3.4.6 Modifying the history of a step-dependent object

You can modify the analysis history of an object by using the five buttons aligned along the right side of the step-dependent manager: Edit, Move Left, Move Right, Activate, and Deactivate. (For information on how to use these buttons, see Changing the status of an object in a step, Section 3.4.11.) The use of these buttons may be restricted depending on the nature of each step and the status of the object in the steps.

The following list describes the rules for modifying the history of a step-dependent object:

Changing the step in which an object becomes active

You can change the step in which an object becomes active by moving the Created status to that step. You can move the Created status of an object to any previous general step, or you can move the Created status to the following general step if its status in the following step is Propagated.

For example, you could select the Created status of Load1 in the load manager table below.


 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1 CreatedPropagatedPropagatedPropagated

If you moved the Created status to Step 1, the table would change as shown below.

 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1CreatedPropagatedPropagatedPropagatedPropagated

If you moved the Created status to Step 3, the table would change as shown below.

 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1  CreatedPropagatedPropagated

Note:  If an object is created in a linear perturbation step, its Created status cannot be moved.

Modifying an object

You can modify an object when its status is Propagated; the object's status in that step changes to Modified.

Moving the modifications of an object to another step

You can transfer the modifications of an object to another step by moving the object's modified status to that step. You can move the Modified status of an object to the previous general step or to the following general step if the status of the object in those steps is Propagated.

For example, you could select the Modified status of Load1 in the load manager table below.


 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1 CreatedPropagatedModifiedPropagated

If you moved the Modified status to Step 3, the table would change as shown below.

 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1 CreatedModifiedPropagatedPropagated

If you moved the Modified status to Step 5, the table would change as shown below.

 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1 CreatedPropagatedPropagatedModified

Deactivating an object

You can deactivate an object when its status is Propagated or Modified; the object's status in that step and in any following steps changes to Inactive.

Note:  You cannot deactivate fields using the Field Manager; you must select Reset to initial in the field editor (for example, see Defining a temperature field, Section 16.11.2).

Warning:  If you deactivate an object in a step in which its status is Modified, the modifications to the object are lost. If you later reactivate the object in that step, the original propagated version of the object becomes active in that step and in all subsequent steps.

Reactivating an object

You can reactivate an object that has an Inactive status; however, the Activate button is available only in the step in which the object is first deactivated (for example, Step 3 in the following table).


 Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5
Load1CreatedPropagatedInactiveInactiveInactive

When you reactivate the load in the example above, its status in Step 3 and in all following steps changes to Propagated.

The following rules apply to linear perturbation steps:

Deactivating a boundary condition whose status is Propagated from base state

You can deactivate an object whose status is Propagated from base state; the object's status in the linear perturbation step changes to Deactivated from base state. The status Propagated from base state cannot be moved to other steps.

Reactivating a boundary condition whose status is Deactivated from base state

You can reactivate an object whose status is Deactivated from base state; the object's status in the linear perturbation step changes to Propagated from base state. The status Propagated from base state cannot be moved to other steps.

Objects whose status is Built into base state

The status Built into base state cannot be changed directly.

For information on linear perturbation steps, see General and linear perturbation procedures, Section 6.1.2 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual.

For information on the propagating behavior of output requests from general and linear perturbation analysis steps, see Propagation of output requests, Section 14.4.3.

You can use the Model Tree to view the status of a step-dependent object, to edit the object, and to deactivate and reactivate the object. However, you must use the step-dependent manager to modify the history of an object by moving it right or left in the sequence of steps. For more information, see An overview of the Model Tree, Section 3.5.1.


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