Many dialog boxes in CIP RC/PT Girder contain one or more grids for entering tabular data. Most grids share common behavior, which will be discussed in this section.

The number of columns, their titles, and content type of cells are predefined by the context of the specific dialog box. Generally, your problem data dictates the number of rows in a table as well as the actual data values for the appropriate cells of each row. You interact with a grid by adding and deleting rows in the table, as well as editing values in the cells of the table.

The top row of a table always contains the column headings and cannot be selected nor edited. All cells below the top row can be selected (though not necessarily edited). It is possible to select one cell or a range of cells. Use the SHIFT key on your keyboard in conjunction with the left button on your mouse or the arrow keys to select a contiguous block of cells. Use the CTRL key on your keyboard with the left button on your mouse to add or subtract individual cells to or from a range. Cell ranges can be copied to the Clipboard and pasted into other applications such as Microsoft® Excel®. Text can also be pasted from the clipboard into the grid cells.

Cells with gray backgrounds cannot be modified, but can be selected and copied. All other cells can be modified in some way, such as by entering a textual or numeric value, making a selection from a drop-down list, or by clicking a cell to choose between alternate settings or to activate an auxiliary dialog box to provide additional information.

A blue arrow in the left column of a table indicates the currently selected row. Clicking anywhere in a row makes it active. Right clicking in the first column opens a pop-up menu that lets you add or delete rows in the table. In addition, most dialog boxes provide buttons to add or delete rows from the grid table. Detailed information can be found in the discussion for each specific dialog box.