How to Use the “Model Options” Tool in

MiTek to Increase Productivity

Today we’re going to look at the Model Options tool in MiTek Sapphire. Utilizing this
incredible tool is certain to enhance productivity on designs that—in this case—share
the same wall layout but have different roof elevations. There are many varied uses for
this tool that are worth exploring so don’t consider this article an exhaustive treatment of
the tool. It is more of a “get to know” type article and in future articles we will dig a bit
deeper.

Utilization of this tool will allow a component designer to:

 Remove redundant effort in structure and engineering

 Allow labeling across different model options to avoid discrepancies
 Allow for quick adjustment of walls, planes, etc. while maintaining a uniform
design cohesiveness
 Allow the base model, options, and truss .TRE files to share the same folder

Instructions on the use of the Model Options tool

This tool normally sits unused in the job tree. If you click on the job tree in MiTek and
scan down the list you will see a line that reads “Options (Active: Base Model)”.

We will use the job tree for the creation of options and navigating between the options.
Base model is what it sounds like. It is your benchmark or template from which your
“options” will be created. Because you are making copies from the base model make
sure you do as much of the legwork as you can with it so that you avoid replicating effort
later on.

Here is our base model designed and labeled:

Creating different elevations in the same job

After the base model is fully designed and engineered, right-click on the “Options
(Active: base model)” and select “Add Option”. Name the option whatever is relevant for
quick reference. For this example, I will label it “Single Hip” in the properties.
Then I will repeat those exact same steps and create a second option labeled “Double
Hip”. These new options will then show the in the job tree. What I have told the program
to do is copy the base model 2 times, but to keep all the files in the same job folder.

To navigate between the options that were created and the base model, just double-
click on the title in the job tree. The model that’s text that is bold is the active model.
Right-click on the options for more functions.

Adjusting the base model layout to the unique elevations

When we double-click on “Single Hip” the first thing we notice is that the “Single Hip”
model is highlighted in blue. This signifies that it is unchanged from the base model.
I went ahead and made the modification to the model per the new elevation and after
changing the gable end into a stepdown hip condition, the blue highlighting isn’t on the
new trusses. You’ll notice the new hip trusses and jacks don’t have any labeling yet. I’ll
wait until I make changes to the other option to label them, as there may be similarities
or alike trusses that can be combined. In the next image you will see the differences.
Here is the 3D view that shows the same highlighting.
Next, repeat the same steps in the “Double Hip” model.

Labeling the trusses in the new elevations

After making all the changes to both options we are now ready to label the trusses. To
perform this task, select: Label Trusses>New>Label Across Options.

With proper configuration of your MiTek default settings, the labeling should continue in
sequential order. The key here is to plan ahead and think this process through. The
program will label the trusses in the order they are input into the layout. In this example,
the hip trusses picked up the “A” series labeling where the base model trusses left off.
As you can see, I put it in as a hip condition and the #1 hip setback girder was the first
placed on the layout. Notice that all the similar jacks were labeled the same. This is
especially useful once we get into engineering these jobs.

Engineering the trusses for the new elevations

Once we have verified out plans to ensure compliance and have double-checked
everything in 3D, it’s time to engineer. If we are satisfied that our designs are ready for
importing to engineering, we have a couple of additional steps that must be pointed out
that we do not normally have to take on a regular job.

First, we’ll right click on the base model in job properties and click “Solve Site Specific”.
This creates a new .mmdl file option in the same location as the base model. We will do
this step twice. One for each option.

Once this is complete, you are now ready to open these as new jobs.

All set!

From there navigating through the jobs will be exactly the same as you are used to
(tabs on the bottom left of your screen like normal). The only difference being is that
they now all share the same folder. This will allow your company to build the same
trusses from the same engineering seal for different model designs. This not only
reduces your cost, but it also increases your design productivity!
First we are going to import the trusses from our base model job. At the
“Import” Dialog window you are going to select “Basics”. In basics, you are
going to check the “Project” box. After selecting “Project” the “Manage” button
will appear. Click on that button.

This opens the “Project management” dialog:

You would normally have to play around with the arrows to figure out what
does what. The topmost and bottommost arrows will move the entire contents
of a column over to the other side. The middle arrows move only the
highlighted item over to the other side.
Click “OK” and you will see a slightly different look in engineering. Note the
dropdown menu on the top right corner of the truss list window. When we click
on the arrow we see four options. We have the folder where the job files are
located, then the three jobs that comprise of the base model (double gable),
the single hip, and the double hip. All models share the partial hip.

Before proceeding further, we are going to import the trusses for our other two
jobs. You will notice that when you “Create Trusses” from Sapphire and have
engineering open on another monitor, you can see that the dropdown menu
will automatically change to the job that you have selected. Once all the
trusses have been imported I can begin designing.

If we remember correctly, there is no A7 or A8 truss in the base model. Yet it

is listed here in the “folder” because the “folder” is picking up all the .TRE files
for all three job model options. I’m going to design all the trusses once in this
window. So instead of designing “A2” three times, I design it only once.

Now that we’ve designed the trusses, let’s look at each of the jobs to see how
they look. Pay attention to the quantities.

Base Model:
Single Hip:

Double Hip:

There you have it! We are ready to go! We hope you have enjoyed this brief
look at another useful tool in the MiTek Sapphire software suite.