Settings

The Application Settings dialog box is invoked by the Settings button of the main window or from the respective menu.

It can be invoked at any moment when working with the program. It is used to customize general parameters of the program. The dialog contains the following tabs:

Each tab opens a page where you can adjust certain types of settings.

The Sections tab enables you to browse a list of steel profile catalogues available in the application database and select some (or all) of them for further use. There is a checkbox next to each group of catalogues. If the checkbox is not checked, the respective group of catalogues will not be available in the application. Catalogues can be arranged in any convenient order (the same order will be used in the lists or the dialog boxes for the profile selection). To move an item, drag it while holding down the right mouse button.

The Units of Measurement tab enables you to define units of measurement used in the analysis. It contains two groups of data.

The first group is used to specify measurement units of linear sizes, forces, moments etc.

For compound units (such as those of moment, pressure etc.), there is a possibility to define their component units (such as those for force and for moment arm) separately using the button .

The second group helps to choose a representation and precision of numerical data. Special controls are used here to select data representation formats. Make sure to specify the number of significant digits in either the fixed-point decimal representation or the floating-point scientific notation.

The precision of the data representation (the number of significant digits after the decimal point) can be assigned using the image\ebx_-359231545.gif (decrease) and image\ebx_-359231545.gif (increase) buttons, while the scientific notation is turned on by the button image\ebx_-359231545.gif. You can also specify in respective text fields which values should be treated as negligibly small, so that all absolute values less than the given ones will be displayed as 0 in all visualizations.

The Report and Languages tab enables you to choose a language for the user interface and for the report.

There are two modes for working with a report document: View/Edit or Print.

In the View/Edit mode, clicking the Report button in any active dialog will open the report and allow you to view/edit it. An application associated with RTF (Rich Text Format) files (such as MS Word Pad or MS Word) will be invoked to serve this purpose.

Obviously, it is the user who is fully responsible for any changes made to the text of the report (note that even the results of the calculation can be edited).

There are difference in RTF formats used by MS Word v.7, MS Word 97 (2000/XP) and Open Office. Therefore, the program allows you to choose one of the formats in the Type of Report mode (besides RTF a report can be created in the following formats DOC, PDF, HTML). Clicking the Print button in the Report group will print the report in the form it has been generated by the program.

Use the Titles text field to specify an RTF file containing headers and footers for pages of the report document. The file can be selected from a standard list by clicking the button .

The Paper Size setting enables you to choose the paper format for printing the report (the size is selected from a drop-down list). Moreover, the margins and the page orientation can be selected before generating the report.

Report Font is used to choose a font type for the report. A double left click invokes a standard Windows dialog for selecting the font. Only the selected font type will be used in the generated reports (style and size are assigned by the software).

 

 

The Visualization tab is used to choose a font for the user interface and for the report. A double left click invokes a standard Windows dialog for selecting the font.

The General tab allows you to activate the Hide window when minimized checkbox. When it is checked the window disappears from the task bar, and an icon appears in the tray area. The window can be opened from the tray area by the left click, and a context menu – by the right click.

Moreover, the Check for a new version at startup of the program checkbox can be activated as well. If it is active, the program will check for a new version on the company website at each startup, and it will give a respective message if it finds a new release. 

When the analysis and design are performed according to EN 1993-1-1:2005 and EN 1993-1-8:2005, the Application Settings dialog box contains two more tabs National Regulations (EC-2, EC-3).

The National Regulations (EC-2, ЕС-3) tabs enable to select the partial safety factors in compliance with EN 1993-1-1:2005 and EN 1993-1-8:2005 or in compliance with the National Annexes to Eurocode (NAD — National Accommodation Documents). If the coefficients are assigned in compliance with EN 1993-1-1, then the row with the EU flag (selected by default) should be selected from the drop-down list. If you want to use the National Annexes, select the row with a flag of the respective state. The numerical values of the respective partial safety factors will be displayed in the text fields.

If the Other item is selected in the list, it becomes possible to enter explicit values for the factors. Thus you can use the application for custom, nonstandard situations, and also when any modifications are made in NAD.

 

The UI tab enables to set scales for various user interface elements:

The settings provided in this tab are intended primarily for users with HiDPI displays.

 

Settings can be saved to an external file using the Save button, which can be subsequently loaded (the Load button).