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Menu bar

The menu bar holds file operations and exports, report generation, the unit system, shortcuts to the tool tabs, the material library, and help.

File Menu​

  • Reset to Default: Returns the Catheter Setup wizard to the default design. Not available while a model build is in progress.
  • Load Config: Opens a file dialog to load a catheter design from a .json file. The configuration is applied and the model is rebuilt.
  • Save Config: Saves the current parameters from the Catheter Setup tab to a .json file.
  • Set Config as Default: Makes the current design the one VirtuCath opens with. Requires a built model.
  • Restore Factory Default: Discards your saved default and restores the one VirtuCath shipped with.
  • Export:
    • 3D Viewer Image: Saves the current 3D viewport as a PNG or JPEG image.
    • Export Physics Simulation Spec (JSON): Writes the per-section reduced physics properties (EI, GJ, EA, OD, linear density) as a versioned JSON file, for driving another solver. See Physics simulation spec.
    • Simulation Run Log (CSV): Exports the logged simulation history as a single .csv file.
  • Exit: Closes the application.
The deflected shape is exported from the Steering Simulation tab

Deflected Catheter Shape (STL) is not in this menu. It is an artefact of a steering run rather than of the built model, so it lives on the Steering Simulation tab's own Export button, alongside the 3D viewer image and the run log. The physics-spec export stays here, because it describes the model whether or not anything was ever steered.

Report Menu​

  • Generate Report...: Opens the report dialog, where you tick which parts of your work to include (the design summary, the static analysis, and any tool runs you have done) and write them to a single PDF or Excel document. Also available from the Report... button at the right-hand end of the tab bar. See Reports. (View Sample Report)

Units Menu​

  • Use Metric Units: Sets all relevant UI displays, controls, and plot axes to metric units (mm, N).
  • Use Imperial Units: Sets all relevant UI displays, controls, and plot axes to imperial units (in, lbf).

Tools​

Each tool is a tab in the main window; these menu entries are shortcuts that bring the tool's tab forward. Nothing here opens a separate window. They are listed in tab order:

  • Kink Radius: 2D stepped bend of one cross-section: where the wall ovalizes, the lumen closes, and each layer takes a permanent set. Requires a built model. (see Kink Radius)
  • Design Sweep: Runs virtual Design of Experiments (DOE) studies and plots the response surface. Requires a built model. (see Design Sweep)
  • Pushability: 2D push test of the free distal length: how much force the tip can deliver before the shaft buckles, under the end conditions, vessel support, and friction you choose. Requires a built model. (see Pushability)
  • Reflow Calculator: Evaluates the radial stackup and manufacturing feasibility of your design. Requires a built model. (see Reflow Calculator)
  • Braid Transfer Calculator: Predicts how a spool-wound braid changes when stretched down onto a catheter shaft, or solves the spool PPI required to hit a target braid after transfer. Works with or without a built model. (see Braid Transfer Calculator)

Materials Menu​

  • Manage Material Library...: Opens the material manager dialog, for customizing existing materials or adding new ones. (see Materials Library)
  • Create Custom Blend...: Opens the polymer blending utility, for building custom blends and mass-loaded extrusions (such as radiopaque-loaded polymers) from existing library materials.

Help Menu​

  • Manual: Opens the hosted VirtuCath™ documentation site in your default browser.
  • Check for Updates...: Checks the VirtuCath servers for a newer version and offers to install it. It keeps working in Unlicensed Mode, so an unlicensed installation can always move to the newest version.
  • Show Guided Tour: Replays the welcome orientation for the Catheter Setup wizard. A small popup makes four stops (what VirtuCath does and the design → Build → results loop, the wizard's step rail, the Load Config from File... button in the wizard footer, and the Next / Build button that finishes the wizard), ringing each one as it goes. It covers the wizard only: that is the one place whose starting point a tab label cannot tell you. The orientation runs automatically the first time you launch VirtuCath. It is not modal, so nothing is dimmed or blocked and you can keep working while it is open. Close it any time with the × in the popup's corner, and tick Don't show this again (offered on the first and last steps) to stop it reappearing. Opening it from this menu replays it even if you previously opted out: finishing with the box un-ticked re-enables it.
  • Report a Problem...: Opens the bug-report dialog. Enter a description of what went wrong and, optionally, your email; choose whether to include recent session logs and the current catheter configuration; then either save the diagnostic bundle locally or send it directly to VirtuCath support. License keys and hardware IDs are redacted automatically. On enterprise deployments, catheter-configuration inclusion defaults to off, to avoid sending engineering IP outside the corporate network.
  • License Info / Activate License: The label depends on the current license state. While on a trial it reads Activate License and opens the Activation dialog. Once an active license is installed it reads License Info and opens the License Information dialog, which shows license type, status, expiry, remaining days, the masked license key, and the hardware ID, plus a button to release the license if you need to transfer your seat to another workstation.
  • Change License: Forces the Activation dialog open even when a license is already installed, so you can overwrite the existing key or submit an offline-mode activation request.
  • About: Displays the current software version, deployment mode (standard or enterprise), the End User License Agreement (EULA), and mandatory third-party software notices.