LoadBeam class

The LoadBeam class gives you access to define load beam cards in PRIMER. More...

The PRIMER JavaScript API provides many class constants, properties and methods. For Arup to be able to extend and enhance the API in the future any constant, property or method names beginning with a lowercase or uppercase letter are reserved.
If you need to add your own properties or methods to one of the existing classes then to avoid any potential future conflict you should ensure that the name begins with either an underscore (_) or a dollar sign ($) or the name is prefixed with your own unique identifier.
For example if company 'ABC' need to add a property called 'example' then to avoid any potential future conflict use one of:

Class functions

Member functions

LoadBeam constants

Name Description
LoadBeam.ELEMENT Load is *LOAD_BEAM_ELEMENT.
LoadBeam.SET LOAD is *LOAD_BEAM_SET.

LoadBeam properties

Name Type Description
dal integer Direction of applied load. 1 for r-axis, 2 for s-axis or 3 for t-axis of beam.
eid integer NodeBeam ID or beam set ID. The esid property is an alternative name for this.
esid integer NodeBeam ID or beam set ID. The eid property is an alternative name for this.
exists (read only) logical true if load beam exists, false if referred to but not defined.
include integer The Include file number that the load beam is in.
lcid integer Curve ID or function ID
model (read only) integer The Model number that the load beam is in.
sf real Load curve scale factor
type constant The Load Beam type. Can be LoadBeam.ELEMENT or LoadBeam.SET.

Detailed Description

The LoadBeam class allows you to create, modify, edit and manipulate load beam cards. See the documentation below for more details.

Constructor

new LoadBeam(Model[Model], type[constant], eid/esid[integer], dal[integer], lcid[integer], sf (optional)[real])

Description

Create a new LoadBeam object.

Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that load beam will be created in

  • type (constant)

    Specify the type of load beam (Can be LoadBeam.ELEMENT or LoadBeam.SET)

  • eid/esid (integer)

    Beam ID or beam set ID

  • dal (integer)

    Direction of applied load. 1 for r-axis, 2 for s-axis or 3 for t-axis of beam.

  • lcid (integer)

    Curve ID

  • sf (optional) (real)

    Load curve scale factor

    Returns

    LoadBeam object

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To create a new load beam in model m, of type SET, with beam set 100, load parallel to s-axis, loadcurve 9 and a scale factor of 0.5: 

    var lb = new LoadBeam(m, LoadBeam.SET, 100, 2, 9, 0.5);

    Details of functions

    AssociateComment(Comment[Comment])

    Description

    Associates a comment with a load beam.

    Arguments

  • Comment (Comment)

    Comment that will be attached to the load beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To associate comment c to the load beam lb: 

    lb.AssociateComment(c);

    Blank()

    Description

    Blanks the load beam

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To blank load beam lb: 

    lb.Blank();

    BlankAll(Model[Model], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Blanks all of the load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all load beams will be blanked in

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not. If omitted redraw is false. If you want to do several (un)blanks and only redraw after the last one then use false for all redraws apart from the last one. Alternatively you can redraw using View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To blank all of the load beams in model m: 

    LoadBeam.BlankAll(m);

    BlankFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Blanks all of the flagged load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all the flagged load beams will be blanked in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the load beams that you want to blank

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not. If omitted redraw is false. If you want to do several (un)blanks and only redraw after the last one then use false for all redraws apart from the last one. Alternatively you can redraw using View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To blank all of the load beams in model m flagged with f: 

    LoadBeam.BlankFlagged(m, f);

    Blanked()

    Description

    Checks if the load beam is blanked or not.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    true if blanked, false if not.

    Return type

    Boolean

    Example

    To check if load beam lb is blanked: 

    if (lb.Blanked() ) do_something...

    Browse(modal (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Starts an edit panel in Browse mode.

    Arguments

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If this window is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the window will be modal.

    Returns

    no return value

    Example

    To Browse load beam lb: 

    lb.Browse();

    ClearFlag(flag[Flag])

    Description

    Clears a flag on the load beam.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to clear on the load beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To clear flag f for load beam lb: 

    lb.ClearFlag(f);

    Copy(range (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Copies the load beam. The target include of the copied load beam can be set using Options.copy_target_include.

    Arguments

  • range (optional) (boolean)

    If you want to keep the copied item in the range specified for the current include. Default value is false. To set current include, use Include.MakeCurrentLayer().

