Move Joints/Frames/Shells

Form: Move Joints/Frames/Shells

Move joints, frames, shells, tendons, and design strips in any direction as follows:

Select the object to be moved.

Select the Edit menu > Move Joints/Frames/Shells command to access the Move Joints/Frames/Shells form.

On the Move Joints/Frames/Shells form, specify the distances in the global X, Y and Z directions that the object is to be moved (i.e., Delta X, Delta Y, Delta Z).

Pick Two Points on Model button. This button can be used to define the change in the X, Y, and Z of the selected joint/frame/shell. Use the button as follows:

Follow steps 1 and 2 above to select the object(s) to be moved and activate the command.

With the object selected, click the Pick Two Points on the Model button.

Left click once on a point in the model; left click on a second point. Notice that values will display in the Delta X, Delta Y, or Delta Z edit boxes depending on where the two clicked points are located. The selected object(s) will move the specific distance. The two points picked do not need to be at the desired revised location. They need to specify the change in the X, Y, and Z only.

Click the Apply button to modify the model as specified using this form.

Joints. When a joint is moved, all frames and shells attached to the joint are reoriented or resized to account for the movement. For example, if a joint at the top of a column is moved, the column will become sloped. (Note that ETABS would then consider this column to be a brace.)

Note: In some cases, moving a joint in the Z direction would cause frame and shells that are attached to the joint to cross story levels. In such cases, ETABS does not allow the move to take place.

Frames. When a frame is moved, the frame moves but the joints at the ends of the frame do not move. New joints are created at the ends of the frame in its new position if necessary. Any other objects connected to the joints at the ends of the frame in its original location remain where they are; they do not move in any way. Similarly any assignments to the joints at the ends of the frame in its original location remain where they are. If no other objects are connected to the joints at the ends of the frame in its original location and if there are no assignments made to those joints, ETABS deletes them after the frame has been moved.
Shells. Similarly, when a shell is moved, the shell moves but the joints at the corners of the shell do not move. New joints are created at the corners of the shell in its new position if necessary. Any other objects connected to the joints at the corners of the shell in its original location remain where they are; they do not move in any way. Similarly any assignments to the joints at the corners of the shell in its original location remain where they are. If no other objects are connected to the joints at the corners of the shell in its original location and if there are no assignments made to those joints, ETABS deletes them after the shell has been moved.

Note: Objects can be moved in the Z-direction within their own story level or to the maximum Z coordinate (top) of the story level below or the minimum Z coordinate (bottom) of the story level above; ETABS will ignore a delta Z dimension that requires an object to move beyond these minimum and maximum Z coordinates. Example.

A four-story building has 10-foot-high stories at all levels. Thus, the first story level is at an elevation of 10 feet, the second story level is at 20 feet, the third story level is at 30 feet and the fourth story level is at 40 feet. The corner joint of an shell object that occurs at the mid-height of the third story level (i.e., elevation of 25 feet) is being moved. Note that the distance between the second and third floors is 10 feet. Thus,

1. - If a Delta Z between -5 feet (elevation 20 feet) and +5 feet (elevation 30 feet) is specified, say -3, ETABS moves the joint to the specified location (elevation 22 feet).
  - If a delta Z dimension less than the -5 feet (e.g., -10 feet which would be elevation 15 feet) is specified, ETABS moves the joint to the second story level elevation (i.e., elevation 20 feet), but not beyond because objects cannot be moved in the Z direction across story levels.
  - If a Z coordinate greater than +5 feet (e.g., 10 feet which would be elevation 35 feet is specified), ETABS moves the joint to the third story level elevation (i.e., elevation 30 feet), but not beyond because objects cannot be moved in the Z direction across story levels.

When the Apply button is used, the Move Joints/Frames/Shells form will remain open until it is closed by clicking the Close button. This allows selection of other object(s) that may need to be moved.

If only one move is being made to only one set of selected objects, the OK button can be used to both apply the movement and close the form.