BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ B E A M C O O K B O O K _____________________________ USER'S MANUAL Shareware Evaluation Version 1.0 (Chapters 7, 8, and 9) This manual is copyrighted 1994 by SoftEngineering - All Rights Are Reserved - BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ C H A P T E R 7 SETTING OPTIONS Beam Cookbook lets you view and change various default settings. You can change these settings temporarily or store them with the program so they're used from now on. The stored, or updated, settings remain in effect until you change them again. One option not discussed in this chapter is Screen; see "Setting the screen size" on page 18. THE OPTIONS MENU The Options menu contains commands that lead to other menus where options can be selected. +------------------------+ | Hardware | | Screen: 25 lines | | Preferences | | StartUp | +------------------------+ | Save Options | +------------------------+ Caution: F10|Options|Save Options also saves the file directory that is defined in F10|File|Change Directory. * Hardware lets you specify or change settings for your com- puter graphics card, printer, and the output device used for your printer connection. * Screen lets you specify whether Beam Cookbook displays text in 25 lines or 43/50 lines. See "Setting the screen size" on page 18. * Preferences lets you change Beam Cookbook to suit your needs. The options are divided into two sections, one that affects Beam Cookbook when you are using it and the other saves information when you leave Beam Cookbook. * StartUp lets you specify whether Beam Cookbook will use expanded memory to speed up window display and printing. 51 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ * Save Options stores the all option settings defined under the Options command and the current default directory de- fined under the File command. HARDWARE OPTIONS The Hardware menu contains the information about your system. You can use it to change settings for your graphics card, printer and output device. Choose F10|Options|Hardware to display Hardware menu. +-------------------------+ | Graphics: Autodetect > | | Printer: Epson 9pin > | | Mode: 60 x 72 dpi | | Device: LPT1 > | +-------------------------+ | OK | +-------------------------+ * Graphics: Autodect (shows current setting) lets you spec- ify information about your computers graphic card, over- riding Beam Cookbook's automatic graphics card detection. * Printer: Epson 9pin (shows current setting) lets you spec- ify the type, and mode of your printer. Once set, the printer is displayed on this line and the mode on the next line. * Mode: Text displays the printer mode (dpi or text) se- lected with the printer command above. * Device: LPT1 (shows current setting) displays a list of possible printer connections: DOS devices LPT1 and LPT2. You can also select a Disk File for text output. * Ok Lets return to the main menu bar. Press Esc to return to the previous menu. Once you've set the F10|Options|Hardware commands to reflect your system's configuration, press Esc to return to the Options menu and choose Save Options to make the settings permanent (see "Updating the system options" later in this chapter) Use caution when you choose F10|Options|Save Options; it saves many settings on many menus. See page 57 for details. 52 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ Graphics card options Beam Cookbook automatically detects one of the following types of graphic cards and loads a special file, called a driver file, that contains information about your graphics card: AT&T 400 Line IBM 3270 PC CGA IBM 8514/A EGA MCGA monochrome EGA VGA Hercules Normally, you don't have to change graphics card options because Beam Cookbook automatically chooses the best configuration for your system. If your using a nonstandard screen type, however, you might need to specify information about the graphics card with F10|Options|Hardware|Graphics. * Note: The IBM 8514/A defaults to the VGA emulated mode. You must change the setting yourself using the commands described below. Choose F10|Options|Hardware|Graphics: to display Graphics card menu. +-----------------------+ | A. Autodetect | | B. AT&T400lo 320x200 | | C. AT&T400med 640x200 | | D. AT&T400med 640x400 | | E. CGAlo 320x200 | | F. CGAhi 640x200 | | G. EGAlo 640x200 | | H. EGAhi 640x350 | | I. EGAmono 640x350 | | J. HercMono 720x348 | | K. IBM8514lo 640x480 | | L. IBM8514hi 1024x768 | | M. MCGAlo 320x200 | | N. MCGAmed 640x200 | | O. MCGAhi 640x480 | | P. PC3270 750x350 | | Q. VGAlo 640x200 | | R. VGAmed 640x350 | | S. VGAhi 640x480 | +-----------------------+ This menu lets you choose the graphics card driver and screen resolution with one selection. 53 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ When you've specified information about your graphics, press Esc to return to the Options menu and choose Save Options. This stores the information for future use. Warning!! If you select a graphis card your system does not sup- port, your system may hang when executing a graphic command. Defining the printer Choose F10|Options|Hardware|Printer: to display Printer menu. +---------------------------------+ | A. All Laser Jets > | | B. HP DeskJet > | | C. Epson FX > |-------+ | D. Epson LQ > | | | E. Epson MX > | | | F. Epson compatible 9pin > | | | G. Epson compatible 24pin > | | | H. Generic Printer (TEXT ONLY) | | +---------------------------------+ | | +-Graphics Mode-+ | 60 x 72 dpi | | 120 x 216 dpi | | 240 x 216 dpi | +---------------+ To change your printer specifications, 1. Choose the printer. 2. Choose the mode of your printer. The printer and mode selections are displayed in the Options menu. The Generic Printer option only prints text. This option is useful when output is to a disk file because there are no printer codes. If you want to write text to a disk file select Generic printer, press Esc to return to the Options menu and choose Device and then choose Disk file. When you've specified information about your printer, press Esc to return to the Options menu and choose Save Options. This stores the information for future use. 54 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ Defining the (printer) Device Choose this command to specify the port that is connected to your printer. Your can choose one of the DOS devices LPT1 or LPT2. You can also choose Disk File to write the printer output to a disk file. If you choose Disk File Beam Cookbook asks you to name of the file each time you print. (To write a text file to disk see Generic Printer on page 54.) Choose F10|Options|Hardware|Device: to display the Device menu. +-----------+ | LPT1 | | LPT2 | | Disk.File | +-----------+ The device selection is displayed in the Options menu. When you've specified information about your printer, press Esc to return to the Options menu and choose Save Options. This stores the information for future use. PREFERENCES OPTIONS The F10|Options|Preferences command lets you make settings that lets you tailor Beam Cookbook to suit your needs. Here's what the Preference menu looks like. +--------------------------+ | Auto Save: | | Configuration File Yes | | File Directory Yes | | Window Positions Yes | +--------------------------+ | Create Backup File Yes | | Auto Close Windows No | +--------------------------+ | OK | +--------------------------+ * Auto Save: Configuration File is a Yes/No toggle. If this option is set to yes, all the settings you made in this session will be saved automatically into a BEAMCKBK.CFG file when you exit Beam Cookbook. Press Space Bar, +, -, or click left to toggle. The default value is "Yes". The options that are saved (all items under Options) are : 55 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ Graphics Card Screen Mode Printer Type Printer Mode Device Use EMS Config File File Directory Backup File Window Positions Auto Window Close * Auto Save: File Directory is a Yes/No toggle. If this op- tion is set to yes, the current default drive and direc- tory will be saved automatically when you exit Beam Cook- book. Press Space Bar, +, -, or click left to toggle. The default value is "Yes". * Auto Save: Window Positions is a Yes/No toggle. If this option is set to yes, the current window positions and sizes (both zoomed and unzoomed) will be saved automati- cally when you exit Beam Cookbook. Press Space Bar, +, -, or click left to toggle. The default value is "Yes". * Create Backup File is a Yes/No toggle. If this option is set to yes, a backup of the current beam problem file when you choose File|Save and gives the backup file the exte n- sion .BAK. Press Space Bar, +, -, or click left to tog- gle. The default value is "Yes". * Auto Close Window is a Yes/No toggle. If this option is set to yes, the active window will be closed automati- cally when you select or open a window. Use this option if you are low on memory. Press Space Bar, +, -, or click left to toggle. The default value is "No". * Ok Use this command to return to the main menu bar. Press Enter or click left. To return to the last menu press Esc or click right. STARTUP OPTIONS The F10|Options|StartUp command lets you make settings that can used when you start Beam Cookbook. Here's what the Startup menu looks like. 56 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ +----------------------------------+ | Use Expanded Memory No | | Monitor Video Mode: Default > | -------+ +----------------------------------+ | | OK | | +----------------------------------+ | | +------------+ | Default | | Color | | Monochrome | +------------+ * Use Expanded Memory: is a Yes/No toggle. If this option is set to yes, Beam Cookbooks peformance will improve the next time load the program (overlaid code is placed in ex- panded memory at startup). This will also improve print- ing reports that contain beam and diagramgraphics. A minimum of 260K is required. Press Space Bar, +, -, or click left to toggle. The default value is "No" * Monitor Video Mode: Use this command to set the display type of your monitor. The normal setting is the Default mode. The Monochome mode is use to improve the monitor display if you have a color graphics card and monochrome monitor. The Color mode is used if have a color graphics card and a color monitor but the display is black and white. The default value is "Default". You must make these changes permanent. Go to F10|Options| Save Options, unless Auto Save: Configuration File is set to yes. SAVE OPTIONS The F10|Options|Save Options command saves all options set under using the option menus in a configuration file named BEAMCKBK.CFG. At startup, Beam Cookbook searches in the directory