Holding the shift key down allows you to pan using the mouse.

Holding the control key down in a 3d view allows you to change longitude and lat
itude using the mouse.
You can pan using a joystick (enable with the joystick command in the F1 menu).
The autosize option in the right click menu of a report will automatically forma
t a report so that no lines wrap.
Clicking the right mouse button in any window will bring up a menu with options
applicable to that window.
Our web site, www.powline.com, has a technical notes section with information on
the use of our products.
You can visit our web site and sign up for our email mailing list to be notified
about new versions and features in our programs.
All Power Line Systems, Inc. programs are year 2000 compliant.
The File/Backup command allows you to create a single file containing all the in
formation about your project. This single file makes it easy to transfer your p
roject to another computer or email it to someone. The File/Restore Backup comm
and is used to recreate the file created by File/Backup. It also allows you to
move your project to a different directory.
The mouse wheel on a Microsoft Intellimouse can be used to zoom in and out in gr
aphics views and can also be used to page up and down in report views.
Cells in our spreadsheet tables can be cut, copied or pasted. To select cells f
or these operations simply drag the mouse over the desired cells and then select
the desired operation from the menu which pops up. You can also select entire
rows or columns by dragging over the row or column numbers.
Our spreadsheets support 'fill' and 'pattern fill down'. The fill command simpl
y does as many paste operations as needed to fill the selected area with exact c
opies of the clipboard contents. The pattern fill command is similar except tha
t it duplicates the pattern established in the clipboard rather than using exact
copies.
Our spreadsheets have a find command initiated with Ctrl-F. Hitting the F3 key
repeats the last find.
Time consuming operations can usually be aborted by hitting the Esc key or by ri
ght clicking the mouse.
The Check Joints command in the Geometry menu displays warnings about unconnecte
d joints and duplicate members.
You can graphically add members using the Geometry/Add Angle Member command.
You can graphically edit joints, members or groups using the joint info, member
info and group info commands in the view menu.
You can attach raster or vector CAD drawings to the geometry view.
Results reports can be regenerated for any run by right clicking in a deformed g
eometry view and selecting the appropriate Generate Report menu item.
Most analysis results are available in spreadsheet form by right clicking in the
deformed geometry view and selecting the appropriate menu item under the Result
s submenu.
The Model/Interactive Member Sizing feature is available after an analysis is pe
rformed and can be used to pick the best angle size or type for a group.
Foundation displacements (frost heave, differential leg settlement) can be model
ed by entering a displacement in the Joint Displ. column in the vector loads tab
le.
You can enter a stiffness for your foundation in Geometry/Foundation Strength to
allow the foundation to displace with load.
The General/Output Options dialog can be used to control what reports are genera
ted and what is placed in the reports after the analysis.
The View/Edit Customizations command can be used to limit the maximum line lengt
h of a table to prevent your reports from becoming too wide.
You can add text or line annotation to your initial or deformed geometry views w
ith the General/Table Annotation Edit command.
You can copy any geometry view to the clipboard using the Edit/Copy command and
then paste the picture into any graphics capable program (Word for example).
You can use the Geometry/Graphical Member/Split command to break a member up int
o several smaller members.
You can use the Geometry/Graphical Member/Intersection command to find the inter
section of two members and place a joint there.
Library files for use with TOWER can be found in our online library which you ca
n reach with the Help/Visit the PLS Online Library command.
The Model/Create Group Summary Super Set command creates a group summary with th
e maximum forces from all other runs/summaries in memory.
The Geometry/Insulators/Find Allowable Suspension Swing Angles command will dete
rmine your allowable swings using the optional "hot-box" rectangle dimensions de
fined in the Suspension Components table.
If you check "Enable Automatic Project Revision Tracking" in the General Data Di
alog the program will generate a list of changes made to the model whenever you
save it. This list is placed in the Project Report.
You can name a deformed geometry window using the "Name Run" command in the menu
that appears when you right click. This name will be used when you compare res
ults.
The File/Model Diff command will generate a report detailing the differences bet
ween any model on disk with the one currently in memory.
Most numeric input fields now allow entry of expressions in addition to numeric
input. Expressions are evaluated when you tab out of the field. All expression
must begin with "=" for example: "=4/pi" or "=sin(45)*(1.23*4/5)"