New (Ctrl+N)

  1. ...
  2. File
  3. New
  1. Description
  2. Demonstration

Description

The New command creates a blank Pointwise file with the option of keeping some or all of the entities from your existing project.

When File, New is selected, you are faced with two basic options: Blank Project and Restart (see image shown below). The first option is to start a new project from scratch - this is the default option. The second option also allows you to start a new project, but includes the ability to carry over many of the existing entities from your current project. After selecting either option, click on the OK button to implement the new project.

File, New
The options available for starting a blank project or restarting the current project can be accessed in the New panel.

The Blank Project option allows you to starts a new grid project based on Pointwise's default settings. Once selected, Pointwise clears all grids and database entities as well as resets tolerances, CAE, Defaults, and Layers. The default view orientation is restored to the default -Z view. Toolbar settings and text field values are not cleared.

The Restart option is used in cases where clearing/resetting only a certain portion of a project is desired. For example, you may want to retain the database from the existing project for use with the new grid project.

Checking a restart option in the New panel will cause it to be cleared. Unchecking an option will ensure that its values are retained for the new project. As with a Blank Project, the toolbar settings and text field values will not be cleared. A list of the options that may be cleared or reset are shown in the following table:

Options Description
Clear Grids This option will clear all grid entities from memory.
Clear Database This option will clear all database entities from memory.
Reset Tolerances This option will reset the Model Size, Node, Connector, and Grid Point tolerances to the default values.
Reset CAE This option will reset the CAE solver to the default value.
Reset Defaults This option will reset all values in the Defaults panel to their default values
Reset Layers This option will clear all layer names, layer sets, and status settings from memory
 

Tip: If you save multiple versions of your grid for one database file, you can use New, Restart with Clear Database unchecked to easily import those grids without having to import the database file again.

Demonstration

Steps:

  1. Navigate to the top-left corner of the Pointwise window and click on the File menu.
  2. Select the New option.

    3. Pointwise will check for unsaved changes within your existing project once the New menu is selected. If it has unsaved changes, you will be prompted on whether to save them.

    If you do have any unsaved changes, the Save dialog will appear to ensure you do not lose valuable data when starting the new project.

    If Yes is selected in the Save dialog, a file browser will appear in which you can choose the directory and filename to which you wish to save the project data. Selecting No will cause Pointwise to proceed with a new blank project or restart. Clicking on Cancel will abort the New command operations.

  3. Press the OK button to save you selections and open the new project.

    4. Remember that creating a new project using the File, New sequence does not specify a directory in which the new project is saved. This can be selected, as well, using the Save (Ctrl+S), or Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S) commands.