Property Page

The Property Page is a window that lists properties about the current entity selection. Some of the properties, like Cube-it ID, entity type, or geometry engine, are listed for reference only. Other attributes, like name, or mesh intervals, color, mesh scheme, or smooth scheme can be edited from the window. The Property Page is located on the left panel in the GUI. The highlighted entity/entities in the graphics window are listed in the property page window. The Property Page also lists information about selected mesh entities, boundary conditions, and assemblies. Selecting an object from the Tree View will also open the object in the property page.  

Figure 1. Property Page Window

The row of buttons on the top of the editor are shortcuts to common commands. These include:

	Meshes the selected entity/entities at their current interval and scheme settings
	Smooth selected entity using the current smoothing scheme
	Preview mesh intervals on selected entity
	Delete mesh on specified entity (do not propagate to lower order entities)
	Reset entity to default settings and delete mesh
	Calculates volumes and surface areas
	Delete current entity

Editing Entity Attributes from the Property Page

The Property Page provides a convenient way to change attributes on entities. . Some of the fields cannot be changed, some can be edited from an input field, and others are edited by selecting from a list, or by opening the corresponding window from the Control Panel.

If multiple entities are selected, the attributes that are similar to both entities will be shown. Changing an attribute from the property page will change that attribute on both entities. If multiple entities are selected the total volume, surface area, and length of all entities will be shown.

Below is a summary of properties listed for each attribute type.

General Attributes

• Entity ID - Cube-it ID for geometry or boundary condition element
• Entity Type - Geometric type such as Volume, Surface, Curve, Vertex
• Name - Name by which the entity can be referred to from within Cube-it instead of using its ID. The entity name can be edited from this window.
• Idless Signature - An idless signature is often useful in journal files. It can be used in place of an explicit ID and will not change from one major version of Cube-it to another. A major version change indicates the solid modeling engine has been upgraded.
• Color - Opens a dialog box with available colors. A color name can also be input directly into the text field. See Appendix for a list of available colors.

Geometry Attributes

• Is Merged - Returns "Yes" if this entity is merged
• Is Virtual - Returns "Yes" if this entity is a virtual entity
• Location - Returns the location of specified vertex.
• Geometry Engine - ACIS or Mesh-Based Geometry
• Volume - The volume of the specified body
• Surface Area - Surface area of selected surface
• Analytic Type - Returns the analytic type of entity (such as cone, sphere, etc)
• Length - Length of selected curve

Meshing Attributes

• Is Meshed - Returns "Yes" if the entity is already meshed
• Number of Elements - Similar to "List Totals" command
• Number of Nodes - Number of nodes in the selected entity
• Requested Intervals - Number of intervals requested by the user
• Requested Size - Requested interval size for element. Clicking on box will open the interval specification panel on the control panel. The interval size can also be entered manually in the text box.
• Meshed Volume - The meshed volume may be slightly different than the actual element volume due to the mesh approximation on curved surfaces.
• Meshed Area - The meshed area may be slightly different than the actual surface area due to mesh approximation on curved edges.
• Length of Meshed Edges - Combined total of mesh edge lengths on curve
• Mesh Scheme - The mesh scheme for this entity. This can be changed from the property page by selecting from the drop-down list.
• Smooth Scheme - The smooth scheme for this entity. This can be changed from the property page by selecting from the drop-down list.

Boundary Condition Attributes

• ID - Boundary condition ID. This is an arbitrary user-defined ID that is exported with the finite element model. This value can be edited from the property page
• Name - A user-defined name that is included in the metadata for that object. This value can be edited from the property page.
• Description - A user-defined description that is included in the metadata for that object. This value can be edited from the property page.
• Color - Opens a dialog box with available colors. A color name can also be input directly into the text field. See Appendix for a list of available colors.
• Element Type - The finite element type for this block, nodeset, or sideset.
• Element Count - The total number of elements for this block or sideset
• Node Count - Total number of nodes (available for nodesets only)
• Attribute Count and Attributes- The attributes represent material specification data that is associated with the element block. These values can be changed in the property page. You can specify up to 10 attributes per block.