Hanover, 12 November 2014
Dear ELCAD Users,
the present Readme File contains update information on ELCAD / AUCOPLAN version 7.10.0
1. Installation ELCAD / AUCOPLAN 7.10.0
2. New Features and Extension
3. Fixed Bugs
4. Network Performance Optimization
5. Note on the parallel operation of ELCAD and EB during the adoption of existing data
6. Felics license server with 64-bit operating systems
1. Installation of ELCAD / AUCOPLAN 7.10.0
1.1 Definition of the installation directory
The entry of the installation directory should start with a drive letter. You should avoid server notations such as \\pcwinnt01\cae for the path definition.
1.2 Multiple Use of the Setup Procedure
You can carry out the ELCAD / AUCOPLAN 7 setup several times and thus install different languages and products in parallel on one and the same computer. Under System Settings / Software you will find an entry for each installation, and there the installation folder is displayed under Details, so that you can remove the installations selectively.
2. New Features and Extension
In addition to the documentation "New Features in 7.10.0" you will here find the descriptions of new functions that were not dealt with in the online help and the manuals. At the beginning of some of the events listed, an identification number (ID) is mentioned under which the corresponding event is kept in our database. Please refer to the above ID if you have any advices or remarks on the events listed herein.
EL-131211-001
The error messages for the cases when drawings cannot be opened have been improved. During the project check of the drawings the corresponding error message is now also entered into the log. The message of the sheet has neither to be displayed nor acknowledged before the action can be continued. When a batch is executed a possible error message is now entered into the corresponding log when a sheet is opened.
EL-140212-002
In dimensioning, the ESC key is no longer used to quit the function; instead the program returns to the dimensioning dialog. There you can execute additional dimensioning steps, or you can exit the process by clicking on the [Exit] button. You can restore the former functionality, i.e. immediate termination of the dimensioning function upon pressing the ESC button, by means of an Ini switch in the aucotec.ini file.
[Dimensioning]
DontRepeat=1
EL-140214-001
When reading in drawings in the ASCII format it was up to now not possible to place symbols of the same name in the same position. If required, you can however activate this feature via the following Ini switch in the aucotec.ini:
[Ascii]
IgnoreDoubleSymbolError=1
EL-140505-002
When outputting a drawing into a navigable PDF file, you can configure the collecting frame for symbols in the aucotec.ini as follows:
[Pdf]
NoEmptyTextInFrame=1
- Empty texts are not taken into account for the frame. This setting option exists already from the ELCAD version 7.9 on.
[Pdf]
OnlyCode10InFrame=1
- The collecting frame takes only the cross-reference into account. This setting option exists already from version 7.9 onward. The subsequent Ini switches have been implemented with ELCAD version 7.10.
[Pdf]
NoVarGraphicInFrame=1
- Variable graphics (variable lines, rectangles and groups) are not taken into account for the frame.
[Pdf]
NoVarLinInFrame=1
- Variable lines are not taken into account for the frame.
[Pdf]
NoVarRecInFrame=1
- Variable rectangles are not taken into account for the frame.
[Pdf]
NoVarGruppeInFrame=1
- Variable groups are not taken into account for the frame.
EL-140514-002
In response to customer requests, the message "References to various main representation windows" can now be switched off.
[System]
NoMessageForDifferentMainWindows=1
3. Fixed Bugs
At the beginning of some of the events listed, an identification number (ID) is mentioned under which the corresponding event is kept in our database. Please refer to the above ID if you have any advices or remarks on the events listed herein.
Drawing editing
EL-131209-002
There was a program crash if an Excel sheet with more than 128 columns was configured in drawing editing under Extras/Translate Settings.
EL-070321-9243
Logs were up to now displayed with an internal editor if a certain size (64,500 characters) was not exceeded. For larger files there was a switch to an external editor. This can now be controlled via an Ini switch so that the internal editor is no longer used:
[System]
DontUseInternalEditor=1
The routine for displaying logs has been optimized for version 7.10. However, if required you can use an Ini switch to go back to the former functionality for displaying logs:
[System]
UseOldTxtFunction=1
EL-070703-9429
If an automatically assigned terminal number was changed in the terminal editor or the terminal block designer, then it did not subsequently show up in the item editor as manually assigned entry, i.e. it was not highlighted in blue.
