Structural Engineering Library Web Edition: Enercalc Engineering Software, Inc

Structural Engineering Library
WEB EDITION
Version 5.8
by Michael D. Brooks, P.E., S.E.
A product of
ENERCALC
Engineering Software, Inc.
ENERCALC Web Edition
©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.
All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without the
written permission of the publisher.
Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the
respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the author assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of information contained in this document
or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be
liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or
indirectly by this document.
Publisher
ENERCALC Engineering Software
Managing Editor
Michael D. Brooks, P.E., S.E.
ENERCALC Engineering Software
Post Office Box 188

Corona del Mar, CA 92625 USA
(949) 645-0151
(800) 424-2252
Sales: info@enercalc.com
Tech Support: support@enercalc.com
Web: www.enercalc.com
Version 5.8 User's Reference

First Printing
November 2003
Newport Beach, CA, USA
Contents I
Table of Contents
Foreword 1
Part I Welcome 3
Part II Introduction 6
1 How It All Works
................................................................................................................................... 6
2 Why a Internet...................................................................................................................................
based System? 8
Part III Setup 11

1 Web Version...................................................................................................................................
Connector - ECWEB.EXE 11
2 Connector Screens
................................................................................................................................... 13
3 Connector Error
...................................................................................................................................
Screens 18
4 System Administrator
...................................................................................................................................
Notes 19
Part IV A Worksession 21
1 Similarities &...................................................................................................................................
Differences 21
2 Using Files ................................................................................................................................... 23
3 Printing your...................................................................................................................................
Calculations 29
4 Specifying a ...................................................................................................................................
Title Block Logo 31
5 Speed & Performance
................................................................................................................................... 33
Index 0
I
1 Foreword
Foreword
This software system was designed and developed to give the practicing
Structural Engineer a tool to rapidly perform structural analysis and design
of building components.
The design philosophy has remained the same for the last 20
years......provide software that is a "fill-in'the-blanks" tool with instant
recalculation and review of the results.
We thank the thousands of engineers who have

purchased ENERCALC software over the last two
decades helping this software develop to where it is today.

Part
I
3 ENERCALC Web Edition
1 Welcome
Welcome! Because you are here you are curious about the possibilities of using
Microsoft Window's programs over the Internet.
Thank you for choosing to use ENERCALC's new WorkAnywhere Web Edition. This
software frees you from installation on your computers and instead allows you to run
the software from any Internet connected computer.
Using a simple "connector" program the complete Structural Engineering Library

Version 5.8 can be used.
There are many advantages of having a program that runs remotely....
· No Installation or Configuration.....download the startup program.

· Work anywhere you want to........with just an Internet connection.
· No need to shuffle files between computers........leave them on the server.
· No update & big fix install's..........the server is always up-to-date.
· No license monitors......................our servers monitor license limits.
· No relearning......uses the same Windows user interface you are used to!
All you do is download and run a small connector called "ECWEB.EXE". This Windows
program acts as the "front end" to the real software program that runs on our servers in
the ENERCALC datacenter. Over two dozen servers with high-speed switchgear and
massive database storage enables hundreds (it's designed for 1,500) simultaneous users

Welcome 4
worldwide.
Just press in the connector and in a brief moment the software will
appear looking just like you are used to seeing it. With each button-press, menu
selection, or window change you are communicating with your own separate executing
program on our servers.
Find a problem? No problem! Just let us know and when it's corrected every single user
worldwide now has the latest version at their fingertips! Need an enhancement? If it's
easy we can add it and you get to use it immediately.

