Toolbar
The toolbar sits along the bottom of the canvas. Tools with a small arrow have sub-tools. Click the arrow to open them.
Single-letter shortcuts activate the main tools without leaving the canvas. Press Esc at any time to drop back to the pointer.
The actual toolbar, embedded live. Creation tools are greyed out here because there's no canvas to draw on. Open a canvas to use them. Everything it contains is listed below.
Geometry
Draw the structure itself. Beam lines are analytical members that carry force; construction geometry is layout-only and is ignored by the solver.
The default member. Draws a beam whose ends are free to rotate at the joints they connect to.
Same as above, but the member ends are welded to their joints, so moment is carried through the connection.
Dashed reference geometry used to lay out or constrain the sketch. Not an analysis member; it never carries force.
A standalone point. Useful as a constraint target or a reference location in the sketch.
Reference-only circle geometry, for layout and tangent/concentric constraints. Circles cannot transmit forces.
Supports
Restrain the structure so it can be solved. A structure with too few supports is a mechanism and will not solve. See the beam stability overlay on the Canvas Legend page.
Restrains translation in both directions while allowing rotation.
Restrains movement normal to the support direction while allowing it to roll along the surface. Uses a control line to set the support angle.
Restrains translation and rotation: a fully built-in end.
Loads and moments
External actions applied to the structure. Reactions at the supports are solved automatically as you place them.
A single point load applied at a node. The load angle is set with a constraint line.
A rotational load applied at a node. The curved arrow shows whether it acts clockwise or counterclockwise.
Dimensions and images
Pin down geometry numerically, or trace over a reference photo or drawing.
Apply a driving dimension: a length, distance, radius, or angle. Type a new value and the geometry solves to match it.
Place a background image and scale it to real dimensions, then sketch on top of it.
Opens the picker to bring a new image onto the canvas.
Show / hide
Visibility toggles for decluttering a busy model. These only affect what is drawn; hiding something never changes the analysis.
Opens the visibility toggles below.
Show or hide dimension annotations and their values.
Show or hide the constraint glyphs attached to geometry.
Show or hide the sketch geometry itself.
Show or hide background reference images.
Show or hide support symbols.
Show or hide applied loads and moments.
Show or hide the green stability bands that mark members the solver considers stable.
Switch reaction display between separate Rx / Ry components and a single resultant arrow.
Joint end conditions
Right-click any node to change how members connect through it. This is what distinguishes a truss joint from a rigid frame corner.
Releases rotation at the joint: members meeting here can rotate independently, so no moment transfers through it.
Rotation stays welded through the joint, so moment is carried continuously across it.
For what each symbol looks like once it's on the canvas (including the analysis overlays and geometry status colors), see the Canvas Legend.