EL-080407-9821
If several screens were used simultaneously and ELCAD was moved to the second screen, then there were graphic impurities when a graphic message (balloon) was removed.
EL-140106-001
If in a two-screen solution ELCAD was moved to the second screen and maximized there, then after a restart ELCAD reappeared on the first screen.
EL-080811-001
The tooltip display has been optimized. Particularly with multiple screen solutions they showed up in wrong positions.
EL-131219-001
The pop-up window for the command "SERVICE" and Shift-F1 has been optimized for multiple screen solutions.
EL-130524-001
Editing with transfer while using the option "Evaluate symbols after editing" has been optimized such that the desired offline contents of the start symbol are transferred to the subsequent symbols. In this case the transfer did not always yield the desired result for terminal and secondary representation symbols of the types 6 and 7 when the contents of code 21 were transferred. Additionally, not only the start symbol but all other transfer symbols are also set online after the transfer if the option "Evaluate symbols after editing" is activated. If this additional evaluation of the transfer symbols is undesirable, then you can disable it via the following switch in the aucotec.ini:
[System]
SetNoOnlineEditTransferSymbols=1
EL-130507-002
When macros were imported into a project located in a path with umlauts, ELCAD could crash.
EL-130625-003
When the command 'N' was used to navigate from one sheet to another one, then a possibly closed drawings tree was not opened, and the sheet was not marked.
EL-130911-001
The selection element for selecting the destination cable when transferring used cores into another cable has been adapted, its size now dynamically conforms to the number of available transfer cables.
EL-130927-001
When AutoConnect was activated and a symbol was placed on a vertical connection, the program nonetheless created connections to horizontal connections.
EL-131106-001
If in the drawings tree a form was swapped with "Form"/"Exchange", then the graphic was not correctly adapted if the format was different. If after exchanging a form the UNDO command was executed, then likewise the graphic was not correctly adapted if the format was different.
EL-131127-001
If with an open graphic a configuration relevant for reconstruction was changed in the options, then the open graphic was filled with the contents of all drawings of the project when subsequently the reconstruction was carried out.
EL-140108-001
If in graphic editing a core associated with the cable management was edited, then there could be an error message if the comment in the core symbol exceeded the permissible length specified in the core management. The length of the comment is now shortened to the permissible size.
EL-140127-001
In the dialog for configuring the layers in the settings, the slider could not be pulled down all the way.
EL-140217-001
The "ASCII backup of drawings" did not function any more when there was a gap of over 1,000 in the file numbers.
EL-140220-003
When a revision is set, then the revision comments are also queried. If the names of these comments were translate pointers, then there was no translation of the size calculation for these texts. Therefore it could happen that the text extended into the input field.
EL-140227-001
The printer dialog contains the option "Set watermark" when outputting drawings. This setting is now maintained for the next call of the printer dialog.
EL-140307-001
If designations were specified for the supplementary comments on the revisions, then there was an error message when displaying the revision information via PROPERTIES. This error has now been eliminated, and the designations for the revision comments are generally restricted to 58 characters in the display.
EL-140317-001
The option "Show frame" now also functions when copying and moving from the context menu of the right mouse button.
EL-140402-001
If the symbol library last configured was not selectable, then there was no error message. Form version 7.10 onward there is again a corresponding message.
EL-140403-001
Colored connections in macros were not stored properly. They were displayed colorless when using the macro. To eliminate the problem, such macros must be stored anew (e.g. with ME + MS).
EL-140605-001
In the error list created during the evaluation of drawings, the sheet comment was displayed as translate pointer and not translated.
EL-140730-001
If in the digitizing dialog of the right mouse button the scale was set to values under 1:1, then meaningless characters were displayed in the status line of the coordinate display. Upon renewed call of the dialog, the selected setting was no more present.
Project editing
EL-131114-001
In the browsers, the text in the status line above the buttons is now shown in Unicode.
PM&CT Design
EL-131217-001
With EXTEND STRUCTURE, the comments can now continuously be extended to 58 characters or reduced if necessary. This holds for the following tables: Cables, cores, cable runs, measurement tags/functions and devices in Studio projects.