Part
II
Introduction 6
2 Introduction
2.1 How It All Works
When you start using the Web Edition of ENERCALC's Structural

Engineering Library it will seen very simple and natural. The program is
operating just as it would if you had it installed on your computer. But
"beneath the hood" is some tremendous software technology that makes it
all happen. Here's a description of the what happens during a
worksession.
1. When you press [START] in the connection program a request is sent

to a main server to start a worksession. This server selects which of
the dozens of servers is the least used to give you maximum
performance.
2. The connection program contacts that particular server and requests a

to start a worksession. That server responds and says "Ok, I've got
you all set up. Please contact me again on port number such-and-such
and you can begin.
3 The connection program calls back on that port (which is always

between 8080 and 8150) and instructs the system to start a new copy
of the program especially for you.
4. The program starts and then you start seeing things! You will first see
the title screen, then the Project Manager will appears. What has
actually happened is that when the program starts on the server it
knows that there is a remote user. It sends the screen information to
you at your location and an identical copy is created.
5. As you start using the software at your location each button press,
typed character, menu selection, scroll of a list, or change of a tab is
sent as an instruction back to the server.
6. When the program on the server gets your activity it carries it out just
as if it had been done from a local keyboard or mouse. When the
program is done with whatever action was required of it (recalculating
the data, changing options, displaying another window, creating a
printout, etc.) that new look or data are sent you and displayed.
7. This process continues until you are finished. You will notice that it all
happens extremely fast. This is due in large part by the design.....only
the smallest possible chunks of data are exchanged to keep the
dataflow over the Internet as small as possible.

When you are finished and close the application both your connection program and the
server program are shut down. Your own private directory is maintained on our
servers and your project files will be there when you return.
Topology Diagram
Here is a diagram of the connections and equipment being used during your Web
Edition session....

Introduction 8
2.2 Why a Internet based System?
When software can be so easily installed on a desktop, portable, or server

why would you want a program that required an Internet connection to
run? Here are the main reasons:
Ease of deployment throughout an organization
For the small company with one or two employees you commonly see
these people working from home, the office, a clients office, on vacation,
or just about anywhere else. The traditional method is to load he software
on home, office, and laptop computers (making sure all the versions are
the same).
Internet based software removes the installation (and especially

update & upgrade distribution) by storing nothing on the computer.
Link to the ENERCALC web site and the connection program can be
launched and the software activated.
For a large company an IT department can be scurrying around installing

software on computers all over the office, linking them to a centralized
installation. All computers need to be configured and the license limit
managed.
Internet based software requires no installation and puts license management into
the hands of the provider.
Portability of the software
The user can start the software anywhere and always be using the most
up-to-date system. Keeping the user files on the server eliminates shuffling
storage media from computer to computer. The risk of moving a file in the
wrong direction and this erasing valuable work is eliminated. All you do is
start working...from anywhere!
Centralized storage of data for work by people at multiple locations
The ENERCALC Web Edition gives each license holder a unique and private
directory to store their project files. When the user enters their user
number and "PAC" (Product Activation Code) the server software allows
you use of your private directory. You can easily move project files to and
from your server directory so you can have your work available anywhere
and also keep backup copies anywhere.

No need to install updates
This is an important feature of Internet based software. The programs you

are using are actually stored in just one location at our datacenter. When
you start a worksession it is started using the master set of program files.
If there are any changes made to the software, whether they are repairs of
enhancements, just that one set of files needs to be updates. The most
up-to-date software version is immediately available to all users
worldwide.
No License Monitoring requirements
Our records indicate how many licenses your firm is entitled to use. Rather
than putting License Monitoring systems in place or throwing caution to
the window and doing multiple installs in violation of licensing our system
keeps track of the number of simultaneous sessions for each License
holder.

Part
III
3 Setup
3.1 Web Version Connector - ECWEB.EXE
The only piece of software that you will come into contact with is the
remote connection program called ECWEB.EXE. This file is about 400K
bytes in size (or 1/2 of an old style 3.5" diskette) and is downloaded
instantly with modern Internet connections.
After you link and launch the connection program you will see this screen....
Important : Your computer MUST HAVE a live Internet connection
The [START] button is your destination. Press it and you will instantly see
the small "Launching" message window that indicates the ENERCALC
datacenter is being accessed and your worksession is starting.
Use Auto Connect [x]
The Auto-Connect checkbox turns on and off the feature whereby the

Setup 12
connection program will automatically start your worksession after a

specified number of seconds. Use the [Settings] button to specify the
number of seconds to wait.
? .... Questions
The small blue question mark to the right of the [START] button will
display a screen with some brief but helpful hints.....
Option Buttons
Across the bottom of the screen you will see words that are actually
buttons. Please see the following section for an image and explanation of
each screen that is displayed.
The COLORS of the lettering have meaning. Blue displays other screens.
Green does something over the Internet. And Red simply stops the
program.

