Xsteel Training Course Lesson 15 – System Customization

Lesson 15 – System Customization

Password File 2

Plotter Database 3

Standard files – Save Defaults 5

Save Defaults Command 5
Other Standard Files 6

Batch File & Icon setup 7

Icon Setup 7
Batch File 7

Profile, Material & Bolt Databases 8

Autosave – Setting interval & Recovering etc.. 10

Setting Interval 10
Recovering the Autosave file 10

Customised files – Storage and system placement 11

Xsteel Storage Directory File Structure 13

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Xsteel Training Course Lesson 15 – System Customization

Password File

Your Xsteel hardware lock is linked directly to the Xsteel password file (xswrk.dat) located in your “bin”
directory (C:\Xsteel\6.0\nt\bin).

The password file can be edited using any text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad.

Also ensure that you install the “Sentinel” driver supplied on the Xsteel installation CD for the hardware
lock to function.

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Plotter Database

The standard installation of Xsteel contains examples of plotter configurations in the Xsteel Plotter
database. The plotter database can be accessed by going to the File pull-down menu in the modeling
environment and selecting Database – Plotters. The following example show a typical network
accessed plotter configuration.

Printer aliases A free alias for a plotter

Printer This field points to the plotter either locally or on the network e.g. \\”Server
ID”\”Share Name”. If the plotter is connected locally, just type the Plotter’s
Name as given in Window’s Printers Control Panel

Paper Size For a “Large Format” plotter (A1, A0 etc..) this is set to “By Plot Area”, but for
an A3, A4 plotter choose the correct size.

File extension You can define the file extension for each plotter or leave it blank. This field is
used when creating DXF files. See the example DXF file plotter.

Plot Area h*b Maximum Plotting area

Color Choose either Black/White or Color

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Pen Map This configures which pen number is used for each color. The thickness of
each pen number depends on the plotter driver, but the range is 1 being the
thinnest, to 5 being the thickest.

Note: also environment variable XS_BASE_LINE_WIDTH=0.1 controls the

pen thickness. Pen Map value is multiplied with constant given in this variable.

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Standard files – Save Defaults

When starting a new project or just simply setting up Xsteel to suit your particular style of work, you may
wish to create a set of “standard” files that can be placed into your Xsteel “system” directory so that all
models worked on will use the same standard files.

You may have noticed by now that most dialogue boxes with a “Save” option in them (Beam Properties,
Macros etc..) have a “standard” setting in the “Load” Window.

This “standard” file is the default file that Xsteel will read and use when applying the command

Save Defaults Command

The Save Defaults command from the Setup pull-down menu in the modeling environment, saves a set
of approximately 16 modeling environment user interface standard files such as Beam Properties,
Column Properties, Setup Preferences, Project Properties etc..

The user should check each of these dialogue boxes and once satisfied with their content, choose Save
Defaults from the Setup pull-down menu. This will place the standard files listed below into the current
model directory. If these files are required for all Models, they can be copied into Xsteel’s “System”
directory. E.g. C:\Xsteel\6.0\countries\euro\system

The list of the standard file names and dialogue boxes are as follows:

standard.asv Autosave
standard.bcc Bolt Clash Check
standard.clm Column Properties
standard.cpl Contour Plate
standard.crs Beam/Orthogonal Beam Properties
standard.dia Twin Profile Properties
standard.fms Plotting Frames
standard.fpl Folded Plate
standard.ler Layer Properties
standard.mvi Model View Properties
standard.num Setup - Numbering
standard.prf Project - Properties
standard.prt Beam Properties

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standard.scr Bolt Properties

standard.stp Setup – Preferences
standard.wld Weld Properties

Other Standard Files

Other standard files may include saved macros in the modeling environment and drawing editor
standard files such as standard text size, dimension colors, weld symbol colors etc..

To change the “standard” files for any of the above, simply set up the properties of the file as required
and then save this file as “standard” (Ensure that it is Lower Case).

These “standard” files will be placed in the current model directory. If they are required for all models,
they can be copied into Xsteel’s “System” directory. E.g. C:\Xsteel\6.0\countries\euro\system.

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Xsteel Training Course Lesson 15 – System Customization

Batch File & Icon setup

Icon Setup
When installing Xsteel, a Xsteel start up icon will be created and can be placed onto your Windows
desktop. It is advisable to check that the “Start in” directory of the icon is pointing to the directory,
directly above where you will be placing your Xsteel models. For example, if you were going to place
your models under the C:\Xsteel_Models directory, ensure that the “Start in” directory of the icon is
pointing to this directory also. This will be the directory where Xsteel places the Xsteel log file
(xsteel.log) and any other temporary files.

Note: To check the “Start in” directory of the icon, first highlight the icon, then right click on the mouse
and select Properties and go to the Shortcut Page where you will see the “Start in” field.

Batch File
The Xsteel start up batch file contains many environment variables that can be configured to suit your
standards. The batch file (xsteel_eng_euro.bat) is located e.g. to directory C:\Xsteel\6.0\bat\. Refer to
the online help for more up to date information.

