log file has been redesigned to make verification of load summations easier. Load summation for element types, total loads and moment summation about the origin have been separated into individual paragraphs with a separate line for each load case.



Top of Page

Modifications to the Spectral Solver
Top of Page

Multiple Spectral Load Cases
  • Spectral solutions can now be run for multiple direction vectors at a time, allowing more than one spectral case to be combined in a single step using the linear load case combinations. Clicking the Direction Vectors button allows you to define as many Spectral Solution Cases as required. The same is available for Load Case combinations if the Load Cases button is clicked with the Applied Load option. Each case can use a different spectral table.
  • The size of the spectral solver results file can now be greatly reduced with the option available to include or exclude Modal results as well as those for SRSS and CQC.
  • Two options are now available for the calculation of node reactions, these are:
    Element Force - In this case the reaction given at fixed nodes is the reaction going into the supports. These values are usually used for base shear calculations.
    Inertia Force - This option gives the inertia force at the free nodes.


AS1170.4 Spectral Curves
The AS1170.4 Spectral Curves can now be included by simply importing them from text files located in the Strand7\Tables folder - no more need to create them yourself.

Top of Page

New Results Options
Top of Page

Contour Limit Enhancement
Within Strand7 it is now even easier to determine if a section of Structure is above allowable limits. Two check boxes are provided in the contour configuration dialog box that controls how the contours outside the user-defined limits are displayed. The two options, >Max and <Min, if set, will determine the colours to be used for contours outside the user-defined limits. By default, all elements above the limit are coloured white and those below are grey. If these options are not set then contours outside these limits are shown in wireframe, which improves the ability to see if any internal elements exceed the limits by allowing you to see through the structure.


Contour with >Max and <Min both set.

Contour with >Max and <Min not set.

Beam Fibre Stress Envelopes
It is now possible to create envelopes of Beam Fibre Stress.

Save Linear Load Case Combinations
To save time when reopening results files, you now have the option to save Linear Load Case combinations when closing the results files, removing the need to recalculate them each time results are viewed.

Combination Envelopes
As well as the previously available Maximum, Minimum and Absolute Envelope cases there is now the option to create Combination Minimum and Combination Maximum Envelopes. Whilst the first three report the Min/Max/Absolute of all load cases, considered on an individual basis, the new options create load case summations according to the following rules:
  • Combination Minimum Envelope - If the individual load case makes the cumulative result more negative then add this case, otherwise leave it off.
  • Combination Maximum Envelope - If the individual load case makes the cumulative result more positive then add this case, otherwise leave it out.
These new combination envelopes can be created in the same method as previous envelope cases, by selecting Make Envelope Case in Results. Right clicking allows you to select the required Envelope Case from the five available.



Three options are available for each load case.
  1. On - Always include this load case - this is for permanent load cases like gravity.
  2. Off - Always exclude this load case.
  3. Check - Check the load case according to the rules given above.



The following image shows the bending moment diagram for a beam under three different load cases. The first two cases give positive bending moments while the third load case gives a negative bending moment. The first is a permanent load case so it is always added.



The image on the left below shows a Maximum Envelope Case, with the maximum given as the peak bending moment the structure undergoes for any individual load case. The image on the right gives the Combination maximum. This gives the cumulative maximum bending moment, so only the load cases that have a positive bending moment are included - in this example the first two load cases.



Node Result Vectors
Vectors of nodal results (eg displacement, reaction etc) can now be plotted component by component, in addition to the previously available magnitude option.



Larger Results Files
Results files greater than 2GB can now be created and post-processed, with the limit set at 16GB. This will be especially useful for Linear and Nonlinear Transient Dynamic solutions.

Top of Page

New Peek Options
Top of Page

Reaction Sum
A new option is available in the peek tool that allows you to sum the reaction at nodes, about any point.



Flux Sum
Like the Reaction sum you can now choose to sum the node flux at nodes.



Top of Page

New Graphing Options
Top of Page

New Graph Type There is now a graph type that allows you to plot Vs Series of Points. This option allows you to select a series of nodes or elements and graph a certain value along these points. As these points can be arbitrary, this is very useful for when the straight line option is not applicable, i.e. around a cylinder.


These points can be selected by clicking the points on the model, entering the numbers directly in the memo on the dialog (one per line, space-separated or comma separated) or by copy-pasting to the memo.



Graph Changes There is now a tab with all the data points on the graph, which eliminates the need to export to a TXT file.


You can now choose whether to Draw/Not Draw particular lines in graphs. This means that lines can be hidden without having to delete them.



Top of Page

New Sub-Model Options
Top of Page

Multiple Case Sub-Model
When a sub-model is made of a linear static result, now all the load cases are exported to the sub-model. For each load case in the main model, the sub-model includes a freedom case enforcing the displacements in that load case. Previously only the current load case generated a freedom case.



Top of Page

Reporting
Top of Page

Copy Graphics using Shift+Ctrl+C
This provides a very quick shortcut to copying the Strand7 Model window (without the Windows border) to the Windows Clipboard, for pasting to another application.



Print to Image
There is now the option to direct graphics printing to an image file (eg BMP or JPEG) as well as the previously available Printer and File options. Image output can be generated at various resolutions with the JPEG option particularly useful as it produces relatively small files for high resolution images.



Top of Page

Functionality Enhancements
Top of Page

Ctrl-Click the Entity Show/Hide Toggle
Normally, by clicking the show/hide toggles, the screen automatically updates and redraws to effect the changes. Often we need to turn on/off more than one entity and for large models this can take time when redrawing after each selection. Instead, hold the Ctrl key while clicking the entity toggles to prevent Strand7 from redrawing after each click. When finished select redraw to refresh the screen.



Multiple Select Load and Freedom Cases
The Load and Freedom case dialog now presents the option to multiply select load or freedom cases for import/export operations. If export is selected then all global data for each case can be exported to a text file. Similarly a text file with this information can be imported to multiple cases. The Clear All and Delete functions also work for multiple selections.



Material and Beam Sections Database
You can now switch off certain databases within the Material Property and Beam Sections Dialog. Not only will this speed up the initial loading of Strand7 but will also ensure that databases that are rarely used do not clutter up the selection lists.



Top of Page

Email Options
Top of Page

Email Key Request
When requesting a new activation key from G+D Computing to run Strand7 you can now choose to email as well as print the request. This will open a new email containing the serial number and version of Strand7, addressed to key@strand7.com, making a reply even faster.



Subsribe to Newsletter
In the Strand7 help menu, you will now see available the option to subscribe to our Newsletter. Selecting this will open a new email where users can enter their details to be placed on our newsletter email list. A Strand7 quarterly email newsletter will be produced that will contain information on Strand7 developments, modelling tips and feature stories.


Top of Page
     About Us  |   Contact Us  |   Sitemap  |   中文（简体）网站
     Copyright  |   Disclaimer