Status Display

Basics:

• Press the OK button to close this window and activate status display in the model.
• To close this window and deactivate status display in the model, press the Cancel button.
• To temporarily activate status display in the model without closing the window, press the Apply button.
• If you are opening this window for the first time in a Modeling session, the files selected for User and Site Options > Modeling > Status display criteria are shown. Any changes you make on this window are remembered during your Modeling session. However, the originally loaded status display files will not be changed unless you choose to overwrite them.

Saving files:

• You can save a status display file that is shown on this window (that file only) by pressing the Save icon ( ) that is embedded in the file name banner for that file.
• You can press the Save button at the bottom of this window to save all of the status display files that are shown on this window.
• If User and Site Options > Modeling > Prompt to save status display after changes is on ( ), then pressing OK at the bottom of this window will give you prompting to save (or not save) changes to each file that you changed on this window.

Opening and closing files:

• If you make changes to this window then reopen it, you will find that the window has remembered the changes you made. If you want just a one file with one priority and a default condition, you can press the Clear button.
• Click the Load button (at the bottom of this window) to open the conf_status folder, in which you will find a number of status display files. Load can be used to open more than one file.

Beyond the basics:

• Conditions in a priority are independently evaluated for their truth value. Their truth value can be used to color code or mask based on whether any or all or none is selected.

• Each different color must be in its own priority. Each priority must have at least one condition.

The Legend in this example shows two priorities, each with one condition. Priority 1 uses cyan to color code Graphically altered members. Priority 2 uses green to color code Graphical connections. The clip angle and moment flange plates would be green if the order of priority were reversed.

• Where multiple conditions are true for one member, the conditions in the higher priority apply. This means, for example, if priority 1 makes members red and priority 2 makes some of those same members blue, the members found to be true by both priority 1 and priority 2 are red. Within a status display file, priority 1 is always listed first, with priority 2 is second, and so on.

The Legend in this example shows two priorities. Priority 1 displays in cyan and is listed 1st. Priority 2 displays in green. Although section sizes W16x40 are in both priorities, cyan is the color applied in the model to W16x40 members because, in this example, cyan is specified in the higher priority.

• If you want the selected Priority to not apply to members or materials, check the box for Disable. To add a new priority, press the New Priority ( ) button.
• Status Display can mask members (mask + any) or isolate them (mask + none) as well as color code them or—if they are solid—make them translucent.

Compare this example with the example below. In this example, the selection of any results in W16x40 members being masked.

This example does the opposite of the example above. In this example, the selection of none results in W16x40 members being isolated from all other members that are shown in the view.

• Putting conditions in different priorities lets you to color code different items in different colors. In the following example, the items that are color coded are members (priority 2) and welds (priority 1).

The Priority 2 condition color codes (cyan) those members that have at least one field weld. The Priority 1 condition color codes red the field welds themselves. Switching the order of these priorities would give different results. If the priority 2 condition were to be made priority 1, the field weld would not be red—it would be cyan along with the member.

• Sometimes it is useful to put condition ranges in different priorities so that different display logic can be applied to each range. Material plate thickness (with different ranges) is used for both priorities in this example.

1/2 inch plates are included in both ranges in this example. Since priority 1 takes precedence, 1/2 inch plates will be displayed in the color cyan (not as orange).

• You can select Member or Ends or Left or Right as the item to be color coded. The option Ends is especially useful for conditions that are true for members that have a particular left/right end setting. For example, you could specify a Failed connection condition that color codes member ends with failed connections.

This example of a status display condition color codes beam left ends in the color cyan.