Working with Multiple Views

In Dr. Frame2D it is possible to define and maintain multiple view states for a given structural model, and to use these views to print out multi-page reports. A view state records all the scaling and display settings, as well as the current load combination, and so one can create customized, rich reports of an analysis or series of analyses. This document describes how to create, modify, annotate, edit, remove, print, and export view states.

The screen shot below shows a Print Preview for part of a multi-page report:

As indicated in the figure above, each view state is printed on a separate page with the document comments (editable via the Info:Comments... menu command) appearing at the top of each page. Additional view-specific comments appear beneath the view state image.

To create a new view state, first set up the desired load combination and viewing parameters. Then choose the New View... command from the View menu.

This will bring up a dialog allowing you to name the view and to add whatever comments are appropriate (note that there is another annotation mechanism described below):

After selecting OK, the new view will be created and it will be added to the View menu.

To Modify a view state, select it from the View menu and then adjust whatever display settings you wish. Then choose Update Current View from the View menu. Please note that view state settings are not updated unless you update them yourself.

To Annotate a view state, you can either use the comment box provided in the creation or edit dialogs, or you can add annotations directly to the scene. The general rule is that annotations attached to objects (such as members or nodes) belong to the objects, and will be visible in all views. Annotations not attached to objects, however, will belong to the view, and will only be visible when the view in question is selected. This makes it very handy to indicate view specific information, without cluttering up the screen with superfluous messages. This is illustrated in the figure below, which shows two different views of a simple structure.

Note how the member annotation is always visible, while the view annotation is only visible when the corresponding view (View 2 in this case) is selected.

To create an annotation, use the Label Tool and control click at the desired location. The annotation can be edited by double-clicking, and its location changed by dragging or ctrl-dragging, similar to labels. Note that view annotations will belong to whatever view is selected at the time they are created, and they will be added to the view automatically.

To Edit, Remove, or control the Printing of views, choose the View Manager... command from the Views menu. This brings up the following dialog:

As the button names indicate, this dialog can be used to edit and remove views. The Set View button can be used to see what a view is for reference. The Auto Print Off and Auto Print On buttons are used to determine whether a selected view will be include as part of any Print All... command. A "p" or "n" indicator is displayed by each view name to show whether it will or will not be included in such a print job. (Note that choosing Print Current... from the File menu will result in a single page of output corresponding to whatever is displayed currently on the screen).

HTML Export

A report summary of multiple view states can be exported to HTML via the Export Report as HTML... command in the File menu. This command leads to the creation of an html page and associated images suitable for viewing and printing with any web browser. See a simple example of such a report here.

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