Introduction

Object selection/deselection may be required when creating/editing Objects, for assignment of Materials, Loads and Constraints, the creation of user-defined Sets (i.e. named groups of objects), during post-processing of Results, and many other scenarios requiring interaction with the Model View. For more information refer to the Model Inputs and Results sections.

Object Selection

Object selection is accomplished by setting the A/O/M Action combo-box to Select, the Object combo-box to the desired object type (e.g. Any Element, Any Surface, System), and then clicking the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is pointing to the desired object. The object will then be highlighted according to the previously discussed color standards, indicated that its status is selected. If you pick another object without holding any other keys, the current selections will automatically be cancelled, and the new object will be selected.

To select more than one object you may hold the left mouse button while dragging the mouse across the display area and drawing a box around them (i.e. marquee selection), or press and hold the Shift key during selection.

If you simultaneously hold the Ctrl and Shift keys while selecting an object, StressCheck will automatically search all sets to determine whether the selected object is a member of one or more sets. If so, the Sets Browser will appear and the members of the first set encountered that contains the object will automatically be selected (see below image).

If more than one set contains the object, the user may index through each set by pressing the Page-Up or Page-Down keys while the main window has focus. The objects belonging to each set will automatically be selected as the key is pressed. The set name corresponding to the set currently highlighted will automatically be displayed in the “Set” combo box in the current user interface. Learn more about the Sets Browser in Tools Menu Overview.

Note: Only objects which match the specified object type set in the A/O/M Object combo-box will be selected.

Note: since objects highlighted for selection will paint over any other objects occupying the same space (for example, a selected element face will paint over its associated element edges), it is recommended to enable the Select Through toggle before initiating the selection process for coincident objects.

Use Case #1: Selecting a Group of Elements by Marquee Pick for Material Assignment

The C/A/O/M was set to Material class > Assign subtab > Select > Any Element > Selection, and a marquee selection (light red box) was made over a group of elements as shown in Figure 1 and the element selected once the mouse button is released as shown in Figure 2:

In this case, clicking the Accept button will result in the creation of the material assignment record (as well as a new element set named “SET##” where ## is the next available integer).

Note: marquee selection of elements with the Wetted Faces  option enabled will result in a warning message indicating that internal elements will not be selected. To select these elements, disable the Wetted Faces option in the Display Options Toolbar.

Use Case #2: Selecting Two Surfaces for Symmetry Constraint Assignment

The C/A/O/M was set to Constraint class > Select > Any Surface > Symmetry, and while holding the Shift key, two surfaces were selected by left clicking on each surface (Figure 3):

In this case, clicking the Accept button will result in the creation of a Symmetry constraint record on the two selected surfaces (as well as a new surface set named “SET##” where ## is the next available integer).

Note: to prevent selecting obscured objects hidden behind the target (which can occur if the mouse click extends several pixels) ensure the Select Through option is disabled in the Edit Toolbar ().

Use Case #3: Hiding a Solid Body Selection

In the Edit Toolbar, the Select Objects  down arrow was clicked, and the “Bodies” option was selected. A solid body (pin, in blue highlight) was selected from the Model View, and then the adjacent Hide Objects button was clicked to hide the body from the display as shown in Figure 4:

To return the solid body (or any other hidden bodies) to the Model View, simply click the Unhide Objects button. For more details about hide/unhide, consult the section on the Edit Toolbar.

Object Deselection

To deselect a single selected object while retaining the selection status of other selected objects, hold the Ctrl key while clicking the left mouse button on the object. To cancel selection of all selected objects, simply right click the mouse cursor in the Model View or click the Deselect button at the bottom of the Input dialog (or the Deselect Highlighted Objects Icon on the Edit Toolbar).

Use Case #1: Deselecting a Flat Surface during Bearing Load Assignment

The C/A/O/M was set to Load class > Select > Any Surface > Bearing, and while attempting to select the cylindrical surface for bearing load assignment, a flat surface was inadvertently selected as shown in Figure 5:

Since a bearing load requires only cylindrical surfaces be selected, it is desired to deselect the flat surface by holding the Ctrl key and left clicking on the flat surface as shown in Figure 6: