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PROKON Are Discussed in This Chapter. Starting With The Issues
PROKON Are Discussed in This Chapter. Starting With The Issues
The basic principles of using PROKON are discussed in this chapter. Starting with the issues
you need to address when using the program for the first time, e.g. setting up a working folder,
the text progresses to everyday tasks like running analysis and design modules. The chapter
ends with explaining advanced procedures like creating an equation library and customising the
page layout for your projects.
Depending on the shortcut options chosen during the installation procedure, you will be able to
run PROKON by double-clicking the shortcut on the Desktop or selecting it from the Start
Menu.
Note: When running PROKON for the very first time, the default design codes and units of
measurement are automatically set to match your current Windows Regional Settings. To
check or change your settings, open Control Panel and double-click Regional Settings.
Once you start using the PROKON analysis and design modules, you will want to progress to
working with project files:
• Entering a header for a project.
• Working with more than one project at a time.
• File management.
Note: The preferences for the Dos modules are set separately using the Design codes (Dos)
command. Refer to page 2-15 for detail.
Note: The Dos modules also use the working folder to save data files. This effectively
removes the eight plus three character limitation imposed by Dos.
Selecting a wallpaper
To personalise your PROKON workstation, you may want to display a wallpaper in Calcpad.
To load a wallpaper, open the Settings menu and choose Wallpaper. The following limitations
apply to wallpapers:
• Supported graphics formats include: Windows Bitmap (.bmp), Icon (.ico), Metafile (.wmf)
and Enhanced Metafile (.emf).
• The wallpaper image is scaled to fit the Calcpad working area. Therefore, not all images
will necessarily look well.
File management
Use the File menu commands to open and save project files in the working folder or any other
location on your own computer or on a network drive that you have write access to:
• To create a new project file, select New Project.
• To open an existing project file, use the Open Project command.
• Use Save Project to save the active project.
• To save a new, unnamed project file, use Save Project as.
• To close the active projects or all open projects, use Close Project or Close All.
• To open a recently used project file, click the file name at the bottom of the File menu.
PROKON Project files as saved with the extension ’.PPF’ for easy recognition.
To run a PROKON analysis or design module, click its icon on the shortcut bar or select it
from the Program Menu. If a particular module’s shortcut icon or menu item is dimmed, it
means that the module is not included in your workstation.
When you run a module by clicking its icon or choosing it from the Programs menu, the best
available version of that module is launched. If the Windows version of a module is not
available, the Dos version will be launched instead.
Where available, the Dos version of each module is also included in the suite. To run the Dos
version of a module, right-click its icon on the shortcut bar.
Similar layout
All modules present you with a number of tabbed pages or menus:
• The File menu: Standard Windows commands are provided for opening and saving data
files. The commands are similar to those described on page 2-8.
• The Input page: All input
data is entered on this page.
In the case of some of the
larger analysis modules, e.g.
the frame analysis modules,
this page will itself contain a
number of tabbed input
pages. Some modules also
allow specialised input
trough a separate Settings
page or button.
• The Analysis or Design
page: Selecting this page
typically starts the analysis
and displays the results.
• The Calcsheets page: Analysis and design results can be accumulated in a single
calcsheet. You can choose between printing or sending the information to Calcpad.
• The Drawings or Bending Schedules page: Most design modules are capable of
generating a detailed drawing or bending schedule of the designed element. Drawings and
bending schedules can be edited and printed using Padds.
• The Help menu: Access is provided to on-line Help topics and built-in Examples.
To display a particular page or menu, click it with the mouse. Alternatively use F11 and F12 to
move forward and back between the pages.
Note: In the case of some of the larger modules, e.g. the frame analysis modules, you need
to first view the results and select individual components to be included in the calcsheet.
• Click Send to Calcpad to append the results to the active project in Calcpad.
Saving input
You can use the File menu of a module to
save and open input data files. However, if
you enable the Data File option before
sending a calcsheet to Calcpad, you can
later recall the input data by double-clicking
the relevant object in Calcpad. A data file
embedded in Calcpad is saved as part of a
project and does not need to be saved in the
relevant module as well.
If you do save a data file in an analysis or
design module, the file name extension will
automatically be set to the program number
for easy recognition, e.g. ’.A03’ for Frame
Analysis.
Note: The Dos modules support British Standards and equivalent SABS design codes only.
The design codes and parameters can be saved for later re-use, e.g. for projects requiring
special design parameters.
Note: The last files get saved independently from files saved using F2:Save. Since the last
files get overwritten from time to time, the F2:Save option should be used to name files and
save them permanently.
