Selecting using the mouse
You can select elements in various windows with the use of a mouse.
To select an element, click on it with the left mouse button.
Another possibility is to select an element through a selecting grid. In order to do so,
- you click the left corner of the area to the left of an element to be selected.
- Holding the button, drag the mouse to the down right side of the area to the right of an element to be selected.
- While moving the mouse, a selection grid in the form of a rectangle will appear.
- When the selection grid includes all the elements to be selected, release the mouse button. All the elements within the grid have been selected.
If you draw the selection grid in an analogue way from the right to the left, all the elements, apart from those included in the grid, which are partially included in the new grid will now be selected. If you click an area that does not include any elements, all the selected elements will become unselected.
It’s also possible to select elements with the same properties using the right mouse button. An example:
- The selected support line in the model below has a spring constant of 300 000kN/m/m assigned to it.
- To select all support lines with the same support conditions, do the following:
- Select the source element of the property. In this case thus the relevant support line. But you can apply the same principle to points or surfaces as well.
- Click with the right mouse button in the drawing area. Go to the menu Select identical (Bar) and choose the desired property. In this case Support.
- Result: Diamonds will select all lines that have the same support condition as the source element.
Note: you can select based on the following properties:
- For points: support, footing, label
- For bars: support, boundary conditions, connections, cross-section, material, eccentricity, orientation, fire protection, label
- For surfaces: support, boundary conditions, cross-section, material, label
Selecting using the Selecting-menu
Selecting using the “Selection” menu – Predefined choises
In order to select points, bars or plans on the basis of defined criteria, you may also rely on menu options. These are based on
- the geometric properties (vertical, horizontal
- or inclined elements) or based on the cross-section properties (e.g. profile cross-section).
- or based on the material properties
- or based on the point, line or surface number
- or based on the presence/ absence of support conditions
- or based on the members in a connection
- or based on the extent to which a bar is loaded (see next section).
Below you will find an example of a selection according to the applied cross-section.
Selecting using the “Selection” menu – Most loaded bars
Another selection criterion consists in finding the ‘Most loaded bars…’. In this menu you can:
- make and save selection criteria for bar elements.
- select bar elements through selection criteria in the menu.
This criterion is only available from the moment an elastic analysis has been conducted on the model.
Create a new selection criteria
- Go to Select > Most loaded bars > Selection parameters. The window below appears.
- Enter a name for the selection criteria.
- Choose the bar result to filter: a deformation, an internal force, a stress, a reinforcement or a design check.
- Choose the combination criteria – an ULS / SLS Envelope or the current selected combination the results window.
- Decide whether you want check the values of the whole bar or only at the bar ends.
- You can set for one or both minimum and maximum value:
- or a number of elements,
- or a value,
- or a percentage of the min/ max calculated value in the whole model.
- Click
.
Modify an existing selection criteria
- Go to Select > Most loaded bars > Selection parameters.
- Choose the selection set from the list.
- Modify which result, the combination and min/ max value criteria.
- Click .
Remove a selection criteria
- Go to Select > Most loaded bars > Selection parameters.
- Choose the selection set from the list.
Note: the last selection in the list cannot be removed. There must always be one selection criteria present. - Click .
Selecting using the “Selection” menu – Most loaded surfaces
Using this menu you can select walls and plates for which the theoretical reinforcement is insufficient ( = walls/ plates containing a skull).
Selecting using CTRL- and ALT-keys
All points can be selected by clicking on one point while holding the CTRL-key.
As we will see further in Design types, it is possible to attribute a ‘type’ to an element (e.g. beam, column, wall, etc.). If you hold CTRL-key when selecting an element of a given type, all the elements of the same type will automatically be selected.
Diamonds allows you as well to explore the idea of a ‘group’ in order to consider the fact that two or more elements correspond to the same physical entity and constitute, for example, the same beam. The use and purpose of such groups is explained in Defining groups. When a bar is divided in several pieces, each piece will be part of the same group which corresponds to the original bar. To select all the bars of the same group, simply select one bar while holding the ALT-key.
Because in Diamonds various group definitions are distinct, the function will only be available when you are in a representation in which groups are defined. Depending on the group definition that is represented, selecting with the ALT-key can result in a different selection of bars.
The ALT-key also enables you to select the boards with a plate. Hold the ALT-key when you click on the plate to select it.
Selecting additional elements
If you apply the previous selection method, you will see that the elements previously selected are not selected after the new selection has been made. If you wish to select additional elements, in other words to maintain the existing selection and add new elements to it, hold the SHIFT-key while making a new selection. If the new selection contains already selected elements, they will be removed from the selection.