where BEAMCKBK.EXE was loaded; if it can't fine this file, Beam Cook- book will use it's own internal defaults. If this file cannot be found Beam Cookbook will automatically create it. 57 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ C H A P T E R 8 WORKING WITH BEAM FILES Beam Cookbook stores the information you enter in a beam problem in system memory, called RAM (random access memory). However, RAM is temporary. When you turn off the computer or exit Beam Cookbook, or there is a power outage, all data stored in RAM is erased. In order to use a beam problem again at a later time, you must save it on either a floppy or hard disk. Each beam problem you save is stored in a file with a unique name. Once you've saved a beam file, you can access it at any time by loading it using the "Open" command. This chapter described how to * load a beam file * save a beam file * change the default directory where Beam Cookbook stores beam files. * create a beam problem template, that you can use as a foundation for creating new beam problems. THE FILE MENU You can access all file functions with the F10|File command, which brings up a menu with the following commands: +------------------+ | Open F3 | | New | | Save F2 | | Save As | +------------------+ | Change Directory | | Get System Info | +------------------+ |Exit Alt-X | +------------------+ * Open opens an existing beam file. If your current beam problem contains data that you haven't saved, Beam Cook- book asks if you want to save the file first. 58 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ * New opens a new beam file. If your current beam problem contains data that you haven't saved, Beam Cookbook asks if you want to save the file first. * Save lets you save the current beam file, using the exist- ing file name. * Save As saves the current beam file under a different file name. * Change Directory lets you change the default directory. * Get System Info display information about your system. Exit removes Beam Cookbook from memory and returns you to * DOS. If your beam problem contains data that you haven't saved, Beam Cookbook asks if you want to save the file first. This chapter covers all File menu commands except for two. Exit is discussed on page 19. Get System Info is discussed on page 21. ACCESSING FILES Once you have saved beam problem data in a file, you can redis- play it at any time by loading it into memory and displaying the data by using the input windows. The first two commands on the File menu let you load a file: * Open loads the file you specify. * New opens a new beam file. F3 is the shortcut for the F10|File|Open command. The following sections describe how these two options work. Opening a file The F10|File|Open command displays a simple input box for you to enter a file name or use DOS-style mask to get a list of files to choose from. Here is what the input box looks like. 59 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ +-------------------- Open File ---------------------+ | | +----------------------------------------------------+ | OK | +----------------------------------------------------+ The input box opens with the default mask '*.BCB'. Now you can do any of these actions: * Press Enter and display a list of beam files in the cu r- rent directory. * Type in a full file name This will load the file. * Type in a file name with wildcards. This will display a file list. The input box lets you enter a file name explicitly or enter a file name with standard DOS wildcards (* and ?) to filter the names displayed if the file list box. If you enter the entire name and press Enter or click on OK, Beam Cookbook opens it. (If you enter a file name that Beam Cookbook can't find an error message is displayed .) You can include the path if different than the default directory. If leave off the file extension Beam Cookbook will use '.BCB'. Using the File list box The File list box displays all file names in the current direc- tory (unless you specified a different directory in your wild- card) that match the specifications in the input box, display all drives, displays the parent directory, and displays all subdirectories. Here is what the File list box looks like. +------ C:\BEAM\*.BCB -------+ | [A:] file0002.bcb | | [B:] file0003.bcb | | [C:] file0004.bcb | | ..\ file0005.bcb | | \DIR_A file0006.bcb | | \DIR_B | +----------------------------+ Now you can perform the following actions: Keyboard: (two methods) 1. You can move around the file list by using then arrow keys, Home, End, PageUp, and PageDown. When your po- sitioned on the file name you want, press Enter to load Beam Cookbook file. 60 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ 2. You can move through the file list by using the first- letter selection. Pressing the B key, for example, takes you to the first file name starting with B (if there are no file names beginning with B, the cursor won't move). Press B again and you'll go to the next B file name starting with B, and so on. If you've ex- hausted the letter B, you're brought back to the first one. Holding down the Shift key and pressing takes you to the first subdirectory that begins with the letter B. When you're positioned on the file name you want, press Enter to load Beam Cookbook file. You can select a different directory or drive by