StruCad help
Introduction to StruCad’s On-line Help
To find out what's new in this version, click here
For more information on using the new Windows-style Help, click here
Strucad 2001 users, click here
General
To assist you as much as possible while you are learning to use StruCad, on-line HELP for all the main features is available on-screen as you work, at the touch of a HELP button. The Windows Help system is now the main source of this basic information about StruCad’s features. All Help information is displayed in windows on the screen so that it can be kept available as you work. You will also find that you can display some of the help illustrations in StruCad, independently of the Windows Help.
You may find additional guidance and explanations of some of these features in the StruCad Reference Manual, in its companion Drawing Reference Manual and in the various users guides.
Getting Help from Context-sensitive HELP
There are a number of ways of getting HELP. The main way is via the context-sensitive help on commands, macros and shape files.
HELP on commands. Press the ? button in any StruCad floating menu or dialog box that has one, then point at a command button or table entry in the dialog. Alternatively, place the cursor over the appropriate command’s icon (button) on the full screen menu, so that it is highlighted, and click the middle button. A description of the StruCad command and the format of any inputs, parameters and options will be displayed. This will explain the operation of the command, its inputs and outputs, and the operation of any associated commands.
Help on macros. For the connection macros accessed using the ENDTYPE or MACPAR commands, the HELP button displays an explanatory diagram to assist you with the input of the desired parameters in the set-up file. For full help on the macro set-up parameters, use the Index of StruCad’s windows help (see below) to access the macro’s help.
Help on Shape Files. It is necessary to use the HELPSHAPE command to initiate this Help. In this case, when you click on the shape’s name, an annotated diagram of the selected shape is displayed showing the face names and the definition parameters (see Reference Manual, Appendix A.8 for the full collection of shape diagrams). These diagrams are not part of the Windows Help system.
Using Windows Help to get General HELP
The other part of Windows Help for StruCad is the collection of information about StruCad, its features, and how you use them. You access this by selecting the Help button on StruCad’s Front End or, when in a working environment, by clicking a ? button in any floating menu or dialog that has one, then selecting a command button or table entry to get its help.
Once you have clicked on a help button to start Help, you can wander around the Help pages as if they were a book. You can quickly jump to the page for a new subject by clicking the mouse on a button or coloured word (a “hot spot”) in the help text that you are reading.
Use the Index section to obtain help on specific commands and connection macros. Type in what is wanted in the top box. If you cannot find what you are looking for in the index, try using the Find tab, and type your key words there - “Find” will list all the topics where it finds your word (exactly as typed, so you need to try capital letters separately).
Once you have help pages up, if you want to go back, just click the BACK button on the Help toolbar. Some pages will also let you browse forwards and back through a sequence of related pages using the and buttons.
For more information on using Help, click here
Additional Aspects
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Where reference is made to the location of your copy of StruCad on your machine, it is given as %strucad%/..., where %strucad% represents wherever you located StruCad when it was installed. For example, it may be D:/STRUCADV10/StruCad.
If any of Help’s illustrations are unclear when you view them on your screen, press the PRINT button to print the relevant topic out to see the details more clearly.
Pop-up pictures can be printed in one of two ways:
i. Press the right-hand mouse button, and select the Print Topic option. This will print the pop-up illustration.
ii. If you need to print it larger, use Alt-PrtSc to copy the Pop-up to the Clipboard, then Paste the image into Paint or a blank Word page. You can then print it from there.
You can copy extracts of text from the on-line help as well. Highlight the required section with the mouse, then copy it (use right-hand button) and paste it into another document for printing or editing as required.
