



                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________






















                              B E A M  C O O K B O O K
                           _____________________________


                                   USER'S MANUAL

                          Shareware Evaluation Version 1.0


















                          This manual is copyrighted 1996
                                 by SoftEngineering
                            - All Rights Are Reserved -








                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________


          SHAREWARE

          This software is provided as Shareware.  This means you have the
          opportunity to try it before you buy it. If you continue to  use
          this software for more than 90 days you are requested to  become
          a registered user.  Registered users  receive an  update to  the
          most recent version of the software, a printed manual, and  free
          support.

          Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software  be-
          fore buying it.  If you try a Shareware program and continue us-
          ing it, you are expected to register.  Individual programs  dif-
          fer on details -- some request registration while others require
          it, some specify a maximum trial period.

          Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial  software,
          and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific
          exceptions as stated below.  Shareware authors are  accomplished
          programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs  are
          of comparable quality.  (In both cases, there are good  programs
          and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribu-
          tion.  The author specifically grants the right to copy and dis-
          tribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a  specific
          group.  For example, some authors require written permission be-
          fore a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware.

          Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software.  You
          should find  software  that  suits your  needs  and  pocketbook,
          whether it's  commercial or  Shareware.   The  Shareware  system
          makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before  you
          buy.  And  because the  overhead is  low, prices  are low  also.
          Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you  don't
          use the product, you don't pay for it.

          Beam Cookbook is  a "shareware program"  and is  provided at  no
          charge to the user for evaluation.   Feel free to share it  with
          your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as  part
          of another system.  The essence of "user-supported" software  is
          to provide personal computer users with quality software without
          high prices, and  yet to  provide incentive  for programmers  to
          continue to develop new products.  If you find this program use-
          ful and find that  you are using Beam  Cookbook and continue  to
          use Beam Cookbook after a reasonable trial period, you must make
          a registration payment of $59.95 to SoftEngineering.  The $59.95
          registration fee will license one copy for  use on  any one com-
          puter at any one time.  You must treat this software just like a
          book. An example is that this software may be used by any number
          of people and may be freely moved  from one computer location to
          another, so long as there is no possibility  of it being used at


                                         i




                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________

          one location while it's being used  at another.  Just as a  book
          cannot be read by two different persons at the same time.

          Commercial users  of Beam  Cookbook must  register and  pay  for
          their copies of  Beam Cookbook within  30 days of  first use  or
          their license is  withdrawn.  Site-License  arrangements may  be
          made by contacting SoftEnginering.

          Anyone distributing Beam Cookbook  for any kind of  remuneration
          must first contact Softengineering at the address below for aut-
          horization. This authorization will  be automatically granted to
          distributors recognized  by the (ASP) as adhering to its  guide-
          lines  for shareware  distributors, and  such  distributors  may
          begin offering Beam Cookbook immediately(However SoftEngineering
          must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-
          date with the latest version of Beam Cookbook.).

          You are encouraged to pass a copy of Beam Cookbook along to your
          friends for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their
          copy if  they find that they  can use it.   All registered users
          will receive  a copy of  the latest version of the Beam Cookbook
          system.

          ASP OMBUDSMAN

          This program  is produced  by a  member  of the  Association  of
          Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that  the
          shareware principle works for you.  If you are unable to resolve
          a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the
          member directly, ASP  may be able  to help.   The ASP  Ombudsman
          (OMB) can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP mem-
          ber, but does not provide  technical support for members'  prod-
          ucts.  Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at

                545 Grover Road
                Muskegon MI 49442

          or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombuds-
          man 70007,3536.  The OMB may be contacted by FAX by sending to
          the ASP FAX number: (616) 788-2765.  In communication with the
          OMB please include a telephone and/or FAX number if available.

                                  _______
                             ____|__     |                (R)
                          --|       |    |-------------------
                            |   ____|__  |  Association of
                            |  |       |_|  Shareware
                            |__|   o   |    Professionals
                          -----|   |   |---------------------
                               |___|___|    MEMBER

                                         ii




                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________

          DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT

          Users of Beam Cookbook must accept this disclaimer of  warranty:
          "Beam Cookbook is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all war-
          ranties, expressed  or implied,  including, without  limitation,
          the warranties of  merchantability and of  fitness for any  pur-
          pose.  The author  assumes no liability  for damages, direct  or
          consequential, which may result from the use of Beam Cookbook."












































                                         iii




                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________

                               C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S


          INTRODUCTION................................................viii
          ABOUT THIS MANUAL.............................................ix
          WHEN YOU NEED HELP.............................................x

          C H A P T E R  1 ..............................................1
             GETTING STARTED ............................................1
               THE BEAM COOKBOOK PACKAGE ................................1
               WHAT YOU NEED ............................................1
                Necessary equipment .....................................1
                Optional equipment ......................................1
               INSTALLING BEAM COOKBOOK .................................2
               QUICK START ..............................................3

