Print Preview allows you to print out your engineering information for a specific module or structural member.
Inside Print Preview, depending on what type of module (i.e. Beam, Footing, Rafter, Shearwall, Studwall, etc.) you have open, you can select different items to be included in your print document. Once you’ve selected which items to include in the print document, those settings will be saved and will be included(or excluded) in Print Project. Print Preview allows you to print out a specific module/member of your project. After a module’s calculations have been run, the Print Preview button is activated and you can generate a print document.
Print Project will create a printable document for your entire project (all modules/members), and is selected in the Project Explorer in the left toolbar. The options that are/aren’t selected in Print Preview will be reflected in Print Project. For example, if you have a studwall at “Location: 1st Floor East Elevation Studwall” and you have the “Show Loads Diagram” option selected in Print Preview, that diagram will be included in Print Project. Likewise, if you’ve deselected “Show VMD Diagrams” at “Location: Garage Roof Rafter”, the VMD Diagrams will not be included in the Print Project. Note: Print Project can only be used after all members/modules have been saved and closed.
Click the Calculate button.
The Print Preview button becomes available after you’ve run your calculations on your module.
After you’ve run your calculations, whether the module passes or fails, you can generate the print document.
Once the document is generated, you’ll have a few different sets of controls.
Outlined above are the Print, Refresh, Thumbnails, and Diagrams buttons.
Print the document from your printer.
The refresh button rebuilds the print document after you’ve made changes to other print options, such as including a Load Diagram. Since Vitruvius’s calculations can be quite complex, it may take a few seconds to generate the document. Once you’re satisfied with your selections (what to include/exclude in the document) you can click the refresh button to build the document all at once. The refresh button is only active when the Diagrams tab is visible.
Displays all of the pages of your document. You can navigate between pages but using the arrows in the upper right hand corner of Print Preview/Print Project, or by selecting a thumbnail image.
Displays the Moment, Shear, and Deflection Diagrams from your module.
Include or Exclude the Diagram on the 1st page of the document. This could be a Beam, Collar Tie, Studwall, Shearwall, etc.
Include all, none, or a custom selection of VMD diagrams on your print document. Once you’ve selected or deselected items be sure to click the Refresh button to re-build the document.
If the ‘Include VMD Diagrams’ box is checked, it will select all of the individual diagrams in the Diagrams section. Deselecting it will deselect all and remove the page containing the diagrams. You can select individual diagrams, only including those which you’d like to be included in the document.
Show your module/member with each unique load.
Certain modules, like Studwall, also contain a Y Load.
Print Preview in Studwall is similar to other modules except the VMD options are set withing members inside the Studwall. For example, if you want to include different diagrams in your Studwall, you can double click a member within the Studwall and select options then. When printing a Studwall module, only the Studwall itself will be drawn. If you want to include VMD and Load diagrams in your engineering report, double click on the members where you would like to make custom selections, save and close the member(s), save and close the Studwall, and click the Print Project button in the Project Explorer.
To generate a Print Preview document for a Shearwall module follow the steps below:
If you have any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service at support@strucalc.com.
Thanks for reading!