Introduction

The STAAD.Pro graphical user interface (GUI) is normally used to create all input specifications and all output reports and displays. These structural modeling and analysis input specifications are stored in STAAD input file – a text file with extension, .STD. When the GUI opens an existing model file, it reads all of the information necessary from the STAAD input file. You may edit or create this STAAD input file and then the GUI and the analysis engine will both reflect the changes.

The STAAD input file is processed by the STAAD analysis "engine" to produce results that are stored in several files (with file extensions such as ANL, BMD, TMH, etc.). The STAAD analysis text file (file extension .ANL) contains the printable output as created by the specifications in this manual. The other files contain the results (displacements, member/element forces, mode shapes, section forces/moments/displacements, etc.) that are used by the GUI in the post processing mode.