3.2 Connector Screens
All the screens that may be displayed by the connection program are described here.
Click on a link below to jump to the section of interest:
· Connection Screens
· Main Screen
· Registration Screen
· Display Screen
· Settings Screen
· Help System Access
· About Screen
Connection Screens
After pressing the [START] button you will see two screens flash by very
quickly....if you see them at all. These two screens inform you that the
program is acquiring the addressing information for our main datacenter.
This message appears when the main address of the ENERCALC

datacenter is being retrieved from an independent backup server. If for
any reasons addressing to our main servers changes or we have a
datacenter failure this enables us to reroute you to backup system.
After the address for the datacenter is obtained our main control server is
contacted and information is obtained:
· System is verified to be available.

· Program checks to see if a newer version of itself has been released.
· Any message to you, the user, are displayed.

Setup 14
Registration Screen
This screen is where you enter your registration information.
Note! The registration number is encrypted into the PAC (Product Activation
Code).
You must enter the correct "KW" number ending digits that match your
assigned
PAC code. If they don't match then the program works in "DEMO" mode.
The PAC is case sensitive....please enter the characters exactly as they are given to
you.
Display Screen
This screen allows you to choose the display size of the software on your
computer. We recommend using "Automatic Detection" which provides
the largest screen size by detecting your screen width & height.
We have that using 1024x768 size on screens which are 1280x1024 is better than a
full size display.

Settings Screen
This screen is used to specify the Server Connection information, Auto

Connect time, and Redisplay preference.

Setup 16
Temporary Drive/Folder
This is the location where temporary files received from the server are
placed. These files are large encrypted datastreams, screen graphics &
images, printout files while printing is in progress, and other small
items. These files are all erased almost immediately after used (in
fractions of a second).
Program & Server Information

Do not change this information without direction from ENERCALC. This
information is automatically obtained from an Internet location at
program startup.
Proxy Server Settings

This information may be set to allow access through a corporate proxy server.
Your company's I.T. department professional will know how to set these for you.
Auto Connect time

When the Use Auto Connect checkbox is set on the main screen it will
automatically issue a [START] button press after the number of seconds specified
here. The minimum delay time is 3 seconds.
Program Redisplay
Check this item when you wish this connection program to be redisplayed after
your worksession has ended.
Help System Access
Selecting this item displays the Web Help system you are now reading.
About Screen


Setup 18
3.3 Connector Error Screens
There are a number of internal error message that can be displayed when
certain conditions occur. The important message screen occurs when a
connection to the ENERCALC datacenter can not be made.
This would be to major Internet problems, contacting our servers precisely

when many other are (within microseconds), or when other communication
problems in the Internet path between us occur.
Just use [RETRY] when this occurs.

3.4 System Administrator Notes
Internet applications are by nature extremely complex, but fortunately with

the explosive growth of the Internet in the last 10 years the stability of
Internet communications is excellent.
Each customer must deal with communicating out of their immediate

surroundings to the main global Internet conduits. The biggest difficulty
occurs when the needs of corporate security conflict with the needs of a
program.
All internet communication uses "ports" to separate different typical uses

of data communication (also known as protocols).
· Port 80 is used for typical web pages being accessed with HTTP
protocol.
· Port 21 is used for file transfers using FTP protocol.
· Port 25 & 110 are used for email SMTP and POP.
There are thousands of ports available and an Internet standards committee and you can
read about them here:
http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers
The ENERCALC Web Edition connection program "ECWEB.EXE" uses ports

80 and 8080 through 8150. If you have a corporate firewall
infrastructure please alert your IT professional or system administrator that
these ports need to be opened.
If your firewall or router is capable of datastream "sniffing" the ENERCALC

Web Edition datastreams use HTTP protocol with a "User Agent" type set
to "clarionet".

