Graphics Preferences

Form: Graphics Preferences

Click the Options menu > Graphics Preferences command to access the Graphics Preferences form.

Note: A pixel is the smallest graphic unit (dot) that can be displayed on the screen. A typical screen resolution is 1024 pixels by 768 pixels.

Font

Arial Change button. Arial is the default font used by the program to display data on the model (e.g., point IDs, grid labels, frame assignments). Click the Change button to display the Font form and select a different Font, Font Style, Size, Effects and Script (i.e., Western, Hebrew, Arabic, and so on).
Maximum Graphic Font Size edit box. The default text font size used in the program is determined based on the average story height of the model. When the View menu > Zoom In One Step command is used, the font size becomes proportionately larger. However, the font size is never made larger than the specified maximum graphic font size. The maximum graphic font size is entered in points. The default for this item is 8 points. This font size does not apply to the grid line identification labels, whose size is determined by the specified size of the bubble (see Grid System Data form ).

Note: In printing a point is a unit of type equal to 0.01384 inch or approximately 1/72 inch.

Minimum Graphic Font Size edit box. The default text font size used in the program is determined based on the average story height of the model. When the View menu > Zoom Out One Step command or its associated button is used, the font size becomes proportionately smaller. However, the font size is never made smaller than the specified minimum graphic font size. The minimum graphic font size is entered in points. The default is 3 points. In some cases, it may be necessary to increase the minimum font size to be able to read what is on the screen. This font size does not apply to the grid line identification labels, whose size is determined by the specified size of the bubble.

Quality

Minimum Screen Line Thickness edit box. This parameter controls the minimum thickness of lines on the screen. All lines are affected except for the bounding plane line. The thickness is entered in pixels. This item has no effect on text fonts. The ETABS default for this item is 1 pixel.
Minimum Printer Line Thickness edit box. This parameter controls the minimum thickness of lines and fonts that are output to the printer. All lines are affected. The thickness is entered in pixels. The default is 4 pixels.
Anti-Aliasing check box. When this check box is checked anti-aliasing is applied to minimize distortion artifacts when high-resolution images are displayed or printed using a lower resolution device.
Constant Line Thickness check box. When this check box is checked, the thickness of lines used to display the model are of consistent thicknesses.
Shading within Element check box. When this check box is checked and the Object Fill check box is checked on the Set View Options form, a shading effect is added to the fill.

Size

Auto Zoom Step edit box. This is the size of the step applied when the View menu > Zoom In One Step and the View menu > Zoom Out One Step command or their associated toolbar buttons are used. This parameter is entered in percentage. The magnification of all objects in a view is increased or decreased by this percentage. The default is 10%.
Shrink Factor for Line Objects edit box. When the Object Shrink Toggle button, , is used, all line objects are reduced by this specified percentage. The default is 70%. Note that the View menu > Set Display Options command, or its associated button, can be used to access the Set View Options form; then check the Object Shrink check box in the Special Effects area to shrink objects in the model. Typically area objects are not reduced by this percentage. Instead they are reduced by a set number of pixels that is built into the program. In the unusual case where shrinking the area object by the set number of pixels causes it to become an illegal object (because an edge has zero length), the area object reverts to using the percentage specified here.