You can edit text in tables using the standard Windows functions, i.e. as employed by most
spreadsheet applications. The standard Windows functions are supplemented with a number of
special functions that speed up table editing.
For information on tabular input in the Dos modules, refer to Chapter 2 of the Dos Version
User’s Guide.
Tip: Click a cell with the mouse to quickly move the cursor to that cell.
Note: Some cells have special drop-down lists for selecting values. Depending on the
specific application, you may be able to select common values from the list or optionally
type values.
While entering or editing text, you can move left and right using the left and right arrow keys.
To jump to the left-most or right-most positions, press Home or End. To move one word to the
left or right, use Ctrl with the left and right arrows.
To edit text in a cell, move the cursor to the cell and press F2 or double-click it. If you want to
replace the text in the cell rather than change it, simply retype the text without first
pressing F2.
Inserting lines
Press Enter to move to the first cell on the next line. To insert a blank line at the cursor,
press Ctrl+I.
Marking blocks
When marking blocks, you can choose between using the standard Windows functions and the
extended PROKON block functions – the behaviour of the resulting blocks are different.
Note: When marking a block this way, moving the cursor will undo the selection.
Note: A persistent selection will remain active until unmarked with Ctrl+U. While the cells
are selected, you are free to move the cursor without the block being de-selected.
Examples:
• To copy cells in the table, first select the cell or block of cells and Copy the information to
the clipboard. Then position the cursor to the new position and Paste the text.
• To move one or more selected cells, Cut them to the clipboard and Paste them at the new
position.
• To delete one or more selected cells, select and Cut them. Alternatively press Del to delete
the selected cells.
Moving around:
Arrows : Move one cell up, down, left or right.
Enter : Jump to the first cell in the next row.
Tab : Move one cell right.
Shift+Tab : Move one cell left.
Home : Jump to the first cell of the current row.
End : Jump to the last cell of the current row.
Ctrl+Home : Jump to the top left corner of the table.
Ctrl+End : Jump to the bottom left corner of the table.
Del : Delete the cell at the cursor.
Ctrl+Y : Delete the line at the cursor (irrespective of any block selected).
Backspace : Delete the cell at the cursor and open it for editing.
Ctrl+I : Insert a blank line.
Ctrl+F : Find or replace text
Editing cells:
F2 : Edit the cell at the cursor.
Left/right : Move the cursor inside the text.
Ctrl+left/right : Move the cursor left or right one word.
Up/down : Accept the changed text and moves to the adjacent cell.
Enter : Accept the changed text and jumps to the first cell in the next row.
Del : Delete the character to the right.
Backspace : Delete the character to the left.
Clipboard commands
Ctrl+C : Copy the block to the clipboard.
Ctrl+X : Cut the block to the clipboard.
Ctrl+V : Paste the clipboard to the cursor position.
Use the PROKON calculator for basic calculations. You can copy a result to the Windows
clipboard and then paste it into Calcpad or an input table of a design module.
During installation, the calculator can be configured to automatically load when Windows
starts. If so, the calculator will be visible in the Windows system tray that is typically located
in the bottom right corner of the screen, i.e. next to the clock.
Clicking its icon or pressing Ctrl+1 can display the calculator. To
close the calculator, click Exit or press Esc. On closing, the
calculator will return to its idle status in the system tray.
To close the calculator and remove it from memory, right-click its
icon and choose Close.
Doing calculations
Operation is similar to a conventional hand-held calculator:
• Enter an equation using the normal mathematical operators.
• To enter a mathematical function, click the relevant button or write out the function.
• Simplify complex equations by enclosing portions in brackets.
• Press Enter to display the result.
• To remove the displayed equation and continue working with the result, press Clear left.
Tip: When using a Dos module, press Ctrl+Z to display a calculator. Use F10 to send the
result back to the module’s input table.
The analysis and design modules often have pictures linked to the input tables to make data
entry interactive and more intuitive. Pictures are also often used to present analysis results.
The following zoom commands are normally available for all pictures:
• Window: Indicate a rectangular area to zoom into.
• All: Display the whole picture, based on the size defined internally for the
background.
• Last: Revert to the last zoom setting.
• Extents: Display the whole picture, based on the drawn entities.
• In: Zoom in by 50%.
• Out: Zoom out by 50%.
• Pan: Drag the project in any direction to view an adjoining portion.
• Print: Send the picture to the printer.
Saving pictures
In addition to the Zoom button commands, the right-click pop-up menu also allows you to
save the picture in the following file formats:
• PAD: Fully editable Padds drawing.
