Displaying Results

ETBX animation panels can render deformed shapes based on calculated results data. The Results Case list to the right of the main view shows the available results cases. Click on a results case in the list to specify the data to be used to generate the deformed shape. Then select the Deformed box to see the deformed shape.

ETBX modules only pass the model and results data to the animation panel when the panel is created. The animation panel therefore only contains a 'snapshot' of the model and any associated results. Once created, the animation panel is NOT updated to reflect subsequent changes to the model or results calculations. This implementation allows multiple models to be compared side-by-side, and avoids any confusion that might be caused by automatic updates. To display the latest updates to your model, simply create a new animation panel.

Note that any changes to the analytical model will invalidate previous results calculations. The results data will not be available to a new animation panel. In this case, you must calculate new results data for the current model and then open a new animation panel. Don't forget to close existing animation panels when they are no longer needed.

Undeformed Shape

Select the Show Undeformed box to plot the undeformed shape behind the deformed shape. You can adjust the display properties of the underformed shape using the Undeformed Entities dialog box. To open the dialog box, choose the Display -> Undeformed Attributes menu item; or right-click in the main view and choose the Undeformed Attributes context menu item.

The Undeformed Entities dialog box has 3 tabs that define the various entity display properties: the Display tab, the Lines tab, and the Font tab. The sections that follow describe each tab in detail. When you are done editing the display properties, click the OK button to accept the new settings.

Display Tab

The Display Tab contains a list of all supported entity types. Select the Entity box beside an entity type to display all elements of that type in the main view. Select the Label box to display the labels associated with the entity type. Select a Color box to change the color used to draw elements the associate entity type.

Lines Tab

The Lines tab contains options to specify the style, weight, and color of the line used to draw the entity. Click the down arrow next to the Style box to change the line style. Click the up and down arrows next to the Weight input to change the line thickness. Click the Color box to open the Color dialog and select a new color. The selected color will be applied to all undeformed entities.

Font Tab

Use the Font tab to change the font used to display the entity's label. This tab lets you modify the font face, style, color, and size.