Part
IV
4 A Worksession
4.1 Similarities & Differences
The ENERCALC Web Edition uses the exact same program code base as
the version that is installed on your fixed computer. The web deployment
system simple scans the screens and sends them to your remote location.
· The fonts, colors, layout, menus, graphics, and other items are all
identical to what you would see on your desktop.
· Printouts are identical....they are prepare on the server and sent to

your location as generic printer files. You simply select your printer
and go!
There are several difference that are mandatory because of the remote computing
environment...
· When using the software you can not minimize the screen unless
you are viewing only the main window that shows the menu. This is
because Internet applications are inherently not multi-threaded.
(What looks like one window to you is actually many that inter-
communicate).
· Using files is different. We have provided a "File Manager" that

allows you to transfer files to and from your private server based
folder. You can also create & remove folders, move files between
folders, and copy existing project files to create new filenames.
· The Help system is provided by a link to our on-line documentation.

All documentation for the Structural Engineering Library is located
at http://www.enercalc.com/sel_help
· To specify the logo to be used on your printouts you have a Logo

Manager that enables to you transfer logo graphic files from your
computer to the server.

A Worksession 22
· Every time you press a button, complete an entry, change a tab,

open or close and window, etc. the action it transmitted to the
server and a response received. When data communication is taking
place the Earth Globe logo in the upper-right corner of the
window....
an hourglass in either green or yellow will briefly appear.
· Yellow indicates that the program has sent and is

waiting for a response from the server.
· Green indicates that the response has been received

and is being processed. Green is only visible then a
window is being opened, a database is being refreshed,
or a complex graphic image is being updated.

4.2 Using Files
The ENERCALC Web Edition allows you to use the same Project data files
between your locally installed software and the server based version.
Your ENERCALC software license number is linked to a private directory

(folder) on our main database server that was created especially for you.
You can transfer files between your desktop/server/laptop computer to the
server directory so when you use the Web Edition your files will always be
available to you.
To implement this we have created a special File Manager for the web
edition. You can launch the File Manager either from the main menu:
or from the button on the "Start Wizard" window:
Using File Manager
Here is the File Manager screen. Each item will be describe below....

A Worksession 24
Your Directory List
This is a list of the contents of your private folder. In the image

"NewJobFolder" is a sub-folder where additional project files can be
placed. EXAMPLES.ECW is a Project file.
The buttons available on the right side of the screen will be available
or dimmed depending on your selection in the Directory List.
Transfer From Server
This selection gives you the ability to transfer files from your server
directory to your local computer.
With the file you want to transfer highlighted and pressing [Transfer
From Server] you will be shown this selection window (please ignore
the strange directory names of our development machines) :

You then highlight the selected directory where you wish the file to be
placed and press [OK]. The file transfer will be performed in an
almost unnoticeable amount of time.
Transfer To Server
This selection gives you the ability to move files from your local
computer to the current server directory. After pressing [Transfer To
Server] a file selection box will be displayed:

A Worksession 26
Simply highlight the file you wish to send to the server and pres the
[Open] button. For a brief period of time a file transfer status window
will be displayed that indicates the byte count status of the transfer.
Open File
When a Project file is highlighted ( any file ending in "ECW" ) pressing

Open File will load the file and display the Project Manager so you can
begin your worksession.
Create New File
This will prompt you for the name of a new Project file to create:

And when you press [OK] the file will be created and loaded into the
Project Manager so you can begin your work adding calculations.
Copy To File
This allows you to make a copy of the highlighted Project file using a
new file name. This is commonly used when you want to start a new
project and re-use lots of calculations already prepared from another
project.
Rename File
This allows you to change the name of a project file.
Delete File
This allows you to delete a project file.
Create Folder
This allows you to create a new folder (directory) in the current

location. After you enter the new folder name the File Manager will
create it and you will need to double-click on the folder name or use
the down-folder button shown above the list:
: Moves you to a higher lever folder
: Moves you into the highlighted folder
: Creates a new folder
: Create a new project File
Delete Folder
Deletes the highlighted folder. NOTE! After asking for verification this

A Worksession 28
will delete the folder and all files in it !

