The Connection Dialog Box

The main menu is the principal command interface. Each main menu item gives access to a drop-down menu of commands. In general, each toolbar button corresponds to a menu item. Double-clicking on a thumbnail or selecting a command on the Connections menu displays a dialog box for the particular connection. From this dialog box you may check or design a connection.

Dialog Box for Bolted Moment End Plate Connection

A detail window on the left of the dialog box shows the current configuration of the connection. The parameters defining the connection are shown in boxes on the right and an adjacent Edit or "…" button permits editing of any of the enclosed parameters. The output window at the bottom of the dialog box displays the most recent results of a check or design operation.

The Go button and the adjacent Check and Design option buttons initiate the selected check or design operation. Clicking the View button displays a virtual reality view of the connection. The Print button prints a report containing a detail diagram and the current results, while the DXF button creates an AutoCAD format drawing exchange file containing a detail of the current connection.

The check operation reports the capacity of the current connection configuration for all failure modes specified in the connection model. The design function uses an iterative method, changing some connection parameters, in an attempt to achieve an optimum connection configuration for the design load. Some connection parameters (e.g. bolt diameter) are not changed during design. The connection parameters that may change during design are displayed in red when design mode is selected.