    Returns

    LoadBeam object

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To copy load beam lb into load beam z: 

    var z = lb.Copy();

    Create(Model[Model], modal (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Starts an interactive editing panel to create a load beam

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that the load beam will be created in.

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If this window is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the window will be modal.

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if not made).

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To start creating a load beam in model m: 

    var lb = LoadBeam.Create(m);

    DetachComment(Comment[Comment])

    Description

    Detaches a comment from a load beam.

    Arguments

  • Comment (Comment)

    Comment that will be detached from the load beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To detach comment c from the load beam lb: 

    lb.DetachComment(c);

    Edit(modal (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Starts an interactive editing panel.

    Arguments

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If this window is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the window will be modal.

    Returns

    no return value

    Example

    To Edit load beam lb: 

    lb.Edit();

    Error(message[string], details (optional)[string])

    Description

    Adds an error for load beam. For more details on checking see the Check class.

    Arguments

  • message (string)

    The error message to give

  • details (optional) (string)

    An optional detailed error message

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To add an error message "My custom error" for load beam lb: 

    lb.Error("My custom error");

    First(Model[Model]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the first load beam in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get first load beam in

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if there are no load beams in the model).

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To get the first load beam in model m: 

    var lb = LoadBeam.First(m);

    FlagAll(Model[Model], flag[Flag]) [static]

    Description

    Flags all of the load beams in the model with a defined flag.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all load beams will be flagged in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to set on the load beams

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To flag all of the load beams with flag f in model m: 

    LoadBeam.FlagAll(m, f);

    Flagged(flag[Flag])

    Description

    Checks if the load beam is flagged or not.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to test on the load beam

    Returns

    true if flagged, false if not.

    Return type

    Boolean

    Example

    To check if load beam lb has flag f set on it: 

    if (lb.Flagged(f) ) do_something...

    ForEach(Model[Model], func[function], extra (optional)[any]) [static]

    Description

    Calls a function for each load beam in the model.
    Note that ForEach has been designed to make looping over load beams as fast as possible and so has some limitations.
    Firstly, a single temporary LoadBeam object is created and on each function call it is updated with the current load beam data. This means that you should not try to store the LoadBeam object for later use (e.g. in an array) as it is temporary.
    Secondly, you cannot create new load beams inside a ForEach loop.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all load beams are in

  • func (function)

    Function to call for each load beam

  • extra (optional) (any)

    An optional extra object/array/string etc that will appended to arguments when calling the function

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To call function test for all of the load beams in model m: 

    LoadBeam.ForEach(m, test);
function test(lb)
{
// lb is LoadBeam object
}

    To call function test for all of the load beams in model m with optional object: 

    var data = { x:0, y:0 };
LoadBeam.ForEach(m, test, data);
function test(lb, extra)
{
// lb is LoadBeam object
// extra is data
}

    GetAll(Model[Model], property (optional)[string]) [static]

    Description

    Returns an array of LoadBeam objects or properties for all of the load beams in a model in PRIMER. If the optional property argument is not given then an array of LoadBeam objects is returned. If the property argument is given, that property value for each load beam is returned in the array instead of a LoadBeam object

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get load beams from

  • property (optional) (string)

    Name for property to get for all load beams in the model

    Returns

    Array of LoadBeam objects or properties

    Return type

    Array

    Example

    To make an array of LoadBeam objects for all of the load beams in model m: 

    var a = LoadBeam.GetAll(m);

    To return an array containing the value of property 'foo' (for example 'x' for a node) for each load beam in model m: 

    var a = LoadBeam.GetAll(m, 'foo');

    GetComments()

    Description

    Extracts the comments associated to a load beam.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    Array of Comment objects (or null if there are no comments associated to the node).

    Return type

    Array

    Example

    To get the array of comments associated to the load beam lb: 

    var comm_array = lb.GetComments();

    GetFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], property (optional)[string]) [static]

    Description

    Returns an array of LoadBeam objects for all of the flagged load beams in a model in PRIMER If the optional property argument is not given then an array of LoadBeam objects is returned. If the property argument is given, then that property value for each load beam is returned in the array instead of a LoadBeam object

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get load beams from

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the load beams that you want to retrieve

  • property (optional) (string)

    Name for property to get for all flagged load beams in the model

    Returns

    Array of LoadBeam objects or properties

    Return type

    Array

    Example

    To make an array of LoadBeam objects for all of the load beams in model m flagged with f: 

    var lb = LoadBeam.GetFlagged(m, f);

    To return an array containing the value of property 'foo' (for example 'x' for a node) for all of the load beams in model m flagged with f: 

    var a = LoadBeam.GetFlagged(m, f, 'foo');

    GetFromID(Model[Model], number[integer]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the LoadBeam object for a load beam ID.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to find the load beam in

  • number (integer)

    number of the load beam you want the LoadBeam object for

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if load beam does not exist).

