Readme Elite Fire
Readme Elite Fire
Readme Elite Fire
TXT
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Contents
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I. Obtaining Minor Updates
II. Network installations
III. New features/bug fixes
IV. Attention Canon Bubblejet Printer Owners.
V. Attention HP Laserjet series 5 Printer Owners.
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http://www.elitesoft.com
to install FIRE. This will enable you to specify the locations of your
WINDOWS, SYSTEM and TEMP directories.
2. Made it so a warning appears if you enter hydrant test data and the
static pressure is equal to the residual pressure.
3. Fixed a problem with tree and grid creation. If you indicate that
you want to delete existing pipes before creating a tree or grid, all of
the existing pipes will now be deleted.
4. Made it so you can use the arrow keys to navigate in the Enter/Edit
Node Data window.
2. Fixed a problem that made the K-Factor Calculators unusable when the
program units were metric.
2. Corrected the pipe system water volume. This result was sometimes
wrong for projects with autosized pipes.
2. Added the exterior hose flow to the demand curve on the hydraulic
supply/demand graph.
3. Added the fire pump curve and the combined fire pump/public water
supply curve to the hydraulic supply/demand graph.
4. Eliminated the Pump Curve Input Data report and moved the pump curve
input data below the hydraulic supply/demand graph.
5. When "New Projects Copy AUTOLOAD.FIW" is checked in the Options
window, Fire will look for AUTOLOAD.FIW in the current project folder
and the original (default) project folder.
3. Made it so Fire will not calculate results when all K-Factors are
zero and the project is in Demand mode.
3. Fixed an error that caused the program to print incorrect data on the
reports under certain circumstances.
2. Fixed a problem that caused the program to lock up when pipe 1 was
inactive or blank.
2. Fixed the "Show Project Explorer at Startup" option and the "Show
Tips at Startup" option.
2. Made changes that should enable Fire to run on a computer with a high
resolution monitor.
2. Fixed a problem that made the K-Factor Calculators unusable when the
program units were metric.
4. Made it so the Overall Pipe Output Data report will show all the data
for a pipe on one page rather than two pages.
2. Fixed a problem with the Hydraulic Graph report. The program chose
the wrong graph limits for the report in some cases.
3. Fixed another problem with the Global Editor. The program was still
not changing all the values it was supposed to change.
3. Added a button to the Global Editor tab of the Enter/Edit Pipe Data
window that will delete multiple pipes or nodes.
7. Made it so the items in the Edit menu and the Window menu are enabled
and disabled at the right times.
9. Made it so the Print Setup dialog will appear after Quick Print
Reports is clicked.
2. Made top caption of the Enter/Edit Pipe Data window update the number
of active pipes as they are entered. Previously the total number of
pipes would only be updated if you clicked away from this window. Now
an accurate pipe count is always shown.
4. Fixed problem that occured with some ABS drawings that did not number
certain pipe nodes correctly. Now unique node numbers are assigned as
intended.
2. Fixed bug which did not check for all isolated pipes with a project
with multiple Inactive pipes near the top of the pipe list in the
Enter/Edit Pipe Data window.
3. Made the Hydraulic Graph display supply curve test data entered in
the Hose Flow column if that was the only test data entered, and no data
was entered in the right column (for no hose flow). Previously if only
one set of test data was entered, it had to be the no hose flow test to
calculate available pressure in this report. Now either test is
allowable.
4. Fixed rare problem where a project was saved with one or more 0
diameter values but Autosizing was not indicated. Now even if a project
is saved like this, the program automatically sets it to Autosize these
pipes.
8. Technical updates.
3. Fixed bug that caused pipe and node data to be read incorrectly if
the first or last pipes in the Pipe Data were set to Inactive.
5. Technical updates.
2. Added check for pipes with same beginning and end node number before
calculations are run. Normally the Fire program prevents this input,
but if a project is imported from a CAD drawing file or other method,
this additional check is needed.
3. Technical updates, mainly with the ABS import and other Tree and
Grid Builder issues.
2. Added check that data row has not changed after K-Factor Calculator
or Additional Fitting Length Calculator is opened. This prevents a K-
Factor or pipe equivalent length to be copied to a different pipe than
originally selected.
5. Technical updates.
Previous updates:
Added feature to allow importing of Pipe Type Group from an ABS 2006
drawing. This data is entered similarly to other optional data like the
Area Group letter or non-sprinkler flow, except that unlike those
options, no selection is made in the ABS Import dialog box to activate
this import. Instead, simply enter the letters "PT" followed by the
group number in the ABS pipe object General field. Note that this entry
can be made to the General field in addition to the pipe non-standard
fitting length.
Added Check for Update utility. This utility, used by all Elite
Software programs, can automatically check for updates and prompt you
with the option to download an update from the Elite Software website
before proceeding.
