Loadsteps Browser

Use the Loadsteps Browser to create, manage and display loadsteps (sub-cases) and the associated control cards.

From the menu bar, click Tools > Load Step Browser.
Restriction: Only available in the OptiStruct and Nastran profiles.

The information is arranged into a tree structure for ease of use, with controls for altering the display of the information and/or exporting it. A right-click menu accesses editing and advanced options, while pop-up forms allow you to quickly enter or select relevant information.

The browser includes its own toolbar, used primarily to determine which loadsteps to export but also to sync the display between the browser and the graphics area.
Table 1. Toolbar Buttons
Function Description
Select all, select none, reverse selection Use these to select the items in the tree and mark them for export. You can also select individual items by clicking on them, or select multiple items by shift-clicking or control-clicking. When a loadstep is selected, the export icon next to its name is clear; when de-selected, the icon has a red "x" to indicate that it will not be exported.
Note: Export state is independent of visibility in the graphics area. Only one loadstep can display in the graphics area at a time, but any number of loadsteps can be exported.
Sync browser For large models, keeping the browser in sync with other actions taken can require considerable processing time. To alleviate this, the Loadsteps Browser does not automatically sync itself with the database. Instead, the Sync button becomes active whenever you make changes to the current database. This allows you to perform many operations without performance issues, and then sync the browser with one click.
Filter Filter buttons allow for additional selection control, including a name filter that uses standard filtering syntax. Use this feature to limit the tree to display only loadsteps whose names match a specific text string, either partly or completely.