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To get the LoadBeam object for load beam 100 in model m 

    var lb = LoadBeam.GetFromID(m, 100);

    GetParameter(prop[string])

    Description

    Checks if a LoadBeam property is a parameter or not. Note that object properties that are parameters are normally returned as the integer or float parameter values as that is virtually always what the user would want. For this function to work the JavaScript interpreter must use the parameter name instead of the value. This can be done by setting the Options.property_parameter_names option to true before calling the function and then resetting it to false afterwards.. This behaviour can also temporarily be switched by using the LoadBeam.ViewParameters() method and 'method chaining' (see the examples below).

    Arguments

  • prop (string)

    load beam property to get parameter for

    Returns

    Parameter object if property is a parameter, null if not.

    Return type

    Parameter

    Example

    To check if LoadBeam property lb.example is a parameter: 

    Options.property_parameter_names = true;
if (lb.GetParameter(lb.example) ) do_something...
Options.property_parameter_names = false;

    To check if LoadBeam property lb.example is a parameter by using the GetParameter method: 

    if (lb.ViewParameters().GetParameter(lb.example) ) do_something...

    Keyword()

    Description

    Returns the keyword for this load beam (*LOAD_BEAM_xxxx). Note that a carriage return is not added. See also LoadBeam.KeywordCards()

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    string containing the keyword.

    Return type

    String

    Example

    To get the keyword for load beam lb: 

    var key = lb.Keyword();

    KeywordCards()

    Description

    Returns the keyword cards for the load beam. Note that a carriage return is not added. See also LoadBeam.Keyword()

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    string containing the cards.

    Return type

    String

    Example

    To get the cards for load beam lb: 

    var cards = lb.KeywordCards();

    Last(Model[Model]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the last load beam in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get last load beam in

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if there are no load beams in the model).

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To get the last load beam in model m: 

    var lb = LoadBeam.Last(m);

    Next()

    Description

    Returns the next load beam in the model.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if there are no more load beams in the model).

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To get the load beam in model m after load beam lb: 

    var lb = lb.Next();

    Pick(prompt[string], limit (optional)[Model or Flag], modal (optional)[boolean], button text (optional)[string]) [static]

    Description

    Allows the user to pick a load beam.

    Arguments

  • prompt (string)

    Text to display as a prompt to the user

  • limit (optional) (Model or Flag)

    If the argument is a Model then only load beams from that model can be picked. If the argument is a Flag then only load beams that are flagged with limit can be selected. If omitted, or null, any load beams from any model can be selected. from any model.

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If picking is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the pick will be modal.

  • button text (optional) (string)

    By default the window with the prompt will have a button labelled 'Cancel' which if pressed will cancel the pick and return null. If you want to change the text on the button use this argument. If omitted 'Cancel' will be used.

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if not picked)

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To pick a load beam from model m giving the prompt 'Pick load beam from screen': 

    var lb = LoadBeam.Pick('Pick load beam from screen', m);

    Previous()

    Description

    Returns the previous load beam in the model.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    LoadBeam object (or null if there are no more load beams in the model).

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To get the load beam in model m before load beam lb: 

    var lb = lb.Previous();

    Select(flag[Flag], prompt[string], limit (optional)[Model or Flag], modal (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Allows the user to select load beams using standard PRIMER object menus.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to use when selecting load beams

  • prompt (string)

    Text to display as a prompt to the user

  • limit (optional) (Model or Flag)

    If the argument is a Model then only load beams from that model can be selected. If the argument is a Flag then only load beams that are flagged with limit can be selected (limit should be different to flag). If omitted, or null, any load beams can be selected. from any model.

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If selection is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the selection will be modal.

