Change Labels

Form: Interactive Name Change

By default, the names (labels) of the objects and all defined entities (loads, properties, and the like) in the model are sequentially designated by the program using alphanumeric characters. Use the Edit menu > Change Labels command to access the Interactive Name Change form and change the name of any of the named items.

Choose the object or defined entity to be relabeled from the Item Type drop-down list (e.g., Analysis Cases, Combination Definitions, Element Labels-Area, Element Labels-Frame, and so forth).
Change the labels for the selected Item Type using auto relabeling or by direct entry.

Note: The current labeling scheme is shown in the Current Name column of the table displayed in the Name List for {Item Type} area of the form.

- Auto Relabeling.
- 1. Specify a labeling scheme using the options available in the Auto Relabel Controls area of the form
  1. - Prefix edit box. If desired, specify numbers or letters as a prefix for the numbering sequence. For example, to specify an automatic numbering sequence of A2, A3, A4 and so forth, type A in this edit box.
    - Next Number edit box. Use this edit box to specify the starting number for the new numbering sequence.
      
      For example, if the numbering currently starts with 1 and you want it to start with 10, type 10 in this edit box. Depending on the selections made for the Increment, First Relabel Order and Second Relabel Order options (see Note below), after the sub-command chosen in Step b (below) has been executed, the cell in the New Number column opposite from the Current Number of 1 will change to 10, Current Number 2 will change to 11, the Current Number 3 will change to 12 and so on.
    - Increment edit box. Use this edit box to specify an increment for the numbering sequence. For example, type 2 in this edit box if you want the sequence to be 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and so forth, assuming a starting number (i.e., Next Number) of 1, or 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 assuming a starting number of 2, and so on.
    - First Relabel Order drop-down list. Select the "direction" for starting the relabeling sequence by selecting the X, Y, or Z coordinate.
    - Second Relabel Order drop-down list. Select the next direction for continuing the relabeling sequence.

Note: By default, objects are numbered first in the X direction, then the Y direction, then the Z direction. If the New Name column presents you with a surprising sequence after executing Step b (below), verify that the labeling order is as it should be.

- 1. - Minimum Number Digits edit box. Type a value in this edit box to specify the formatting for the numbering scheme. For example, if 3 is entered into this edit box, the numeric portion of the labeling scheme will use three digits, such that if the Current Name is 1, the relabeled number will be written as 001. Relabeling in this manner can be helpful for sorting.

- 1. Click the Edit menu > Auto Relabel command on the Interactive Name Change form and choose the All in List subcommand, or select items in the table displayed in the Name List for {Item Type} area of the form, then click the Edit menu > Auto Relabel > Highlighted in List command.
    - The All in List command will change all labeling.
    - The Highlighted in List command will change only those items you have selected.
- Direct Entry. Type the new name in the New Name column in the table shown in the Name List for {Item Type} area of the form.

Click the OK button to complete the renaming and close the form.

Note: Objects may be selected before using the Edit menu > Change Labels command to reduce the number of items listed in the table shown in the Name List for {Item Type} display area on the Interactive Name Change form.

List Names of Selected Elements Only check box. If objects were selected before the Edit menu > Change Labels command was used, this check box will be checked and the Name List for {Item Type} area of the form will display a table showing the labels associated with the selected objects when that type of object has been selected in the Item Type drop-down list. Unchecking this check box will display, for the selected Item Type, the labels for all objects, not just the selected objects.

The Interactive Name Change form has the following menu commands:

Command	Action
Edit
Cut	Allows an item in the New Name column to be cut and copied to the Windows Clipboard for subsequent pasting using the Paste command.
Copy	Allows an item in the New Name column to be copied to the Windows Clipboard for subsequent pasting using the Paste command.
Paste	Allows an item in the New Name column that has been cut or copied to the Windows Clipboard to be pasted into a location you specify in the New Name column.
Delete	Deletes the items selected in the New Name column.
Copy All in Data Grid	Copies the entire table in the Name List for {Item Type} area of the form to the Windows Clipboard for subsequent pasting into another program, such as Microsoft Excel.
Find	Accesses the Find and Replace form.
Replace	Accesses the Find and Replace form.
Reset to Current Names	Resets the entries in the New Name column to match the entries in the Current Name column.
Auto Relabel
All in List	Updates the labeling for all of the named objects or defined entities as specified by changes made in the New Name column.
Highlighted in List	Updates the labeling for the selected named objects or defined entities as specified by changes made in the New Name column.
View
Hide Selected Rows	Hides the selected rows in the table.
Show All Rows	Unhides any hidden rows to display all rows in the table.

Example: Use of this command is demonstrated in Problem S.