          C H A P T E R  2 ..............................................5
             BEAM COOKBOOK: AN OVERVIEW .................................5
               STARTING BEAM COOKBOOK ...................................5
               THE BEAM COOKBOOK MAIN SCREEN ............................5
                The desktop area ........................................6
                Function key bar and help line ..........................6
               A TOUR OF YOUR KEYBOARD ..................................6
                Arrow keys ..............................................6
                Function keys ...........................................7
                The Esc key .............................................7
               USING THE MOUSE...........................................8
                Basic techniques ........................................8
                More mouse shortcuts ....................................9
               USING THE BEAM COOKBOOK MENUS ............................9
                Shortcuts ..............................................10
               USING THE BEAM COOKBOOK WINDOWS .........................12
                Window management ......................................13
               GETTING HELP ............................................14
               SETTING THE DEFAULT DIRECTORY............................15
               ENTERING AND EDITING DATA ...............................15
               SAVING AND OPENING BEAM FILES............................16
               SETTING THE SCREEN SIZE .................................18
                Using mouse drivers with graphics cards ................18
               EXITING BEAM COOKBOOK ...................................19

          C H A P T E R  3 .............................................20
             THE PULL-DOWN MENUS .......................................20
               ABOUT ...................................................20
               FILE ....................................................20
               BEAM ....................................................21
               SUPPORTS ................................................21
               LOADS ...................................................22
               MISCELLANEOUS ...........................................22
               SOLVE ...................................................23
               OPTIONS .................................................23

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                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________

          C H A P T E R  3 (CONTINUED)
            WINDOW .....................................................24
               HELP ....................................................25

          C H A P T E R  4 .............................................26
             INPUT WINDOWS .............................................26
               BEAM CONFIGURATION ......................................26
               SUPPORTS ................................................28
               CONCENTRATED LOADS ......................................29
               MOMENTS .................................................30
               UNIFORM LOADS ...........................................31
               RAMP LOADS ..............................................31
               HINGES ..................................................32
               MOMENT CONNECTORS .......................................33

          C H A P T E R  5 .............................................35
             OUTPUT WINDOWS ............................................35
               SOLUTIONS ...............................................35
               REVIEW INPUTS ...........................................37
               REACTIONS ...............................................38
               BOUNDARY CONDITIONS .....................................38
               SHEAR:MOMENT:SLOPE:DEFLECT ..............................39
               BEAM VALUES .............................................40
               LOCATION ................................................40
               DISPLAY BEAM ............................................41
               DIAGRAMS ................................................43
               REPORTS .................................................44
          C H A P T E R  6 .............................................48

             ENTERING DATA .............................................48
               ENTERING DATA ...........................................48
               EDITING ENTRIES .........................................48

          C H A P T E R  7 .............................................51
             SETTING OPTIONS ...........................................51
               THE OPTIONS MENU ........................................51
               HARDWARE OPTIONS ........................................52
                Graphics card options ..................................52
                Defining the printer ...................................54
                Defining the (printer) Device ..........................55
               PREFERENCES OPTIONS .....................................55
               STARTUP OPTIONS .........................................56
               SAVE OPTIONS ............................................57

          C H A P T E R  8 .............................................58
             WORKING WITH BEAM FILES ...................................58
               THE FILE MENU ...........................................58
               ACCESSING FILES .........................................59
                Opening a file .........................................59
               OPENING A NEW FILE ......................................61
               SAVING FILES ............................................61

                                         v




                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________

          C H A P T E R  8 (CONTINUED)
                Assigning a file name ..................................63
               OVERRIDING THE DEFAULT DIRECTORY ........................63

          C H A P T E R  9 .............................................66
             ADVANCED COMMANDS .........................................66
               PRIMARY ACTIVATE AND DEACTIVATE COMMANDS ................66
               SECONDARY ACTIVATE AND DEACTIVATE COMMAND ...............67
               USING BOTH PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COMMANDS ...............67

          A P P E N D I X  A............................................68
             BEAM COOKBOOK KEYS ........................................68

          A P P E N D I X  B............................................74
             ERROR MESSAGES ............................................74

          A P P E N D I X  C............................................79
             TECHNICAL DATA ............................................79
               BOUNDARY CONDITIONS .....................................79
               STIFFNESS/FLEXIBILITY COEFFICIENTS ......................80
               FORCED DEFLECTIONS/SLOPES ...............................81
               COMBINING STIFFNESS/FLEXIBILITY
                 COEFFICIENTS WITH FORCED DEFLECTION/SLOPE .............81


