Thanks for that Roland,
I think we probably do most of that
Constraint reactions measures (moments and forces) are applied every time as part of a model build; I don't know why these are part of the natural output. Who wouldn't want to check these?
... and I think I had a bit a moan on this forum about the functionality gap you mention.
I didn't know about the SPR and I will look at that.
I've not tried the rigid link method you describe and I will play with that. The default method here tends to use weighted links to ground springs with measures.
I'm not a great fan of inertia relief. When there are intentional inertial loads applied I use mass properties and a spreadsheet to determine the additional components to total global.
So for my 15 loadsteps I do have constraint moments/force reactions and 'balancing spring' components and the loads I have input. I therefore have a load balance in my spreadsheet for each step.
It's always good to see if my expectation matches the output of the software (even if it is only forces). If it doesn't then one of us is wrong.
bfn
Charles