The selection tool appears when the user selects a structural element or elements. It’s also always shown on the Environment ribbon. After a Mesh Element or Mesh Node is selected, the Select tool also appears in the Element tool or Node tool tab.
After clicking the icon, the user has three options:
Entity: The user can choose between Structural Element, Mesh Element or Mesh Node.
Context: A new selection can be created if New selection is chosen. If the user wants to change the previous selection, the Reselection option can be used. An additional parameter will appear (Mode), so elements can be Added, Removed, Intersected or Inverted from the previous selection.
Method: Different criteria for selecting entities can be used:
By picking: The user can select several entities by clicking directly on the model view. Control-click will add several entities in a row to the selected entities list.
By location: The user can choose between several geometrical conditions in the X, Y and Z axes: All, Greater than, Less than, Range. Depending on the condition, one or two additional lengths need to be introduced to completely define the restrictions.
By material: A selection group can be created based on a common material shared by several entities.
By cross section: A selection group can be created based on a common cross section shared by several entities.
By load case: After choosing this option, a Load Case can be selected. By clicking OK, all Structural Elements of that particular case will be added to the Current selection. This will be useful for quickly reviewing and visualizing the structural elements in a constructive process where elements are activated and deactivated.
"Groups view" window is available to be found in the "View Ribbon".
