Mstower Icons

Data for Mstower icons for large ancillaries is contained in the file
Mstower.icn. Any changes or additions to the icon data should be made to a
copy of the standard file named My_icons.icn which is used in preference to
the standard file if present in the program folder. The standard icons are
shown in example job Icontwr.mst.

The icon file is a text file in the program folder. A list of icon numbers with a
short description is at the top of the file followed by blocks of data for each
icon. Each block starts with the keyword ICON and terminates with the
keyword END.

Icons are described as a set of nodes, lines and polygons of either three or
four sides. The data required for each icon is:

ICON icon_num
T title
3DIM

N n x1 y1 z1
……………….
N nmax xn yn zn

L l n1 n2
………………
L lmax nn nm

P p n1 n2 n3 n4
……………….
P pmax nn nm np nq
END

All bold items are keywords and must appear in column 1.

Node numbers, n – nmax, using all numbers between 1 and nmax, i.e., there
must be no gaps in the numbering.

Line numbers, l – lmax, using all numbers between 1 and lmax, i.e., there
must be no gaps in the numbering.

Polygon numbers, l – pmax, using all numbers between 1 and pmax, i.e.,
there must be no gaps in the numbering. If the polygon is triangular, the fourth
node describing the polygon should be omitted or set to zero.

Blank lines and comments commencing with a “$” may be used to enhance
readability of the file.
It is recommended that the icons have unit dimensions so that the scaling
factors in the ancillary library will then be the actual dimensions of the
ancillary.

Data for a unit rectangular prismatic icon is given below. This icon has eight
nodes, twelve lines and six polygons.

ICON 100
T MISC
3DIM

N 1 0.0000 -0.5000 0.50000

N 2 0.0000 0.5000 0.50000
N 3 0.0000 0.5000 -0.50000
N 4 0.0000 -0.5000 -0.50000
N 5 1.0000 -0.5000 0.50000
N 6 1.0000 0.5000 0.50000
N 7 1.0000 0.5000 -0.50000
N 8 1.0000 -0.5000 -0.50000
L 1 1 2
L 2 2 3
L 3 3 4
L 4 4 1
L 5 5 6
L 6 6 7
L 7 7 8
L 8 8 5
L 9 1 5
L 10 2 6
L 11 3 7
L 12 4 8
P 1 1 2 3 4
P 2 5 6 7 8
P 3 1 2 6 5
P 4 2 3 7 6
P 5 3 4 8 7
P 6 4 1 5 8
END

A job “ICONTWR” is distributed with Mstower. This may be examed to see

the graphic representation of all icons.

Hints:

To locate a icon:

Open ICONTWR.
Rclick then select LabelAncillaries. A split view of the tower with icon
numbering will be displayed. The icon can then be located.
The tool tip, which normally displays data pertaining to nodes or members
when the cursor is hovered on an entity, may also be used to display data
pertaining to ancillaries. To do so, Rclick, select DataTips select Large
Ancillary. Ancillary data will be displayed when the cursor is hovered on the
ancillary “target”.

Press “U” or “D” to pan the view up or down the tower.

Rclick and select RemoveHiddenLines will often give a better representation

of an ancillary.

Engineering Systems Pty Limited

June 2008