User interface
EduBeam has three zones. Learn what lives where and the rest of the docs will make sense.┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ☰ edubeam 🗑 Clear mesh 🔗 Share model What's New │ ← App bar
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Viewer | Settings │ ← Tabs
│ ↶ ↷ ⌖ ⤢ ⚙ │
│ │
│ canvas (the model) [display │ ← Viewer
│ toggles] │
│ G S m·kN·kNm·MPa │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Nodes | Elements | Loads | Materials | Cross sections | Results│ ← Bottom bar
│ [Add node] [Add using mouse] table of entities … │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘App bar
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| ☰ menu | Open project, Save project, Share model, Clear mesh, plus the app version. |
| Clear mesh 🗑 | Deletes all nodes, elements and loads after a confirmation. Two checkboxes let you also delete materials and cross sections. Not undoable. |
| Share model 🔗 | Opens the share dialog with a URL that encodes the whole model. |
| What's New? | Release notes. |
| Documentation / GitHub | Links to this site and to the source code. |
The app bar is hidden in viewer mode.
Viewer
The canvas is where you draw and inspect the model. Everything else in the app reflects what you select here.
Overlay buttons
- Top-left: Undo / Redo (also Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z). Every model change—adding, editing, dragging, deleting—is undoable.
- Top-right: Center content (C), Fit content to screen (F) and the display settings toggle ⚙.
- Bottom-right: G toggles the grid, S toggles snap-to-grid; the units chip shows the active units and opens the settings when clicked.
Display settings panel
Open with the ⚙ button. Two rows of checkboxes:
- Results: Deformed shape, N (x), Vz (x), My (x), Reactions.
- Model: Supports, Loads, Node labels, Element labels.
More settings opens the full settings dialog.
Navigating
| Action | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|
| Zoom | Mouse wheel (zooms towards the cursor), Ctrl+= / Ctrl+-; pinch on touch screens |
| Pan | Drag with the middle or right mouse button (configurable in Settings → Controls & Shortcuts); one-finger drag on touch |
| Fit / center | F / C or the top-right buttons |
Selecting and editing
- Click a node, element, load or dimension line to select it. The bottom bar jumps to the matching tab and a small popover menu appears next to the selection with the actions available for that object (e.g. Add load, Node supports, Edit element, Stiffness matrix, Delete).
- Drag on empty canvas to draw a selection rectangle. Everything inside—nodes, elements, their loads and dimension lines—is selected. Press Delete to remove it all, Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V to copy and paste it elsewhere.
- Drag a node to move it. With snap on it lands on the grid. Connected elements and their loads follow.
- Double-click a load to edit it.
- Hover anything for a tooltip: nodes show their displacements and rotation, elements their material and cross section, loads their components.
- Right-click empty canvas for the canvas menu: Add node, Add element, Add dimension, Edit (opens a table of the current selection), Copy, Paste, Delete. Hold Ctrl while choosing Add node / Add element to place them with the mouse instead of a dialog.
All shortcuts are listed on the Keyboard & mouse page.
Alerts
Messages appear in the top-left of the viewer: No materials defined / No cross sections defined (with an Add new button), a small blue Needs supports chip while the model is unfinished, or a red message when something is wrong, with a Show details button that lists every problem. A structure that can still move briefly swings as a dashed outline, and the nodes at fault are circled; point at the message to see the motion again, or use the eye button on it to hide the outline. Settings → Viewer settings → Model checks turns the outline or just its animation off for good. See Troubleshooting.
Bottom bar
Six tabs, each with a count badge, a toolbar and an editable table. Drag the divider above the bar to resize it, or minimise it with the button on the right.
| Tab | Toolbar | Table |
|---|---|---|
| Nodes | Add node (dialog), Add using mouse | Label, X, Z, Supported DOFs checkboxes, loads on the node, delete |
| Elements | Add element (dialog), Add using mouse | Label, type, from/to node (+ Swap nodes), material, cross section, End hinges, loads on the element, stiffness matrix, delete |
| Loads | Add nodal load, Add element load | Type, target, editable components, delete |
| Materials | Add material, Material library | Label, E, G, αT, delete |
| Cross sections | Add cross section, Section library | Label, A, Iy, h, k, delete |
| Results | Nodal results / Element results switch | Displacements & rotations per node, or end forces per element |
Cells are edited in place—click, type, press Enter (or Esc to leave the cell). Values are shown and entered in the current units.
Tabs above the viewer
The Viewer tab is always present. Opening the settings adds a closable Settings tab next to it, so you can adjust colours or units while looking at the model.
Floating widgets
Some actions open draggable windows on top of the viewer: Stiffness matrix (from an element's popover or table row) shows the element's 6 × 6 stiffness matrix in local and global coordinates; Edit on the canvas menu opens a table of the current selection. Close them with the ×.