One line in the batch file that may need altering from time to time is the “Runpath” line. This is the line
that nominates the default directory for Xsteel to look for existing, or to create new models. For instance,
you may set up different Xsteel batch files for different projects and have the “Runpath” line pointing to
different directories etc.. to keep the models separate.

The Runpath line in the Xsteel start up batch file is as follows:

set XS_RUNPATH=c:\xsteel_models

The portion highlighted in bold is what can be modified.

Note: The easiest way to edit the batch file is to highlight the Xsteel icon on the desktop, right click on
the mouse and select Edit.
It could also be opened using any text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad

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Profile, Material & Bolt Databases

Xsteel comes standard with a range of available Profile, Material and Bolt Databases for different world
markets. The default databases will depend on which version you have installed – European, US
Imperial etc..

Normally you will find that these standard databases will contain enough information for normal day to
day work in Xsteel, but there may be cases where new profiles/materials/bolts need to be added.

These databases can be accessed from the File pull-down menu.

E.g. File – Database – Profiles – Modify

In most cases it is simply a case of completing the required section properties and then picking Add/OK
to add the new profile. You will then be asked to either save the database in the Working or Global
Directory. The Working Directory is the current model directory and the Global directory is the “system”
directory for the databases (e.g. C:\Xsteel\6.0\countries\euro\profil\system).

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Note: You would copy the revised database to the Global directory if this new profile etc.. was required
in other models.

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Autosave – Setting interval & Recovering etc..

Setting Interval
The interval for the Autosave can be set by picking Autosave from the Setup pull-down menu. The
numbers represent the number of times commands are picked from the menus. e.g. A setting of 30 in
the model means that after 30 menu picked commands, an Autosave will be performed

Recovering the Autosave file

Every Xsteel model will have the following database files:

Model.db1 Current database

Model.db1.bak Database at last save
Model.db1_user Database at last autosave
Model.db1_user.bak Database at previous autosave
Model.db2
Model.db2.bak
Model.db2_user
Model.db2_user.bak

Db2 files contain some numbering information (maximum used numbers in each group) relative to the
equivalent db1 files. This information used to be kept in the db1 files but has been moved since the
introduction of the multi user database.

When opening a model Xsteel automatically recognizes if the previous session crashed, and asks
whether to continue with the autosaved model or the original one.

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Customized files – Storage and system placement

Xsteel File Structure

Xsteel startup batch files e.g. xsteel_eng_euro.bat

objects.inp file - This file controls the list of variables in the “More”
dialogue box of any member properties dialogue box.

Xsteel Symbol files e.g. xsteel.sym

Default “system” database files:

profdb.bin (Profile Database)
profcs.bin (Profile Cross Section database)
matdb.bin (Material database)
screwdb.db (Bolt database)
assdb.db (Assembly Bolt database)

FLTPROPS file - This file lists the available Flat bar sizes that the
macros will automatically use

This is the “system” directory for the version specified. The

“system” directory typically contains:
- drawing template files
- report template files
- drawing presentation files
- plotter database (plotdev.bin)
- saved joint macro files
- wizard files
- standard.* files
- various other saved files that you wish to use as
your defaults.

“bin” directory - xswrk.dat - Dongle password file

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Note: With the default batch file settings Xsteel looks for files that it requires firstly in the model directory
that you are currently working in. If the files that it requires are not there it then looks for these files in the
“system” directory (6.0\countries\euro\profil or 6.0\countries\euro\system).

Therefore we recommend that you place all files that are required as the default for all projects into the
“system” directory and then files that are unique to a project are placed in the model directory.

It is possible to place template files (report templates and drawing templates) in the model directory but
this is not recommended. It only takes one template to be missing from the model directory and the
result will be that all drawing templates will be missing from the drawings. It will also make updating your
system difficult if changes are needed to the title block etc.. as all models will need to have these files
updated, whereas if the templates were stored in the “system” directory, only this directory would need
updating.

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Xsteel Storage Directory File Structure

You can also use environment variables XS_PROJECT and XS_FIRM to define directories where
attributes (the settings on the dialog boxes, i.e. standard files and user-saved properties of joints, parts,
drawings etc.) are sought.

The advantage of using these variables is to retain your customized attributes when updating to a new
Xsteel version.

When you Save new attributes they are always saved in the model directory, but after that they can be
copied or moved, for example, to the project directory, where they are also available to other projects.

To use e.g. XS_PROJECT variable you need first manually to create the project folder to somewhere
and then set the XS_PROJECT variable pointing to that folder in question. See the example below.

set XS_PROJECT=%XS_DIR%\countries\euro\project\

Attributes are now first searched for in the current model directory, and then in the directories defined by
the environment variables. See the search order below:

1. Current model directory

2. XS_PROJECT

3. XS_FIRM

4. XS_SYSTEM

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If the file is found, the search will not continue to the next level, so if there are files with the same name
in separate directories, the file in the highest directory according to this search order is used. This is not
the case, if the files have different names.

For an extensive description of the files that can be read in the directories defined with XS_PROJECT
and XS_FIRM refer the Xsteel help file.

Templates and reports are searched for in the directory defined by the environment variable
XS_TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY. They are also sought in the directories according to the search order
mentioned above, but the search stops at the directory, where the first template/report file is found and
the search of other templates does not go any further.

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