SuperBeam 2020 changes

Release 7.20i, 15 Dec 2020

• Column B/F loads weren't always updated when parent beam loads changed - fixed
• Option to select PFC sections as columns reinstated - this was inadvertently removed in commonising program code (EuroBeam does not and will not support PFC columns since it uses NCCI SN048b which excludes channel sections)
• Print Project repeated page number 1 if project summary included and using sequential numbering - fixed.

Release 7.20h, 29 November 2020

• When using total load entry the dead/live percentage split fields for flitch beams and on the steel and timber beam bearing edit pages weren't handled correctly - fixed.
• Export to EuroBeam file wasn't reliable - fixed
• BM & SF diagram didn't show sharp change in SF at point load positions - fixed
• When adding a new item to a project, the norm is to carry forward the data from the last edited item of this type. Up to this release the carried forward data included notes. Now these aren't carried forward when adding a beam, post or column.
• Sundry changes and small improvements.

Release 7.20g, 29 October 2020

• Column/post user-entered additional major axis moment was not shown on printout - fixed (rendering error only, calculation was correct)
• When required column base area was less than section CSA, required base projection was shown as negative; now shown as zero.
• Project summary omitted steel beam notes - fixed.
• Calculation window vertical scroll bar range could be incorrect, stopping all window content being viewed unless scrolled with cursor keys.
• Bug fixed that could cause invalid floating point error on loading project.
• Register Extensions button in User Setup dialog didn't always work - fixed.

Release 7.20f, 15 October 2020

• Fixes some copy and paste issues that surfaced in 7.20e
• Steel/timber beam didn't save timber data in project file - fixed
• When editing show current item option has been removed from User Setup, Preferences.
• 15 Oct build corrects some issues found in the initial build

Release 7.20e, 9 October 2020

• Steel beam copy/paste didn't copy section size or notes - fixed
• Column copy/paste didn't copy minor axis effective length - fixed
• Column calc window showed garbage if no loads entered - fixed
• Exporting default timber data to external file didn't work - fixed
• Several other minor fixes and presentational improvements
• The User Setup, Create Backup on Save option has been removed

Release 7.20d, 26 September 2020

• Some Print Project settings weren't correctly initialised - fixed
• Print Project selection dialog colours are now modified if necessary to contrast headings, list items and selected item
• Show details and Flag if values weren't carried forward to new timber beams - fixed
• Right-click Copy page source option on timber beam and post calculations lost the formatting on copying - fixed
• Steel beam combined bending and shear force check gave incorrect answer with certain beams extended as cantilevers returning a hogging moment - fixed
• With effect from this release, Windows Vista is no longer supported.
• Known issue: If you get an error message when trying to save a project to a cloud or network drive, uncheck Create Backup on Save in the User Setup dialog. This will be resolved in the next release.

Release 7.20c, 14 September 2020

• Several stability issues that surfaced in 7.20b - fixed
• Max S.F. for beams with one or both ends extended as cantilevers could be incorrectly calculated in rare cases - fixed
• Presentation of beam calculations for flitch beams or beams extended as a cantilever at one or both ends has been revised in line with steel beam calculations.
• Beam edit dialog load page now adds four quick add buttons under the load grid.
• Autosaving has been reworked.
• If the Backup on Save option is set [default], older backups are now sent to the Recycle Bin rather than being discarded.
• In connection with the last change, the File Open dialog now adds an Open Backup file type option.

Release 7.20b, 24 Aug 2020

This picks up a few issues that surfaced in 7.20a:

• Copy and paste didn't work for columns and timber posts - fixed.
• Several stability issues fixed.
• Bug fixed that threw error when importing an item from another project that included a B/F load.
• Some calculation sheets were printed as blank pages - fixed
• File, Project Catalogue option didn't work - fixed

Release 7.20a, 14 Aug 2020

This release is the result of a major project that will consolidate the SuperBeam, ProSteel and EuroBeam code into one largely common codebase. When work on EuroBeam started in 2009, the decision was made to build it off an independent codebase, the thinking being that by about 2014-15 no further work would be done on SuperBeam and ProSteel. Ten years on all three programs sell in similar numbers and having to maintain two separate codebases has caused lots of duplicated work. Now everything that can be commonised has been.

Changes in this release

• A number of improvements to the way in which calculations are presented have been made
• Beam calculations now use mid-span deflection (as EuroBeam). The deflection coefficient for each load is shown on the beam printout load table.
• In the Beam Edit dialog the beam type (loads only, steel, timber or steel/timber) is now selected from a dropdown list as in EuroBeam.
• For beams extending as cantilevers, the calculation sheet now shows key results as Span:BM/SF/Deflection, Cant:BM/SF/Deflection (as EuroBeam) rather than BM:Span/Cant, SF:Span/Cant (as before)
• Option to display steel grade using the BS449 designation (Grade 43 or Grade 50) has been removed.
• When using separate dead+live load entry, steel column and timber post edit dialogs previously had separate dead and live load columns in load entry grid. Now, as for beams and as in EuroBeam, a new second column is used to enter the load duration (D or L; T if using total load entry). If you load a project saved with an earlier release, the previous dead/live load is split across two lines.
• The function of the A/1/2/3/4 buttons in the steel column and timber post dialogs has been changed. Now they act as radio buttons: press one to select, then (as appropriate) press 'Add dead load', 'Add live load' or 'B/F' to add the corresponding row(s) to the load table, then edit as necessary.
• Steel column base concrete grades are now shown in the form Cxx/yy, e.g. C20/25, where the first number is the cylinder strength, the second the cube strength.
• Ekki has been added to the default timber data file (user request). It's a dense tropical hardwood typically used for bridges, marine applications, decking, and flooring. More ...
• Script for 140mm wide Catnic BSD140, BHD140 and BXD140 lintels has been added. Catnic lintel selector
• Configuration, Apply Closes option has been removed: now in edit dialogs, press Apply, then Close when done.
• A new Configuration Preference checkbox, Show startup dialog, has been added. If this box is checked, on starting a dialog is displayed with three options: Start New Project, Open Project or Reload Last Project.
• Colour dialog now has buttons to set screen window colours to light and dark defaults. Pressing either of these buttons resets the font colours appropriately.
• Colour themes Golden Graphite and Metro Blue have been replaced by Glow Black and Stellar Blue.
• This release is built with Embarcadero Delphi 10.4 which improves rendering on 4K displays.

Release 7.19l, 27 May 2020

We've left this as a 7.19x release pending a major revision due soon which will be released as 7.20a.

• Page border (if selected): RH border was not printed in correct place or omitted on certain printers - fixed.
• Cancelling a Print to PDF operation triggered an AV error - fixed

Release 7.19k, 27 March 2020

• Import items from another project code has been revised. Previously the program could hang if you selected something other than a SuperBeam or ProSteel file and we had one report of this option hanging the program when running on a system with 4K display.
  
  [Delphi programmers see following note]

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Note for Delphi programmers: we had a report from one (of several hundred) 7.19k users that SuperBeam and ProSteel hung on selecting the Import option. He was running the programs on a 4K display. We could not replicate this on our own 4K system. This option calls up a dialog which used the TCheckListBox component (the only place this is used in our programs). In 7.19k we changed this to a TMS TAdvListBox, stCheckList style, and this fixed the problem. Why? No idea.