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Most of the following problems were introduced with the reorganization of the program user interface for Version 8, and corrected for 8.1
Important Note – These are descriptions to changes implemented in WoodWorks Connections for version 8.1 and may not reflect current program behaviour.
In version 8 when you returned to the Materials screen to change the member data, then returned to the Details, all of the limits for the input choices details screen would be refreshed. This ensured the design stayed within allowable limits. If an input was no longer allowed, it was blanked out. This system was not perfect, but it worked this way most of the time.
With the materials and connections details now on the same screen, the program materials input was no longer triggering an update of the details, so that the program could easily get into a state that no design was possible with the fastener input choices.
The details are now updated upon a change in member dimensions or configuration. As the program then redesigns, this ensures that a diagram showing a connection design stays in the Details screen more often.
Again, these updates are not foolproof but work as well as the previous system did.
For certain connections, when the Accept button was clicked, some input fields remained as Unknown instead of indicating the designed value of the parameter. This has been corrected and the designed value is being transferred to the input fastener information.
This situation occurred for the following connections:
Orthogonal nailed connection with wood side plate, for Nails Per Row
Bolted ledger connection with perpendicular load, for Bolts per Row and Spacing Between Rows
It may have occurred in other circumstances that would also be corrected with this fix.
When in Details view, after a successful design with one connector type, and you switched connector type in Geometry view, an error message appeared above the space for the diagram saying the connection is not valid, and no diagram appeared. This happened even though there was a possible valid design. It was possible to force a design via the Run Design button or by changing an input for the Main or Side member. This has been corrected and the program switches seamlessly to the new fastener type.
The program did not display the detailed messages that used to appear as message boxes when either
a fastener type was not available for a connection geometry because not even one fastener would fit in the connection ,
the currently selected fasteners do not fit within a connection so that design is not allowed.
Instead a more general message appears above the space in which the diagram is usually shown, like Invalid connection geometry, check details.
The program now displays the general message, and then the specific message below it.
For all lapped shear connections, vague error messages such as WoodWorks Connections Internal Error, Invalid ICM and Invalid Material were displayed in the Details input screen when a design is not possible, instead of the more detailed messages that appeared via message boxes in previous versions of the program. For example, for the orthogonal nailed connection with wood side plates, the program showed Woodworks Connections Internal Error above the space for the diagram.. This error message has been changed to one with title "Nails cannot be used with the current set of main and/or side member selections"
The user interface changes introduced with version 8 allowed new connections to be immediately designed and displayed using the default Unknown values for all the parameters. However, for riveted post and beam connections, it was necessary to press Run Design in order for the connection to design. When the Details input first appeared, and when a material was changed, the program showed the following error message above the space where a diagram usually appears: Current set of fastener selections is not valid - Specified number of rivets per row, and spacing within the rows, will not fit in member width given the minimum edge constraints in CSA 086 10.7.1.7. This message is shown even though there is a possible design. It no longer appears and a rivet design is displayed if one is possible.
After closing the new Details view via the X in the upper corner of the window, there is no way to restore the view to the screen. This has been corrected.
The input of plate thickness for nails and screws has been removed from the Details screen for bolted lapped shear connections, because owing to the user interface reorganization, this input is now accessed after the fastener type is known. The phrase (nails and wood screws only) has been removed from the corresponding input for nails and screws.
For Wood-to-concrete connections, the side member penetration input was blanked out when you returned to the side member after having entered it previously, necessitating that it be re-entered before designing again. This has been corrected.
The letters b and d for input breadth and depth of the members in a lapped shear connection have been changed to Thickness and Width. These designations caused confusion because the b dimension in the usual b x d nomenclature is the d dimension for connection design. The post and beam connections have been renamed Width b and Depth d to make it clear what is meant by b and d, which are shown in the pictures identifying some of these connections.
The following problems have been corrected, pertaining to the default values for new files of member names that you can assign to the main and side members:
For version 8, the default member names that appear in the main and side member input for some member types are not the same ones that appeared in the diagram in previous versions of the program, and do not correctly identify the member. For example they sometimes identify a column as a girder.
The program did not update a change in member name when switching from main member tab to side member and vise-versa. When returning to the main member, the old name was still there.
The member name "Ledge" has been changed to "Ledger board".
Starting with version 8, the program no longer disabled the DXF export button for those connections that do not have a DXF export, and it did not disable it before a file is saved, resulting in both cases in messages that appear saying that the DXF export failed when the button is pressed. The DXF export button is now disabled for those connections that do not allow it, that is, all but the beam-to-beam geometry.
Face Plate Title for Orthogonal Connections (Change 21 – Version 8.11)
The title Face Plate that appeared in the Details screen for bolted orthogonal connections has been removed. This applies only to post-and-beam connections.