Appearance
Settings & preferences
Open File ▸ Settings (the ⚙ menu item) to set how CivilKit Studio displays numbers, which steel code it designs to, and how the model looks. Every preference is saved in your browser and re-applied automatically next time.
The dialog is split into five tabs - General, Display, Language, Solver and Experimental - covered in turn below. Each option lists its default in brackets.
Everything is per-browser
Preferences live in this browser only (nothing is sent to a server), and they persist across a refresh and between sessions. Reset to defaults (bottom left) puts every setting back to factory values; Done just closes the dialog.
General
The everyday choices: units, design code, decimals and the deflection limit.
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Units system | Switches the on-screen units between Metric (SI) - kN · mm · MPa - and Imperial / US - kip · in · ksi. The model is always stored in SI internally; this only changes how values are displayed. | Metric (SI) |
| Design region (default) | The steel design code used for member checks by default - see the table below. | Australia (AS 4100) |
| Number precision | How many decimal places results are shown to (1-5). | 3 |
| Deflection limit (SLS) | The span/deflection ratio the serviceability check is measured against. | L/250 |
Imperial is rolling out
The model and most calculations stay in SI today; imperial display is wired into the results tables, the section-property readout and the 3D contour legend, and is expanding to more tools. If a number still reads in SI somewhere, that area hasn't been converted yet. (verify - full imperial coverage is in progress)
The units chip at the bottom of the screen shows the active system. You can click it to flip between SI and Imperial without opening Settings - it's the same switch as the dropdown.
Design region & steel code
The design region sets which national steel code your members are checked to. It also points the section library at that country's catalogue, so (for example) a US job opens on US sections. See International steel and Design checks for what each code reports.
| Region | Steel code used |
|---|---|
| Australia | AS 4100 |
| New Zealand | AS/NZS 4100 |
| United States | AISC 360 |
| Europe | Eurocode 3 |
| United Kingdom | Eurocode 3 |
| Canada | AISC 360 (CSA S16 is not modelled) |
| Thailand | EIT 1015-57 / AISC 360 |
This is only the default
A single project can override the region in its title block, and that override travels with the model. The region you pick here is the fallback for new work. See Design checks ▸ Choosing your code region.
Deflection limit (SLS)
This is the span-to-deflection ratio the serviceability check in the results panel and the PDF report are measured against. Pick the value that suits the member and its finish:
- L/180 - cantilevers
- L/250 - general (default)
- L/300
- L/360 - brittle finishes
The chosen limit applies live in the design panel and the report, which always agree, and it persists across a refresh.
Display
How the 3D model looks when it opens.
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Default camera view | The orientation the model opens in - Isometric, Top, Front or Side. | Isometric |
| Default deformed scale | Where the deformed-shape slider starts (1-1000×). Exaggerates the bent shape so small movements are visible. | 100× |
| Theme | The viewport background - Dark or Light. | Dark |
Light/dark stays in sync
The View ▸ Light background toggle and this Theme setting are linked - flipping one updates the other, so your choice sticks.
A Grid & snap size option is shown here marked coming soon and is not yet available.
Language
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Language | The interface language, drawn from the available translations. | English |
Early access
Translations are early access and still rolling out across the interface, so parts of the UI may stay in English for now. The language choice is saved separately from the other settings, so Reset to defaults does not change it.
Solver
Advanced analysis options for the calculation engine.
These controls only switch on when the matching solver build is present in your copy of Studio; until then each is shown disabled with a pending note, so the list you see depends on your build. The currently scaffolded options are:
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Member evaluation points | How many stations along each member are sampled for the force diagrams (more points = smoother diagrams). | 11 |
| Smooth plate results | Averages plate stresses for smoother contour plots. | Off |
| Consistent mass matrix (modal) | Uses a consistent (rather than lumped) mass matrix for vibration/modal analysis. | Off |
| Building slenderness check (h/300) | After a static solve, checks the overall sway against the h/300 limit and reports it. | Off |
If a control is greyed out
A disabled option means that feature isn't in your current solver build yet - it will activate automatically once the build that supports it ships. You don't need to do anything.
Experimental
Pre-release tools and diagnostics, off by default. Turn them on to try them.
| Option | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Connection designer | Enables the in-progress steel connection designer - the Connections tab, layer and schedule/worksheet, plus IFC connection import/export. Pre-release. | Off |
| Show zoom distance | A debug readout in the status bar: the camera-to-orbit-pivot distance. Handy when fine-tuning zoom. | Off |
| Show centre distance | A debug readout in the status bar: the camera-to-model-centre distance. | Off |
Pre-release
Experimental features are still in development and may change or be incomplete. The debug readouts are diagnostic only and don't affect your model or results.