The SAP2000 aerial view is a small window that can float over the main SAP2000 window. If the main window is not fully maximized, the aerial view can float outside the main window.
Switch the aerial view on or off using the Options menu > Show Aerial View command. The aerial view displays a full view of the active display window’s drawing in a separate window. Each time the model is edited, the aerial view is updated. Use the aerial view as follows
Draw a bounding box in the aerial view window to quickly zoom into any area of the model. To draw the bounding box, put the mouse pointer on the aerial view at one corner of the box, click the left mouse button and hold it down while dragging the mouse to the diagonally opposite corner; release the mouse button. As the mouse is dragged, the outline of the bounding box will display on the aerial view.
To display another area of the model, move the bounding box. To move the bounding box (a) click the right mouse button inside the bounding box in the aerial view, (b) hold down the mouse button, (c) drag the bounding box to a new location and (d) release the mouse button. The display in the active window will update accordingly.
In some instances, after the bounding box has been drawn, its shape will change. This occurs because the aspect ratio of the bounding box is automatically adjusted to match the aspect ratio of the active display window. When changing the aspect ratio of the bounding box to match that of the active window, SAP2000 always maintains the longer dimension of the bounding box. It only changes the shorter dimension.
The aerial view can also be used to help determine which part of the model is displayed with "increased zoomed." For example, if the active window shows a small area of story level 4 using an "increased zoom," the aerial view will show the full view of story level 4 with a bounding box that indicates the location of the small area relative to the overall model.
The bounding box shown in the aerial view will move as the view in the active window is panned. To pan the view in the active window, (a) click the View menu > Pan command or the Pan button, (b) left click in the display window and hold down the mouse button; (c) drag the mouse to move the view.
Left clicking once in the aerial view restores the full view to the active window.