Add a new brief to a member by copying an existing brief

A design brief can be added to members by using an existing brief and copying that brief to the new member or members.

1. Graphically select the member with the required design brief by using the mouse cursor to highlight the member in the graphical window. Ensure the member is highlighted and the calculations for this member appear in the results pane.

2. With the mouse cursor, select the  icon. The cursor will now change in the graphics window to two large red lines to (forming the cross-hair).

3. Using the graphical window navigation tools if necessary, select each member to have the design brief copied to it using the mouse by hovering the cursor over the member and left-clicking with the mouse.

4. Once completed, exit the "copy to" mode by clicking on the  icon.

When a design brief is copied to a new member the settings for that brief are also copied. For example, if a brief is set up with lateral restraints at particular positions, the lateral restraint positions will apply to the member it is copied to. Thus the copy-to mode allows briefs to be quickly applied to a number of similar members with the set up of the brief being also copied. However, care needs to be taken when copying a brief from one member to another where the same design parameters do not apply. For example, care needs to be taken if a brief for a member which is assumed to have full lateral restraint in lateral torsional buckling restraint is copied to members for which this assumption is not valid.