• PIC: Prokon picture file.
• EMF: Enhanced Windows metafile, readable by many graphics and
presentation packages.
• DXF: 2D or 3D DXF drawings for use in other CAD systems.
In some modules, e.g. the frame analysis modules, a special button may is available
for adding a picture to the Calcsheets.
Detailed settings
Some modules allow detailed configuration of pictures. In the frame analysis
modules, for example, you can access the Graphics Options to enable or disable
display of node numbers, global axes etc. Pictures can also be rendered in 3D or
shown as simple line diagrams.
Tip: The default view angle of 50° works well with perspective projections of structures. If
you cannot see the complete structure, the view point is probably to near to the structure.
Use the Zoom extents function to move back far enough to view the complete structure.
The View Point Control dialog box can be left open while you work in the program. You can
also use the zoom and pan functions while the dialog box is open.
Tip: If your PC’s screen resolution permits, you may move the View Point Control and
View Plane Control dialog boxes to one side so as not to clutter the display of the
underlying program.
The analysis output generated by the various analysis and design modules will provide
normally sufficient detail of your designs. However, you may want to enhance your project
files by adding additional design notes, pictures and even additional calculations.
The procedure to write and edit text and to insert and manipulate pictures in Calcpad is
described in the following text. Equation writing is explained from page 2-41.
Typing text
Type text as you would in any other word processor or text editor.
Deleting text
Use Del and Backspace to delete a character to the left or right. To delete words or paragraphs,
select the text and press Del.
The change will be applied to the selected text only or, if you did not select any text, to new
text from the cursor position and further.
You can also use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U to make text bold, italic
or underlined.
When changing font style of text with mixed style, the style will toggle between normal,
formatted and mixed, e.g. all normal, all bold and mixed normal and bold.
After scrolling, click where you want to start typing. To move the cursor using the keyboard:
• Move up or down one line: Press the Up or Down arrow.
• Move up or down one screen: Press PgUp or PgDn.
• Move left or right one word: Press Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Right.
• To jump to the beginning or end of the current line: Press Home or End.
• To jump to the first or last lines in the project: Press Ctrl+Home or Ctrl+End.
• To move to the reference column on the far right: Press Ctrl+Tab.
Inserting a graphic
Use the commands on the Insert menu to insert graphics:
• To insert a Windows Bitmap or Metafile: Click Picture and select the file.
• To insert a Padds drawing: Click Drawing and select the file.
To move a graphic:
1. Select the graphic by
clicking it.
2. Drag it to the new position.
To resize a graphic:
1. Select the graphic.
2. Drag the graphic’s edge to
change its horizontal or
vertical size.
3. Drag one of the graphic’s
corners to proportionally
change its horizontal or
vertical size.
Using the keyboard, select text by holding down Shift and pressing the same key that moves
the cursor. To extend a selection:
• One character to the left or right: Shift+Left or Right arrow.
• To the beginning or end of a word: Ctrl+Shift+Left or Right arrow.
• To the beginning or end of a line: Shift+Home or End.
• One line up or down: Shift+Up or Down arrow.
• One screen up or down: Shift+PgUp or PgDn.
• To the beginning or end of the project: Ctrl+Shift+Home or End.
• To select all the words in a line: Ctrl+L.
• To select the entire project: Ctrl+A.
You can use the Equation Editor to create your own equations in Calcpad. The Equation
Editor is also used to edit existing equations or save equation objects for re-use in future,
e.g. create a library of equations
To create or edit an equation, work through the different pages to create an equation object:
• Equations: Use one or more lines to enter equations. When creating a new equation, this
page is displayed first.
• Variables: Assign a value to each variable used on the Equations page. When editing an
exiting equation, this page is displayed by default.
• Settings: Choose how the equations should be displayed and optionally attach a picture.
Note: When sending a series of equations to Calcpad, the equations are grouped together as
a unit, called an equation object.
Writing equations
A few simple rules apply when writing equations:
• Like when using a simple calculator, use ’normal English’ to write an equation – the
equation is automatically formatted for you. For example, if you want to enter the equation
y = a · x2 + b · x + c, enter ’y=a∗x^2+b∗x+c’.
• The mathematical operators that can be used include +, –, /, ∗ and ^.
Note: The Greek symbols and are reserved and cannot be used as variable. Their values
are fixed at 3.141593 etc. You may however use the symbol e as a normal variable.
Trigonometry
Logarithmic functions
ln, log
Other functions
Additional functions can be derived using the standard mathematical operators and functions.