          I N D E X ....................................................82


























                                         vi




                                 BEAM COOKBOOK 1.0
          ________________________________________________________________


                                  T  A  B  L  E  S

          Table 1.1  Quick start commands................................4
          Table 2.1  Basic mouse techniques..............................8
          Table 2.2  General hot keys...................................11
          Table 2.3  Online help hot keys...............................11
          Table 2.4  Window management hot keys.........................11
          Table 2.5  Manipulating windows...............................14
          Table 2.6  Mouse drivers that
                         support enhanced screen modes..................19
          Table 6.1  Entry Editor Commands..............................49
          Table A.1  Entry editor commands..............................68
          Table A.2  Field selection commands...........................68
          Table A.3  Menu bar commands..................................69
          Table A.4  Submenu commands...................................70
          Table A.5  List commands......................................71
          Table A.6  Picklist commands..................................71
          Table A.7  The Beam Cookbook function keys....................71
          Table A.8  Hot keys...........................................73
































                                        vii


                                   INTRODUCTION

          This manual serves as a guide to Beam Cookbook, a  comprehensive
          beam solver (linearly elastic systems only) designed to be  used
          by engineers, engineering  students or  anyone   interested   in
          analytical solutions.  This is the ultimate "cookbook":  instead
          of having to find the right recipe, Beam Cookbook only  contains
          the ingredients, you supply the recipe. The ingredients are  the
          only constraints  you  have.    Beam  Cookbook  uses  analytical
          solutions and  the  principle  of superposition  (does  not  use
          finite elements) to determine reactions, shear,  moment,  slope,
          and deflection.

          The ingredients are:

                Supports (20 max): simple, guided, and fixed (can have
                   vertical and/or rotational springs - also can have
                   forced deflections and/or slopes)

                Variable moment of inertia (20 max)

                Concentrated loads (40 max)

                Concentrated moments (40 max)

                Uniform loads (20 max)

                Ramp loads (20 max)

                Hinges (10 max) (can have rotational springs)

                Moment connectors (10 max): transfers moment only (can
                   have vertical springs)

          You may display or print the following:


                Input data  (text)

                Reactions  (text)

                Beam values at boundary conditions (text)

                Beam values at equally spaced increments (text)

                Beam and loads (graphics)

                Shear, moment, slope, and deflection diagrams (graphics)









                                    viii


          ABOUT THIS MANUAL

          This manual has the following parts:

             Chapter 1,  "Getting Started," explains what you need and how
                          to install and run Beam Cookbook.

             Chapter 2,  "Beam Cookbook: An overview," describes some of
                          the basic procedures involved in using Beam
                          Cookbook, such as choosing a command from a
                          menu.

             Chapter 3,  "The pull-down menus," introduces each selection
                          on the menu bar.

             Chapter 4,  "Input windows," describes in detail each input
                          window, such as defining the location and type
                          of support you require.

             Chapter 5,  "Output windows," describes in detail each output
                          window, such as the all the reactions.

             Chapter 6,  "Entering data," explains how to enter data into
                          you beam problem and how to edit entries.

             Chapter 7,  "Setting options," shows how to change options
                          that affect the startup, operation, and hardware
                          that Beam Cookbook uses.

             Chapter 8,  "Working with beam files," explains how you can
                          display open, save, and start a new file.  It
                          tells you how move in and out of directories in
                          the directory tree.

             Chapter 9,  "Advanced commands," explains how you activate /
                          deactivate commands on input fields.

             Appendix A, "Special keys," explains the arrow, function, and
                          other special keys in Beam Cookbook.

             Appendix B, "Error messages," lists error messages that might
                          occur in Beam Cookbook.

             Appendix C, "Menu / window tree," is a schematic showing the
                          path to all menus and windows.

             Appendix D, "Technical data," is the description of the
                          boundary conditions used and their respective
                          equations.
             Index







                                     ix


          WHEN YOU NEED HELP

          Customer Service

          If  you need  any  help with  the  following, please  call us at
          1-714-497-3852.

              * Questions or problems about your bill.
              * Questions or problems with your shipment.
              * Questions about returning your product.
              * Defective user's guide.


          Technical Support

          Registered  customers  get free  technical  support, notices  of
          product updates, and other announcements.

          Telephone
          Call Technical  Support at 1-714-497-3852, hours  3:00pm - 8:00pm
          pacific time. We'll take all the time needed to answer your quest-
          ions, but you may have to wait  a short  time while we offer this
          same attention to other callers ahead of you.

          CompuServe
          The SoftEngineering's User ID is 72760,76. We sill do our best to
          respond in 24 hours.

          Prodigy
          The SoftEngineering's User ID is KFPB21A.  We sill do our best to
          respond in 24 hours.

          Defective disk replapement

          Usually you receive one of these messages if you have a bad disk:
                "CRC error ...."
                "General failure error reading drive ...."
                "Sector not found ...."
                "Bad sector ...."
                "Unrecoverable read error ...."
          To check, use the DISKCOPY command to copy the entire disk. DISK-
          COPY reports any bad sectors.  (See your DOS manual.)  Check  all
          disks.  To replace  defective disks,  call  Technical  Support at
          1-714-497-3852. Within 30 days of purchase, we replace disks free.
          After this, contact Technical Support for prices.












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