# Labels and Display Methods : Display Methods

The Display Methods page of the Labels and Display Methods dialog box is where the form and colour of the various element types may be specified and where the drawing of unattached nodes may be specified.

Nodal Springs & Dampers may be drawn as follows:

Symbol
Coil
Off – nodal springs are not drawn

Nodal Masses may be drawn as follows:

Symbol
Weight
Off – nodal masses are not drawn

Section entities (beams) and bars may be drawn as follows:

Line
Section Outline – the edges of the section are drawn; the hidden lines are not removed
Section Filled – the faces of the section are drawn
Outline & Filled – the edges and faces of the section are drawn; only the faces are coloured according to the Colour Elements setting
Outline & Filled Background – the edges of the section are drawn; the faces are drawn in the background colour to simulate the removal of the hidden lines
Off – beams and bars are not drawn

An equivalent solid rectangular section is calculated for elements that have explicitly defined beam section properties. In this context bar refers to all generic bar elements.

Springs and damper entities may be drawn as follows:

Line
Coil
Off – 1D springs are not drawn

2D entities may be drawn as follows:

Outline
Outline & Filled
Outline, Filled & Thickness
Outline Edges
Outline Edges & Filled
Outline Edges, Filled & Thickness
Filled
Filled & Thickness
Off – 2D elements are not drawn

When the elements are drawn “filled” only the faces are coloured according to the Colour Elements setting.

When the thickness is drawn the top and bottom surfaces are drawn offset from the plane of the element by half the thickness.

3D entities may be drawn as follows:

Outline
Outline & Filled
Outline Edges
Outline Edges & Filled
Filled
Off – 3D elements are not drawn

Links, Cables and Spacers may be drawn as follows:

On
Off – links, cables, and spacers elements are not drawn

Soil zones and profiles may be drawn as follows:

Outline
Outline & Filled
Filled
Off – Soil zones and profiles are not drawn

# Colour Entities

The options are as follows:

By type – elements are drawn in their standard colour. Note that 2D elements are coloured differently on the top (positive z) and bottom (negative z) surfaces
By property - GSA assigns colours by dividing a colour spectrum into as many parts as there are properties in the model
By group - GSA assigns colours by dividing a colour spectrum into as many parts as there are groups in the model
By pool - GSA assigns colours by dividing a colour spectrum into as many parts as there are pools in the model
By material type - entities are coloured:
Steel - light blue
Concrete - green
FRP - magenta
Aluminium - light grey
Timber - brown
Glass - lilac
Fabric - dark grey
Rebar - dark blue
By material grade - GSA assigns colours by dividing a colour spectrum into as many parts as there are materials in the model
By initial stage - the program assigns colours by dividing a colour spectrum into as many parts as there are analysis stages in the model. An element is coloured according to the first analysis stage it appears in

# Draw options

Inactive elements - elements that are flagged as being dummy (non-analysed) elements and elements that are not included in the current stage are drawn as a wire-frame; otherwise such inactive elements are not drawn
Offset marks - lines are drawn from the node to the flexible part of the element for elements that are offset to represent the rigid arm of the offset
Load panel edges - highlights beam elements that are identified as forming an edge to a load panel element. For loading to be transferred from a load panel to the surrounding beam elements the load panel must be completely bounded by beam elements
Current grid panels - draws panels on the current grid surface: an area bounded by beam, bar, strut, tie, or rod elements, some of which can be set to dummy; in the process of expanding grid loading valid panels are identified for the grid surface to which the load is applied
Nodes at shrunk position - shifts the position at which nodes are displayed to the average of half-way towards the shrunk end of attached elements; this is useful for identifying coincident nodes and their attachments (e.g. at joints or tied interfaces)
Member Mesh - displays the mesh of analysis elements that will be created when using the command Create Elements from Members
Highlight Edges - highlights the 1D entity ends and 2D entity edges that are not connected to another such entity

The Draw unattached nodes group of options is as follows.

Unused – draw dots at nodes that have not been referenced
Orientation – draw dots at nodes that have been referenced as orientation nodes (but not as an element topology)
Constrained – draw dots at nodes that have been referenced by a constraint, e.g. a Rigid Constraint, Joint, Constraint Equation or Tied Interface (but not as an element topology)

# Reset Page

Resets the display method settings to the default view settings.

# Apply

Applies the current settings to the image without exiting the dialog box.