User guide
==========

The user guide is the conceptual tour of femorph-solver.  Its spine is
the **three phases of FEA** — pre-process, solve, post-process.
That narrative holds whether you're running a single modal analysis
from a script or stitching together a non-trivial simulation pipeline.

Start with :doc:`three-phases` for a one-page primer on why this
structure, then dive into the phase that matches what you're doing.

.. grid:: 1 3 3 3
    :gutter: 3

    .. grid-item-card:: :octicon:`package;1.5em;sd-mr-1` Pre-processing
        :link: pre-processing/index
        :link-type: doc

        Build the model.  Load or author a mesh, assign element types,
        materials, real constants, and boundary conditions.

    .. grid-item-card:: :octicon:`gear;1.5em;sd-mr-1` Solving
        :link: solving/index
        :link-type: doc

        Run the analysis.  Choose a solver backend, then invoke static,
        modal, transient, or cyclic-symmetry routines.

    .. grid-item-card:: :octicon:`graph;1.5em;sd-mr-1` Post-processing
        :link: post-processing/index
        :link-type: doc

        Inspect results.  Reach into :class:`ModalResult` /
        :class:`StaticResult` / :class:`TransientResult`, recover
        strain / stress, export or plot with pyvista.

Supporting topics:

- :doc:`pre-processing/elements/index` — reference pages for every
  registered element, with formulation references and KEYOPT tables.
- :doc:`mapdl-compatibility` — what carries over from an MAPDL deck,
  where the boundaries are.

.. toctree::
    :hidden:
    :maxdepth: 2

    three-phases
    pre-processing/index
    solving/index
    post-processing/index
    mapdl-compatibility

.. only:: full_gallery

    .. toctree::
        :hidden:
        :maxdepth: 1

        comparisons