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…

Read More

Plates (2)

June 16, 2011

How to Model a Hole in a Plate

While RISA-3D (or RISA-2D) does not have an explicit tool to punch a hole...

Read More
May 24, 2011

How to Apply a Tapered Load to Plates in RISA-3D

It’s easy to apply tapered surface loads to plates in RISA-3D by stepping...

Read More
December 13, 2010

Rebar Design using the Internal Force Summation Tool in RISA-3D

When you have a plate model for a slab or wall in RISA-3D, the Internal...

Read More
July 29, 2010

How to Model a Semi-Rigid Diaphragm in Standalone RISA-3D

In standalone RISA-3D models (those not integrated from RISAFloor),...

Read More
July 28, 2010

How Do Plates Connect to Members?

In order to understand the interaction between plates and members it is...

Read More
June 14, 2010

How Do Plates Connect to Each Other?

To best understand how plates interact with each other you must first...

Read More

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Our monthly "Structural Moment" newsletter is the best way to keep up with RISA’s product updates, new releases, new features, training events, webinars and more...