Graphical representation of forces do not follow the rules for vectors

[ZTThomasOberthanner]

Please have a look at the two snapshots. top one has a positive value for N (tension), bottom one has a negative value for N (compression).

Please note, that in the bottom picture the orientation of the vector is swapped but the value given is still negative. So if you apply the general rules of math (negative value means the orientation has to be swapped), the bottom vector is still representing a normal force pointing outwards => TENSION. This is really misleading, especially if you hand over your reports to people not familiar with idea statica.

So in my mind, there are two options:
A) swap the vector (like you do at the moment) BUT give a positive value (so in the bottom picture the arrow is pointing to the LEFT and has a value of +280)
B) not changing the vector orientation but give a negative value (so in the bottom picture the arrow is pointing to the RIGHT and has a value of -280)

Option A) is maybe a little more explicit and is for example used by Hilti in their profis tool:

I would prefer option A and the only thing what needed to be changed: please use only absolute values in the graphical representation of the values - both in the UI and in the reports.

What do you think?

[sonkaste1]

Hi @ZTThomasOberthanner,

Thank you for the feedback! I will forward it to the development team of Connection application.

Currently, the "force arrow" represents the real direction, and the numeric value is taken from the load effect table, including the sign. Exactly as you described. If you are interested in more details, you can look here: https://developer.ideastatica.com/docs/iom/iom_coordinate_systems.html

Best,
Štěpán