pressing Enter when you're positioned on the one you want. Press Esc to exit File List without selecting a file. Mouse: You can move around the file list by clicking (left button) on the file you want. To select the file just click again. You can select a different directory or drive by the same method. To exit without selecting a file click on the close box or click using the right mouse button. If your beam problem contains data that you haven't saved, Beam Cookbook asks if you want to save the file first before opening the file you selected. OPENING A NEW FILE The F10|File|New command opens a new beam file with the default name 'NONAME.BCB'. This NONAME file is used as a temporary file; Beam Cookbook prompts you to rename the NONAME file when you save it. If your beam problem contains data that you haven't saved, Beam Cookbook asks if you want to save the file first before starting the New file. SAVING FILES There are two file commands you can use to save beam problem data files to disk: 61 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ * Save saves the current beam file under the current name. * Save As lets you assign a name to a beam problem and then save it, or save a beam problem under a different file name. F2 is the shortcut for the F10|File|Save command. If you haven't saved the beam problem before, or want to store it in a different file, use the Save As command: 1. Choose F10|File|Save As. Beam Cookbook prompts you for the file name. The current file and path name are used as the default. The default will be shown on the input line. If the current file is a new file ("NONAME.BCB") the input line is blank. Here is what the input box looks like. +------------------- Save File As -------------------+ | | +----------------------------------------------------+ | OK | +----------------------------------------------------+ 2. To use the default file name, press Enter, or click on OK. To use a different name, enter a new name, edit the existing name, or enter a path and /or file name using DOS wildcards, press Enter a get a list of files in the directory you specified. If you don't specify a file-name extension, Beam Cookbook adds the default extension .BCB. (If you specify a different exte n- sion, you'll have to include it each time you are prompted for a file name.) If you don't specify a path the default directory is used. If the line is blank the default directory is used and the file-name is *.BCB is used. 3. If the file name already exists, Beam Cookbook dis- plays an overwrite warning message. +---------- Verify ---------+ | | | C:\BEAM\PROB_001.BCB File | | exists Overwrite it? | | | | [Yes] [ No ] [Cancel] | | | +---------------------------+ 4. Choose the option you want: 62 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ * Yes overwrites the existing file. * No or Cancel interrupts the command and returns you to the main menu; you can then save the beam problem under a dif- ferent name. Beam Cookbook saves the beam problem in the specified directory. The beam problem remains onscreen, and you can continue working on it. Assigning a file name File names can be up to eight characters long and consist of both letters and numbers. You can enter file names using either upper- or lowercase letters. Do not use spaces in a file. You can, however, use underscore character (_) to simulate spaces, for example, PROB_12. When you name a file, use a name that will help you remember what is in the file. If you share a disk with other people, it's a good idea to begin each of your file names with your ini- tials. This ensures that all your files will be displayed to- gether, since Beam Cookbook sorts them alphabetically. You can also use wildcards to display only your files; for example, RM*.* displays only files beginning with RM. Caution! If the name you give is more than eight characters long, Beam Cookbook truncates it. This will cause problems if the first eight characters of two file names are the same. For example BEAMPROB1 and BEAMPROB2 would be truncated to BEAMPROB, and sav- ing one would overwrite the other. It's best if you don't include an extension with the file name. Beam Cookbook then adds the default extension (.BCB) automati- cally and you don't have to include when you open the file later. OVERRIDING THE DEFAULT DIRECTORY The default directory is the disk drive and directory specified with F10|File|Change Directory command and saved with F10 |Options|Save Options command. When you use the file command, Beam Cookbook displays a list of files in the default directory. Unless you specify otherwise, Beam Cookbook files are saved in the default directory, and Beam Cookbook looks there when you choose F10|File|Open to open a file. 63 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ You can always override the default directory by specifying a different one when Beam Cookbook prompts you for a file name. You can also access a different directory with the F10|File|Change Directory command. When you specify a directory with F10|File|Change Directory, files in that directory are dis- played each time you initiate a File menu command. Beam Cookbook preserves the specified path name when you save the beam file. Beam Cookbook reverts to the default directory when when you save other beam files. This lets you access dif- ferent