A model can contain a sequence of analysis steps. When you create an object in a step, that object may or may not continue to be active in any of the following steps. The activity (or inactivity) of an object in any particular step is called its status in that step.
For example, Figure 1 shows the status of a load in a series of general static analysis steps.
The load in this example is created in Step 1; therefore, the status of the load in Step 1 is
Created. Since Step 1 is a general static step, the
load's magnitude is ramped up over the course of the step. If the load continues to be
active in Step 2, its status in Step 2 is Propagated
and its magnitude remains constant throughout that step. If you edit the load in Step 3,
its status in Step 3 becomes Modified and its magnitude
ramps to the new value over the course of the step. If the modified version of the load
continues to be active in Step 4, its status in Step 4 (as in Step 2) is
Propagated and the value is constant. If you deactivate
the load in Step 5, its status in Step 5 is Deactivated
and its magnitude ramps down to zero. The load remains deactivated in Step 6.