Added FireDemoABS.dwg to the install files for Fire. Users who install
the Fire demo version on a computer with ABS 2006 already installed can
import this sample drawing with the demo version of Fire to try out the
ABS interface.
Added interface with Autodesk Building Systems 2005 [now 2007]. This
interface is significantly improved from the ABS 2004 interface. First,
all features are accessed from the File menu, rather than using manual
methods and macros in ABS. The two items in the File menu are File|Read
Data From ABS Autodesk Drawing (used to import the sprinkler system .dwg
file) and File|Assign Calculated Data to ABS Drawing. Once you import
and run calculations in Fire, select the latter option to assign the
results to the drawing. The calculated results appear in the Properties
list for piping and sprinkler objects in the drawing. You can also
resize the pipes in the drawing based on Autosizing at this point by
selecting System Resize from the Mechanical|Engineering Analysis palette
in ABS. NOTE: Node numbers are placed on the drawing automatically
during an Fire import, but ONLY if the drawing has been saved with the
EliteFireTagsTemplate.dwt template included in this installation.
Added Demand Curve to Hydraulic Graph. The Demand Curve connects the
Demand Point to a point on the y-axis at the elevation pressure of the
first sprinkler in the system.
Added a "Copy License File" button to the About Fire box. Clicking this
button displays a Browse for Folder dialog that lets you select the
floppy drive or any other location from which you want to copy the
program's license file.
Added pipe material type PEX to pipe material database. Note that you
have to manually select to overwrite your existing pipe material
database when installing Fire. Otherwise this new data will not be
installed.
Added ability for Autodesk ABS interface with Fire to recognize pipe
material from an ABS piping drawing if the name is similar. Previously
unless the material name matched the Fire pipe material name exactly, a
default material was assigned.
Added Node Editor window to the Fire program. This window shows the
same data that is shown in the Enter/Edit Pipe Data window, arranged by
node number instead of pipes. The node data can be edited like in the
Enter/Edit Pipe Data window. Editing the data by node may be easier or
more intuitive than by pipes in some cases. For example it is easy to
see which nodes are sprinklers in the Node Editor window based on which
rows have numbers in the K-Factor column. Note that the node numbers
themselves cannot be edited here; node numbers must be entered in the
Enter/Edit Pipe Data window first.
Compiled Fire with Autodesk Building Systems 2005 (ABS 2005), the latest
Autodesk product.
Added Ending Page No. to the Report Options window that can be used in
conjunction with the Starting Page No. to print a range of pages in the
reports. If the Ending Page No. is left blank or 0 it will be ignored.
Compiled Fire with Autodesk Building Systems, so that pipe drawings made
with ABS can be read in by the Fire program. Drawings made in previous
versions of AutoCAD or ABS can still be read by Fire, but it is better
to save them in the current ABS first. Otherwise an extra message may
appear during the import to Fire that mentions converting the file
format, but which is not relevant to the import itself.
Added second column of flow test data to allow input of a second set of
hydrant test/supply curve data. If entered, this second curve will be
printed on the Hydraulic Graph, and the data in the General Project Data
report. This data corresponds to a test with an external hose flowing,
and this hose flow is entered above the new test data column. The
column to the right is for a test with no external hose flowing, and
corresponds to the default test data in previously saved projects.
Added feature which informs you that if you have made any changes to
inputs after running calculations, the reports may not reflect those
changes in the inputs and their effect, if any, on the calculated
results. Messages to this effect appear on screen when you try to
preview or print and are printed in the reports.
Added CPLD menu item to Enter/Edit Pipe Data window. CPLD stands for
Constant Pressure Loss Device. This item opens a window where you can
change the names indicated for item "A" in the pipe material list, which
is the Alternative CPLD. The default name is an Alarm Check Valve.
Whatever names and abbreviations are specified here are shown in the
reports and program output for this project.
The "Stringer" device has been replaced by an "Alarm Check Valve" or ACV
device. This was requested since stringer devices are not as commonly
used anymore. Any projects previously saved with a Stringer will now
display that device as an ACV with the same pressure loss.
Made Dry system results more clear. For a Dry system, you should
multiply your total sprinkler area by 1.3 and adjust your sprinkler
areas so they add up to the adjusted total. But the program should not
adjust individual sprinkler areas, since they can be different from each
other and should be adjusted manually. So the Dry results show Adjusted
values for total area and density, which you can compare against the
total of your actual sprinkler areas and densities.
Added Clear Pipe button to Enter/Edit Pipe Data window. This allows you
to clear all existing pipes from the current project.
Added note to inform the you if you are trying to import a DOS Fire
project file version 4 or earlier. You can only import DOS version 5
files. Contact us if you would like to import DOS version 4 or earlier
files.
