To add a member to the structure

§    Choose Add Member  from the Geometry menu

§    Or Click on the Add member icon in the Member toolbar

§    Move the pointer to the position of the first joint

§    Press the mouse button and drag to the position of the second joint (Windows users have the option of just clicking on the first joint instead of dragging)

§    Release the mouse button  (You also have the option of just clicking on the second joint to complete the new member)

Holding down the shift key while drawing a member constrains the new member to be either vertical or horizontal or at 45 degrees.

When you draw the new member, the coordinates of the mouse will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the window.  Also, the distance and slope of the current position of the mouse from the last point will be displayed.

When drawing in the 3D view, you can only draw a member between two existing joints.

If the grid is turned on while you draw the member, the position of the joints will snap to the grid.  The depth of the member will depend on the setting of the depth for the current view.  See Depth above for an explanation of how to set this depth.