I agree with Superpiper, 5.10 has the ability to crash quite easily. There are quite a few bugs in it that should have been fixed before release. This version seems very unstable.
There is a new download available (named "graphics+FlgOutput.zip") that anyone with "unexplained crashes" should grab. Take the other "instructional download" - it will hopefully save headaches in the future.
What does this hopefully fix graphics wise? We visited a client who was experiencing "unexplained crashes" and watched them work. What we found was that it was the speed at which they used the mouse that was causing the problem. They managed to change data and get back to the graphics and click on some object being redrawn so fast, that the object didn't exist (yet) in the new data structure, and the tooltip couldn't be displayed - hence the crash.If you install this download, and still experience problems, we need to know exactly what you're doing. If we can't reproduce it, we can't fix it. This is why we are so interested in users being
beta testers - everyone uses the software differently. If the software crashed for us, we wouldn't release it. There were no bugs,
that we were aware of, at the time of release.
There already are 2 patches and hot fixes for 5.10.
There is only one patch. If you would rather we keep the hot fixes secret we can do that. Or perhaps we should sneak things onto your machine the first Tuesday of every month the way Microsoft does.
In addition it's a hassle not being able to run 5.10 files on 5.0 or earlier versions.
We have always stated that piping input files are
upward compatible only. We always state in the distribution letter that piping input files are not downward compatible. If, occasionally, you can take an input file down in version that means for that particular release, the input data structure didn't change. Consider this good fortune.
The system becomes too slow.
Version 5.10 is substantially faster than 5.00. Please send your model and a description of the slow down to techsupport@coade.com. This shouldn't be happening.
The output in word is another problem.
I agree, 100%. The problem though is MS Word. We spent quite a lot of time with Microsoft trying to speed this up. Their reply: "anything over 6 pages is a big document"; and "formatting tables is very slow". So at the moment we are investigating other alternatives, but we are really throttled here.
dont know why COADE, threw away the option of maximum stress, max Fx, Max displacement options in their new versions.
We didn't throw anything away. These options should work if you get the 080207 build.
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Here is a suggestion: If you ever find yourself fighting the software, either (a) you don't understand something, or (b) we don't understand something. So rather than continuing to fight and be unhappy and frustrated, send us an e-mail. We need to know what the issues are, or we can't improve the software.