Applies To
	Product(s):	STAAD.Pro
	Version(s):	ALL
	Environment:	ALL
	Area:	Modeling Solutions
	Subarea:	Geometry
	Original Author:	Bentley Technical Support Group

How do I merge Two STAAD.Pro models ?

There are a couple of ways to do this

Method 1 : Although it is a quick tool, it is only applicable if you need to merge the wireframe geometry. If you need to merge all other attributes of the models, you should use the Method 2.

Here are the list of steps :

Start STAAD.Pro. Open the first file. Keep it open.

Start another instance of STAAD.Pro. Open the second file. Stay in this file.

Go to the Select menu, and Select All Geometry. From the Edit menu, select Copy.

Go back to the screen of the first file. From the Edit menu, select Paste.

You will be prompted to specify the X, Y and Z distances by which to move the structure of the second file before it gets copied to the first structure. Specify those values and click on OK.

Method 2 : More generic method. Applicable for all scenarios.

A problem with simply copying and pasting the members from one STAAD file to another as outlined in method 1 is that the properties and other attributes can get messed up.

For example STAAD uses reference numbers to identify the properties. You see those in the Properties dialog box as R1, R2, R3, etc.

Suppose you have two models you want to merge. Model 1 has members designated R1 and so does Model 2, but in Model 1, R1 is a wide flange whereas in Model 2, R1 is a single angle. If you paste members with properties designated R1 from Model 2 to Model 1, the program will assign the R1 members from Model 2 with the R1 properties the way they are defined in Model 1. Under this scenario, members you had intended to be single angles will thus end up as wide flange sections.

One approach you can use that may help resolve this problem involves the use of your input files (i.e. *.STD files). You can copy and paste your member incidences and properties from your STAAD input file. If you have two STAAD models, you can open both of them and use the copy and paste commands in the editor to copy the joint coordinates, member incidences, member properties, constants, etc. to merge the two smaller files into a single input file. You will need to exercise a certain amount of care in doing this. In particular, there are two items of concern you should be careful to consider.

1. The copy/paste will not work correctly if you have duplicate entity members, plates, solids and/or nodes) numbers. To prevent conflicts from duplicate numbers in the input file, you should check that each STAAD model you intend to merge has completely unique entity numbers. If there are duplicate numbers in the models you wish to merge, you can use STAAD's RENUMBER command from the Geometry menu to renumber the entities in your model before you begin editing the input files.

2. Be careful to copy and paste the various items from you models in the correct order. For example, the member incidences and joint coordinates must precede the properties, constants, etc. for the members and joints. You cannot tell the program that Member 35 is a W18x35 without first specifying the member incidences and joint coordinates for member 35.