4.3 Printing your Calculations
Calculation printing with the web edition is identical to the installed version. Simply use
the [Print] button and the printout will be delivered to your computer and displayed in a
preview window. Use the [Print] or [Cancel] buttons to continue.
After pressing [Print] a printer selection box will be displayed. This will
always be displayed and is necessary that the printout is properly
formatted for the printer at your location.

A Worksession 30

4.4 Specifying a Title Block Logo
The ENERCALC Web Edition has the same ability as the desktop version to specify
company information and a logo in the title block area. Using the "Settings" menu item
or [Tools & Settings] button you need to display the settings screen:
Using the [Logo File Manager] button will display this screen:

A Worksession 32
Use Logo File
This selection will set the currently highlighted graphics file as your
logo.
Delete File
This selection will delete the currently highlighted logo file from your
server folder.
Transfer From Server
Click here to read description in the File Manager section regarding

Transfer From Server.
Transfer To Server
Click here to read description in the File Manager section regarding

Transfer To Server.

4.5 Speed & Performance
Speed and performance of a web based program can vary depending on many factors.
While we can isolate any single one here is a list of things to be aware of that will effect
performance.
· First, there can be several dozen copies of the Structural Engineering Library
running on each of our servers. If all users start running reports all at once or
quickly modifying data in a complex calculation module the server can become
quite busy and response time can lag.
· Because all actions cause data to be sent and received from the server the faster
internet connection will enjoy faster response times.
· Your computer's speed will control how fast the received information is processed
and your visible program screen updated.
· The connection program that you use requires very limited memory and virtually no
hard disk space and so your computers memory capacity is not a big factor.
Exception: If you have many Window programs open at once with limited memory
your worksession can possible be effected as disk swapping of virtual memory
occurs.

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Structural Engineering Library

by Michael D. Brooks, P.E., S.E.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

Post Office Box 188

Tech Support: support@enercalc.com

Version 5.8 User's Reference

Part III Setup 11

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

We thank the thousands of engineers who have

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

Using a simple "connector" program the complete Structural Engineering Library

There are many advantages of having a program that runs remotely....

· No Installation or Configuration.....download the startup program.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

When you start using the Web Edition of ENERCALC's Structural

1. When you press [START] in the connection program a request is sent

2. The connection program contacts that particular server and requests a

3 The connection program calls back on that port (which is always

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

2.2 Why a Internet based System?

When software can be so easily installed on a desktop, portable, or server

Ease of deployment throughout an organization

Internet based software removes the installation (and especially

For a large company an IT department can be scurrying around installing

Portability of the software

Centralized storage of data for work by people at multiple locations

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

No need to install updates

This is an important feature of Internet based software. The programs you

No License Monitoring requirements

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

Important : Your computer MUST HAVE a live Internet connection

Use Auto Connect [x]

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

connection program will automatically start your worksession after a

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

3.2 Connector Screens

This message appears when the main address of the ENERCALC

· System is verified to be available.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

This screen is where you enter your registration information.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

This screen is used to specify the Server Connection information, Auto

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

Program & Server Information

Proxy Server Settings

Auto Connect time

Help System Access

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

3.3 Connector Error Screens

This would be to major Internet problems, contacting our servers precisely

Just use [RETRY] when this occurs.

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.

3.4 System Administrator Notes

Internet applications are by nature extremely complex, but fortunately with

Each customer must deal with communicating out of their immediate

All internet communication uses "ports" to separate different typical uses

The ENERCALC Web Edition connection program "ECWEB.EXE" uses ports

If your firewall or router is capable of datastream "sniffing" the ENERCALC

©2003 ENERCALC(tm) Engineering Software, INC.