\page merging_elements_page Merging Elements
-\n This functionality allows to merge coincident elements of a mesh
-selectable in the dialog box.
+\n This functionality allows to merge coincident elements of a
+mesh. Two elements are considered coincident if they are based on the
+same set of nodes.
-\image html mergeelems.png
+\image html mergeelems_ico.png "Merge elements menu button"
+To merge elements choose in the main menu \b Modification -> \b Transformation
+-> <b>Merge elements</b> item. The following dialog box shall
+appear:
+
+\image html mergeelems_auto.png
+
+In this dialog:
<ul>
-<li>\b Name is the name of the mesh whose elements will be merged.</li>
-<li>\b Tolerance is a maximum distance between elements sufficient for
-merging.
-<ul>
-<li>\b Detect button generates the list of coincident elements for the given
-\b Tolerance.</li>
-</ul>
-</li>
-<li><b>Coincident elements</b> is a list of groupes of elements for
-merging. All elements of each group will form one after the operation.
+ <li>\b Name is the name of the mesh object whose elements will be
+ merged.</li>
+ <li>\b Automatic or \b Manual Mode allows choosing how the elements
+ are processed. In the \b Automatic Mode all elements created on
+ the same nodes will be merged. In \b Manual mode you can adjust
+ groups of coincident elements detected by the program.
+
+ If the \b Manual Mode is selected, additional controls are
+ available:
+
+\image html mergeelems.png
+<br>
<ul>
-<li>\b Remove button deletes the selected group from the list.</li>
-<li>\b Add button adds to the list a group of elements selected in the
-viewer with pressed "Shift" key.</li>
-<li><b>Select all</b> checkbox selects all groups.</li>
+ <li>\b Detect button generates the list of coincident elements found
+ in the selected object.</li>
+ <li><b>Coincident elements</b> is a list of groups of elements for
+ merging. After the operation all elements of each group will
+ be united into one element. The first element of a group is kept and
+ the others are removed.
+ <li>\b Remove button deletes the selected group from the list.</li>
+ <li>\b Add button adds to the list a group of elements selected in the
+ viewer with pressed "Shift" key.</li>
+ <li><b>Select all</b> check-box selects all groups.</li>
+ <li><b>Show double elements IDs</b> check-box shows/hides identifiers of
+ elements of the selected groups in the 3D viewer.</li>
+ <li><b>Edit selected group of coincident elements</b> list allows
+ editing the selected group:
+ <br><br>
+ \image html add.png
+ <center>adds to the group the elements selected in the viewer.</center>
+ <br>
+ \image html remove.png
+ <center>removes the selected elements from the group.</center>
+ <br>
+ \image html sort.png
+ <center>moves the selected element to the first position in the
+ group in order to keep it in the mesh.</center>
+ <br>
+ </li>
</ul>
-</li>
-<li><b>Edit selected group</b> list allows editing the selected
-group:
-<br><br>
-\image html add.gif
-<center>adds to the group the element selected in the viewer.</center>
-<br>
-\image html remove.gif
-<center>removes from the group the selected element.</center>
-<br>
-\image html sort.gif
-<center>moves the selected element to the first position in the
-group. This means that all other elements will be merged into this
-one.</center><br>
-</li>
+ <li>To confirm your choice click \b Apply or <b>Apply and Close</b> button.</li>
</ul>
-</li>
-<li>To confirm your choice click \b OK or \b Apply button.</li>
-</ol>
In this picture you see a triangle which coincides with one of the
elements of the mesh. After we apply <b>Merge Elements</b> functionality, the
\image html meshtrianglemergeelem1.png
-<br><b>See Also</b> a sample TUI Script of a
-\ref tui_merging_elements "Merge Elements" operation.
+<br><b>See Also</b> a sample TUI Script of a
+\ref tui_merging_elements "Merge Elements" operation.
*/