Added tree and grid network layout diagram. This is a separate form
that has been added as an option to view after the user chooses the
Display Network button of the Tree or Grid Builder. This new diagram
should be more legible than the diagram used until now, especially when
the tree or grid diagram contains many nodes. This new diagram can be
printed directly to the default printer. Note that this tree and grid
print feature is separate from all other print options in the Fire
program. It is meant to be a quick reference tool, not a primary output
of the program. Note that the tree diagram is limited to 20 sprinklers
per branch and 15 branches total, while the grid diagram is limited to
15 branches and 40 sprinklers per branch. The Display Network window
closes when this diagram is closed.
Now a pump curve is allowed to be run in Supply mode. In this case, the
calculations are run iteratively. First pressures and flows are
determined, and the flow at the pump is used with the pump curve to
obtain a corresponding pressure boost. Then calculations are run again
with this equivalent pressure boost. The system flows and pressures
will adjust after the second run with the pressure boost included (this
can be confirmed with a Supply run with and without a constant pump
boost). Calculations are then run again to see if the adjustment is
small enough. This process will repeat until the adjustment is fairly
small. This should indicate fairly well how the pump will behave
according to the pump curve in Supply mode.
Made update to allow printing or previewing to show input pipe and node
data even if calculations have not yet been run for a project.
Added calculation alert message that blank pipe rows are not allowed.
Previously calculations could stop without clarification if a project
contained blank pipe rows.
Enabled the zoom level or page number to be typed directly into the
preview window entry if the user wants to see a certain zoom level or
page. Also Pg Up/Dn can be used to scroll one page at a time through
the preview reports.
Added a panel in the bottom Status Bar to display the Units of a given
field in addition to the allowable Range of inputs.
Fixed bug which sometimes stopped calculations if there was a blank row
in the pipe data. Now blank pipe data rows are sometimes allowed, but
not recommended. They are deleted automatically if pipes are sorted.
Modified program to allow use with any system Regional Settings other
than English (American). Many European and similar settings use a comma
in place of a period in numbers, and such settings can now be used with
Fire.
By popular demand, now the table captions are included across the top of
every page of the printout reports.
Made Nodal Pressure Imbalance more sensitive to user inputs. Now the
Nodal Pressure Imbalance is the determining factor for calculations to
converge. When calculations finish, it is at the discretion of the user
to check the pressure AND flow imbalances to determine whether another
more stringent calculation should be made. The imbalance information is
summarized on the last page of the report before the Hydraulic Graph.
NOTE: JUST BECAUSE CALCULATIONS FINISH DOES NOT MEAN THE SYSTEM WILL
BEHAVE AS SPECIFIED. THE IMBALANCES MUST BE REASONABLY LOW AS WELL. A
REASONABLE FLOW IMBALANCE IS 0.01 GPM OR LOWER.
Added feature to allow users to type in the pipe material type or number
directly in Enter/Edit Pipe Data. The user can type in a number from 1
to 50, or M, S, B, or P for constant pressure loss devices or a pump.
Note that if "P" is typed, a window immediately opens giving the option
to use a pump curve.
Fixed Enter/Edit Pipe Data screen code to allow users to specify Dflt,
Inact, None, or Value for the K-Factor of a node. Now this
specification at each node is saved with the project file. The most
obvious benefit is that now users can select "Dflt" either by choosing
it in the help drop down help box or by placing their cursor in the K-
Factor box and pressing "D". The K-Factor for each node selected as
default will now be set by the Default K-Factor in the System Data tab
of the General Project Data window. A single change there will affect
all the default K-factors in the Enter/Edit Pipe Data screen, as could
be done in Fire for DOS.
Fixed bug which caused program to crash if user specified in the Fire
program installation that the Fire projects directory was not a
subdirectory of the Fire program directory. Now these two directories
can be specified independent of each other. They can even be located on
different drives on your computer.
Updated pipe data for Sch. 10 Wet Steel. This data had been virtually
identical to Sch. 40 Wet Steel in previous versions. Note that if you
have manually changed your own pipe database, installing version 6.0.32
or higher and choosing to install the latest pipe database will
overwrite your pipe database file. If you want to use our updated pipe
data and your manually changed data too, you must save your Pipe.dat
file separately for use when needed or reenter your manual changes into
the new pipe database after installation of this program version.
If you have a Canon Bubblejet printer, you may not be able to preview
reports in the current version of FIRE while your default printer is set
to the Canon Bubblejet. Contact Canon to obtain their newest driver for
your printer. Installing the new driver should hopefully fix this
problem, but until you are able to obtain the new driver, here is a
workaround:
Windows 95 users:
1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel.
2. Right-click on Printers, then select Open.
3. Right-click on Add Printer, then select Open.
4. Use the Add Printer Wizard to add an HP Laserjet 4 printer, and name
it "Preview Only" (or whatever you want to call it).
5. Whenever you want to preview in FIRE, set your default printer to
this new "Preview Only" printer. Don't click the Print Current Page
button on the Print Preview window. Whenever you want to print to your
Canon bubblejet, click the Print button from the Reports/Options window.