directories without having to reset the default directory or include a path name with the file names. The File list box described on page 60 lets you access different directories and drives. To change the default directory temporarily, 1. Choose F10|File|Change Directory. Beam Cookbook prompts for a directory path name and shows the cur- rent default directory path. +--------------- Enter.New.Directory ---------------+ | C:\BEAM | +----------------------------------------------------+ | OK | +----------------------------------------------------+ 2. Either edit the existing default, or enter a new path name for the directory you want. If the disk drive differs from the current directory, include the drive designation, too. If you leave the input blank (current drive) or key in a drive (drive letter only. 'C' or 'C:') and press Enter or click on OK, the Di- rectory Tree list will display. From this you can se- lect a new directory. (See "Using the Directory Tree list box" on page 64.) Beam Cookbook uses the new directory until you specify another one with F10|File|Change Directory, or exit Beam Cookbook. You can always override the temporary directory by specifying a di- rectory when Beam Cookbook prompts you for a file name. You can make the temporary directory permanent with F10|Options|Save Options command (see page 57) or automatically when exiting Beam Cookbook (see File Directory on page 56). 64 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ Using the Directory Tree list box The Directory Tree list box displays all directories for a specified drive. This is where you point to (or move the cursor to) a directory name and choose the directory you want. Here is what the Directory Tree list box looks like. +-------------------+ | | | +--C:\ | | | | | |--+--DIR_A | | | | | | + +----DIR_B | | | | | | | +----DIR_C | | | | | | | +----DIR_D | | | | | +---DIR_B | | | +-------------------+ Now you can perform the following actions: Keyboard: You can move around the file list by using then arrow keys, Home, End, PageUp, and PageDown. When your positioned on the directory name you want, press Enter to load Beam Cook- book file or press Esc to exit. Mouse: You can move around the directory tree by clicking (left button) on the directory you want. To select the directory just click again. To exit without selecting a file click on the close box or click using the right mouse button. 65 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ C H A P T E R 9 ADVANCED COMMANDS Advanced commands are used to change input data without deleting and/or reentering data. The main reason for these commands is to analyze different cases using the same basic beam configura- tion. This chapter describes how to * activate or deactivate complete input window entries * activate or deactivate a single entry * using activate/deactivate complete input window entries with activate/deactivte single entries. PRIMARY ACTIVATE AND DEACTIVATE COMMANDS The primary commands are initiated by pressing the Alt-D keys to deactivate or by pressing the Alt-A keys to activate. These commands will deactivate/activate all inputs in the active win- dow. This is referred to as the primary status of an input field. The default primary status for all input fields is ac- tive. This command can be used on following input windows: * Beam Configuration (can only be used in the variable I section when moment of inertia type is set to variable I) * Supports * Concentrated Loads * Moments * Uniform Loads * Ramp Loads * Hinges * Moment Connectors See the section "Using both primary and secondary commands" on page 67. 66 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0 ________________________________________________________________ SECONDARY ACTIVATE AND DEACTIVATE COMMAND If the input field is active it will deactivate it. If the i n- put field is deactive it will active it. This is referred to as the secondary status of an input field. The default secondary status for all input fields is active. This command will toggle the secondary status from active to deactive or deactive to ac- tive. This command has a different purpose if the primary status is deactive (See the section "Using both primary and sec- ondary commands" on page 67). This command can be used on fol- lowing input windows: * Beam Configuration (can only be used in the variable I section when moment of inertia type is set to variable I) * Supports * Concentrated Loads * Moments * Uniform Loads * Ramp Loads * Hinges * Moment Connectors USING BOTH PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COMMANDS Each input field has two statuses, primary and secondary. Both statuses must be active for the input to be used. The primary activate (Alt-A) and primary deactivate (Alt-A) com- mands will only change the primary status. These commands will not change the secondary status. The secondary command (F4) has two purposes depending on the primary status. If the primary status is active, this command will toggle the secondary status. If the primary status is de- active, this will change the primary status to active. An example for using both commands is when you want delete 20 out of 25 concentrated loads. You would first use the Alt-D command which would deactivate all the loads. Then use the F4 command on the 5 loads you want active. 67