Interface Overview

A comprehensive guide to the AutoCalcs structural analysis interface, detailing every tool, button, and control.

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Top Toolbar (Ribbon)

The ribbon provides access to file operations, geometry dialogs, analysis controls, and global settings.

File & Edit Operations

File Manager Ctrl+O

Open and manage saved projects.

Save Project Ctrl+S

Save the current project state.

Structure Wizard

Quick-start templates for common frame types (Portal, Simple, Truss).

Reports

Export analysis results to PDF or Excel format. Requires sign-in.

Undo / Redo

Revert or re-apply changes. Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y

Focus View Ctrl+F

Center the camera on the model geometry.

Geometry & Data

Self Weight

Open self-weight dialog to configure gravity loads.

Load Case 1
Load Selector

Switch active load case/combination. Use PgUp/PgDn.

12
8
Data Dialogs

Open tables for Nodes and Members.

Properties & Loads

Manage section properties, materials, and applied loads.

Analysis & Settings

Health Check

Run automated model validation to catch stability and connectivity issues. Requires sign-in.

Linear
Run Analysis

Execute Linear, P-Delta (2nd order), or Buckling analysis.

Summary Results

View a tabular overview of every member's performance and stress utilization. Requires sign-in.

Snapping

Toggle Node, Midpoint, Axis, and Angle snapping.

Share a Copy

Generate a share link to send a copy of your model to anyone. Requires sign-in and a cloud-saved project.

Documentation

Open this help guide.

Feedback

Send comments, bug reports, or feature requests to the developers.

Settings

Configure units, hotkeys, and application preferences.

Left Sidebar

The left sidebar contains the primary modeling tools and display controls.

Modeling Tools

Select Mode Esc

Select nodes and members.

Draw Members Ctrl+D

Click to place nodes and members.

Copy / Array Ctrl+C

Copy selected nodes or members with a drawn vector offset.

Extrude Ctrl+E

Copies selected nodes or members with a linking member.

Mirror Ctrl+M

Mirror selected geometry across a plane.

Move W

Move selected nodes with a drawn vector offset.

Split Member B

Split selected members at midpoint.

Display Controls

Render Mode

Toggle between Wireframe, Outlined, and Rendered views.

Toggle visibility of supports, member fixities, labels, and loads.
Tip: Right-click Labels or Loads for detailed options (e.g., Node IDs, Load Values).

Toggle visibility of global axes, origin point, nodes, and members.

Local Plane Toggles — Control which member result planes are visible. Only active when analysis results are displayed.

  • XY — Results in local XY plane (Major Axis).
  • XZ — Results in local XZ plane (Minor Axis).

Result Views

Visualize analysis results. Hold the corresponding hotkey + Scroll to scale the diagrams:

D + Scroll (Disp)M + Scroll (Moment)S + Scroll (Shear)T + Scroll (Torsion)A + Scroll (Axial)R + Scroll (React)

Right Sidebar (Properties)

The properties panel is context-sensitive, showing details for the currently selected nodes or members.

Member Properties

  • Member Type: Normal, Tension/Compression Only.
  • Section: Assign cross-sections from the library.
  • Material: Assign materials from the library.
  • Fixity: Define fixity to each node for all DOF (Fixed/Pinned).
  • Sideways: Turn the section 90 deg.

Node Properties

  • Position: X, Y, Z coordinates.
  • Restraint: Define supports (Fixed, Pinned, Roller, etc.).

Command Line

> Select mode (Esc)
> Divided 1 element into 3 segments
> Click to place end point or right-click to cancel

A non-interactive rolling history appearing at the bottom of the canvas. It displays the last 5 active command prompts, drawing instructions, and action logs (e.g., modification results).