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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Unbraced Lengths

March 25, 2015

How are Unbraced Lengths coordinated between RISAFloor and RISA-3D?

In a RISAFloor model the columns and beams can be assigned unbraced...

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December 03, 2014

What do the Unbraced Length commands Segment and Lbyy mean?

Aside from leaving an unbraced length blank or inputting a fixed distance,...

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November 19, 2014

What do the Unbraced Lengths represent?

Understanding unbraced lengths and how RISA software accounts for them is...

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November 12, 2014

How do Unbraced Lengths affect Analysis?

The axial compression and flexure strength of beams and columns is...

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June 01, 2011

How to Assign a Wood Roof Member’s Unbraced Length in RISAFloor

In RISAFloor, the beams are susceptible to two forms of buckling; Euler...

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April 20, 2010

How to Correctly Define Unbraced Lengths

There are four different values for Unbraced lengths in RISA-3D, RISA-2D...

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