    Returns

    Number of load beams selected or null if menu cancelled

    Return type

    Number

    Example

    To select load beams from model m, flagging those selected with flag f, giving the prompt 'Select load beams': 

    LoadBeam.Select(f, 'Select load beams', m);

    To select load beams, flagging those selected with flag f but limiting selection to load beams flagged with flag l, giving the prompt 'Select load beams': 

    LoadBeam.Select(f, 'Select load beams', l);

    SetFlag(flag[Flag])

    Description

    Sets a flag on the load beam.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to set on the load beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To set flag f for load beam lb: 

    lb.SetFlag(f);

    Sketch(redraw (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Sketches the load beam. The load beam will be sketched until you either call LoadBeam.Unsketch(), LoadBeam.UnsketchAll(), Model.UnsketchAll(), or delete the model

    Arguments

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the load beam is sketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to sketch several load beams and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To sketch load beam lb: 

    lb.Sketch();

    SketchFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Sketches all of the flagged load beams in the model. The load beams will be sketched until you either call LoadBeam.Unsketch(), LoadBeam.UnsketchFlagged(), Model.UnsketchAll(), or delete the model

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all the flagged load beams will be sketched in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the load beams that you want to sketch

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the load beams are sketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to sketch flagged load beams several times and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To sketch all load beams flagged with flag in model m: 

    LoadBeam.SketchFlagged(m, flag);

    Total(Model[Model], exists (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the total number of load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get total for

  • exists (optional) (boolean)

    true if only existing load beams should be counted. If false or omitted referenced but undefined load beams will also be included in the total.

    Returns

    number of load beams

    Return type

    Number

    Example

    To get the total number of load beams in model m: 

    var total = LoadBeam.Total(m);

    Unblank()

    Description

    Unblanks the load beam

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unblank load beam lb: 

    lb.Unblank();

    UnblankAll(Model[Model], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Unblanks all of the load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all load beams will be unblanked in

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not. If omitted redraw is false. If you want to do several (un)blanks and only redraw after the last one then use false for all redraws apart from the last one. Alternatively you can redraw using View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unblank all of the load beams in model m: 

    LoadBeam.UnblankAll(m);

    UnblankFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Unblanks all of the flagged load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that the flagged load beams will be unblanked in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the load beams that you want to unblank

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not. If omitted redraw is false. If you want to do several (un)blanks and only redraw after the last one then use false for all redraws apart from the last one. Alternatively you can redraw using View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unblank all of the load beams in model m flagged with f: 

    LoadBeam.UnblankFlagged(m, f);

    UnflagAll(Model[Model], flag[Flag]) [static]

    Description

    Unsets a defined flag on all of the load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that the defined flag for all load beams will be unset in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to unset on the load beams

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unset the flag f on all the load beams in model m: 

    LoadBeam.UnflagAll(m, f);

    Unsketch(redraw (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Unsketches the load beam.

    Arguments

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the load beam is unsketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to unsketch several load beams and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unsketch load beam lb: 

    lb.Unsketch();

    UnsketchAll(Model[Model], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Unsketches all load beams.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all load beams will be unblanked in

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the load beams are unsketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to unsketch several things and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unsketch all load beams in model m: 

    LoadBeam.UnsketchAll(m);

    UnsketchFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Unsketches all flagged load beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all load beams will be unsketched in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the load beams that you want to unsketch

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the load beams are unsketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to unsketch several things and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unsketch all load beams flagged with flag in model m: 

    LoadBeam.UnsketchAll(m, flag);

    ViewParameters()

    Description

    Object properties that are parameters are normally returned as the integer or float parameter values as that is virtually always what the user would want. This function temporarily changes the behaviour so that if a property is a parameter the parameter name is returned instead. This can be used with 'method chaining' (see the example below) to make sure a property argument is correct.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    LoadBeam object.

    Return type

    LoadBeam

    Example

    To check if LoadBeam property lb.example is a parameter by using the LoadBeam.GetParameter() method: 

    if (lb.ViewParameters().GetParameter(lb.example) ) do_something...

    Warning(message[string], details (optional)[string])

    Description

    Adds a warning for load beam. For more details on checking see the Check class.

    Arguments

  • message (string)

    The warning message to give

  • details (optional) (string)

    An optional detailed warning message

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To add a warning message "My custom warning" for load beam lb: 

    lb.Warning("My custom warning");

    Xrefs()

    Description

    Returns the cross references for this load beam.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    Xrefs object.

    Return type

    Xrefs

    Example

    To get the cross references for load beam lb: 

    var xrefs = lb.Xrefs();

    toString()

    Description

    Creates a string containing the load beam data in keyword format. Note that this contains the keyword header and the keyword cards. See also LoadBeam.Keyword() and LoadBeam.KeywordCards().

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    string

    Return type

    String

    Example

    To get data for load beam lb in keyword format 

    var s = lb.toString();