The Stretch tool lets you stretch all or part of your model.
After selecting the nodes, members or plates to be stretched, right-click and select "Stretch" from the menu that appears. You should then pick an anchor point, plus two points that represent the ends of a vector through which the items are to be stretched.
Each selected item is then moved parallel to the stretch vector by an
amount that is proportional to its distance from the anchor point. The
distance by which a point is moved parallel to the stretch vector is given
by:
where D is the distance moved,
Lv is the length of the stretch
vector, Dn is the distance from
the node to the anchor point in the direction of the stretch vector, and
Dv is the distance from the start
of the stretch vector to the anchor point in the direction of the stretch
vector.
Don't forget that when drawing in the renderer, you can attach to other nodes or members, or you can "lock on" to a node or member and then align with an orthogonal line or an extension line from the "locked on" node or member. You can also align with one of the three global axes. For more information, refer to Attachment and alignment methods. Remember also that when drawing, you can use the mouse or you can simply type in the coordinates of the desired point(s). For more information, refer to "Positioning points using the keyboard".