A few simple examples include:
• Instead of using the built-in square root function, you may determine the square root and
other roots as follows: a = b+c can be entered as ’a=sqrt(b+c)’ or
’a=(b+c)^(1/2)’
• If a = log(b), then b = 10a, which is entered as ’b=10^a’.
1
• Trigonometric functions are inter-dependent, e.g. cot (θ ) = . To enter the equation
tan (θ )
a = FRW W\SH
a=1/tan(#h)’ or ’a=(tan(#h))^(-1)’.
Examples:
• To determine the circumference of a circle in feet, you may enter ’Circ{ft}=#p*r{ft}’.
The result in Calcpad will be:
• To calculate the area of a circle in square meter, you may enter ’A{m^2}=#p*r{m}^2’.
The result will be:
r = 2.5m
A = π .r 2 = 19.635 m2
Note: The program does not evaluate the consistancy of units within equations.
In the example, the first conditional branch causes K’ to determined differently for different
values of the percentage of redistribution, %RD. Further, by comparing the values of K and K’,
additional compression reinforcement is calculated when necessary.
By default, projects are displayed on a framed page with the PROKON logo. The top portion of
the page, called the header, also includes a number of pre-defined fields like ’Designed by’,
’Date’ etc. The page layout and header items are collectively referred to as a template.
The following templates are available when you run PROKON for the first time:
• Default: The default template with frame and PROKON logo. For a start, you may want to
replace the PROKON logo and contact details with your own.
• Frame: No-frills template with a frame only. This template offers a larger workspace.
• Nothing: A blank template, in case you prefer printing on blank sheets.
Script commands
A number of script commands are available to draw lnes, write text and define special items.
All commands use parameters, i.e. values, to define certain entities. Parameters are separated
with spaces or commas.
The template script commands can be categorised as follows:
Graphics:
• BM Xleft,Ybot,Xright,Ytop,filename : Insert a Bitmap image and stretch it between the
coordinates Xleft,Ybot and Xright,Ytop , e.g. ’BM 5,261,34.6.5,2779.5,LOGO.BMP’. The
Bitmap is assumed to reside in the same folder as the template file. For the best printing
results, the bitmap should be sized so that it can be placed at true size, e.g. an image of 700
pixels wide by 300 pixels high, placed 29.6mm wide by 12.7mm high should print well at
600 dpi.
Line drawing:
• LT thickness: Set the line thickness in millimetres, e.g. ’LT 0.25’.
• LL X1,Y1,X2,Y2: Draw a line from the coordinate X1,Y1 to X2,Y2, e.g. ’LL 5,10,5,110’
to draw a vertical line 100mm long.
Text:
• TF font,style: Set the font and style, e.g.’TF Times New Roman, Normal’
• TS size: Set the text height in points, e.g. ’TS 11’.
• TT Xleft,Ybot,text: Write text at the coordinate Xleft,Ybot , e.g. ’TT 5,10,Project No’.
Header items:
• HI Xleft,Ybot,Xright,Ytop,description: Insert a header item in the rectangle defined by the
coordinates Xleft,Ybot and Xright,Ytop, e.g. ’HI 150,270,Designed by’. In Calcpad, the
header item is later referenced by its description. See page 2-7 for details on entering
header information.
Other:
• Comments can be written after two slashes, e.g. ’//comment’.
The Section Database utility is a base component for all steel member and connection design
modules. The module contains several listings international section databases and can be
expanded to include custom sections.
Use the Section database command on the Tools menu to edit the database or select another
international database.
Selecting a database
Depending on the Windows Regional Settings, PROKON will
automatically select an appropriate section database when you run it for
the first time. You can load another country’s database using at any time
using F3:
• Australia and New Zealand: Load ’Sectable.aus’.
• United States: Choose ’Sectable.us’.
• Southern Africa: Choose ’’Sectable.za’.
• United Kingdom: Choose ’’Sectable.uk’.
Once you have localised the database by added some additional sections
using the procedure below, you may wish to backup your work using F2.
Tip: The normal text editing commands apply when entering sections. Refer to Chapter 2
for detail on copying, deleting and inserting lines.
2-58 Configuring the Section Database
Adding a non-standard section
Sections with non-standard shapes should be entered as ’User-defined’ sections. Press U to
enter the section’s properties. These properties can be calculated manually or using Prosec.
Tip: Some modules, e.g. Steel Member Design for Combined Stress, support certain
section types only. Therefore, it may in some cases be better to simplify a non-standard
section and then add it as a standard shape. That way, the simplified version of the section
will be available to the relevant design modules.