Risa Tips & Tricks: How to Use Our Structural Analysis Software

August 19, 2026

The RISA License Difference: Built for How Engineering Teams Actually Work

RISA’s shared, cloud-based licensing model is designed to reduce software costs, eliminate administrative frustrations, and give engineers access to the tools they need when they need them. Unlike traditional named licenses, RISA licenses are shared across your team and not tied to a specific user. Shared licenses align with real world workflows and budgets. For firms evaluating different structural engineering software, shared vs. named software licenses directly impacts both cost and productivity. READY TO LEARN MORE? Explore RISA's Cloud Licensing Difference Reduce License Costs Without Limiting Access Most firms do not need a dedicated license for every engineer. With RISA’s shared license model, access is based on usage rather than user. Teams can operate efficiently with fewer shared licenses versus the named license alternative. For example, a senior engineer may only need periodic access to review another engineer’s model. With a named license system, they would require a full license despite the limited use. Over time, this leads to an underutilized tool and higher total costs. By contrast, shared licensing ensures that licenses aren’t sitting idle on one individual’s computer. Licenses can be accessed by multiple team members requiring fewer total licenses and lowering overall licensing costs. Eliminate Reassigning Delays…

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November 24, 2015

Making a Time History Animation Video

Time history analysis solves for normal analysis results (joint...

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November 19, 2015

Battered Retaining Wall Design

The batter dimensions can be set from Wall Footing Definitions:

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November 03, 2015

How to Investigate the Design Strip Results in RISAFoundation

In RISAFoundation, Design Strips are used to create regions in a slab for...

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September 16, 2015

How RISA-3D Calculates Member Deflection Ratios

After solving a model, you will see in the Member Deflections spreadsheet...

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May 20, 2015

How Do I Change the Slab Local Axes?

RISAFoundation has the ability to change the Local Axes for slabs. This is...

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May 13, 2015

Circular Pedestals on Spread Footings

Circular pedestals and posts can be added to spread footings in...

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April 22, 2015

Which Wall Footing Type Should I Use?

RISAFoundation has the ability to define different types of wall footings....

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March 20, 2015

Moving Load Point Load Generator now Available

A common question we get in tech support is “how can I verify my moving...

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August 27, 2014

What is a Rigid Link in RISA-3D?

A rigid link is a member element in RISA-3D that can be used for many...

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