List editing
EL-131104-001
If an output was executed via FILE / EXPORT / VIA PROTOCOLS, then there could be an error message if a sorting parameter specified in the protocol was no longer present in the data structure.
EL-131105-001
If an import project that did not contain protocols was specified for importing protocols, there was an insufficient error message. Now the user is told that the specified import project does not contain protocols.
EL-140228-001
If during wiring list regeneration the structure of a wiring list was not compatible with the wiring information, then up to now there was a program message. Starting from version 7.10, the structure of the wiring list is automatically matched with the structure of the wiring information. Thus it is ensured that the existing wiring information can always be imported into the current wiring list. It is no longer necessary to delete and recreate wiring lists.
EL-140526-001
Both in the cable management and in AUCOPLAN, tables are interlinked hierarchically. If for starting a report one used a free format containing a data field from the relative table that no longer existed, there was a program crash.
EL-140613-001
If there were protocols for contents tables and the corresponding contents table list had more than one management level, then the export to files resulted in an error message.
EL-140401-001
For the function "Update lists" (right mouse click on the project folder in the drawings tree or call via the toolbar), the compilation of the lists to be updated is now presented in sorted form. Moreover wiring lists that were used for automatic numbering are likewise no longer listed in the compilation of the lists that can be updated.
EL-140411-002
For older projects, it was in part possible to store protocols repeatedly under the same protocol designation in the protocol definitions. Thus it could happen that an unambiguous import of the protocols was not possible. This is now directly checked by the program during project selection and automatically corrected if required.
Input/output components
EL-110126-001
When the association with a controller number in the PLC card display was changed in drawing editing, it could happen that upon opening the sheet of the single-bit representations, the single bits of both the old and the new controller number had a display reference. In the course of the elimination of this error, the function "Cancel assignment list association" for single-bit representations has been improved.
EL-130918-001
If in a PLC symbol the text for the symbolic operand (code number 12212) or the comment (code number 12213) was longer than the data field length of the respective assignment list, then depending on the configuration of the assignment list there was an error message when the assignment was made via drag & drop.
EL-140710-001
When the display references were transferred into the assignment list, there was an error message if the length of the reference exceeded the length of the data field. Now the reference is automatically matched with the data field length.
EL-140221-001
When changes were made in input/output component editing, then these changes were discarded upon opening the sheets. This error occurred under the following circumstances:
1. In ELCAD Studio projects if a sheet containing associated I/O component symbols also contained a window symbol (symbol type 10 or 11).
2. In ELCAD Studio projects if during I/O component editing the equipment was changed in device editing or the equipment tree before opening the sheet.
3. In ELCAD Studio projects if during I/O component editing the equipment was changed in the equipment tree before opening the sheet.
This error has now been remedied. If however you now encounter problems when matching the I/O components in the drawings of your specific work environment, problems that did not exist with an older ELCAD version, you can reactivate the former behavior with the following Ini switch.
[Automatic]
OldPlcUpdateMode=1
EL-140424-001
When assigning an I/O component from the equipment tree to an I/O symbol, the status line texts for the [Shift] and [Ctrl] keys were inverted.
Symbol design
EL-060407-8638; EL-130220-003; EL-131119-001
If symbols cannot be copied into a symbol library because it is full, now a program message is displayed.
EL-130305-001
In symbol design, after the command "TB UNLOAD" (unload toolbar) the command "TB LOAD" (load toolbar) did not work anymore.
EL-131017-001
If in symbol editing one tried to create a symbol library that already existed and was currently used by another user, then there was a program message that this action could not be carried out. However, upon acknowledging this message, the symbol library in the tree already used by the other user was nonetheless enabled for editing.
EL-140204-003
When reading an ASCII file into a full symbol library, now only one message is displayed. The further import is terminated.
Import, export and interfaces
EL-131212-001
In the mask for reading in drawings via VNS data, the data fields for the VNS schematic data file and the VNS symbol data file were inverted.
EL-140214-002
When outputting PDF compact files with the option "Enable navigation and search", the temporary folder required for creating the PDF files was not deleted if there was a file reference in symbol code numbers 5030-5035.
EL-140130-002
When opening a drawing, the message "Technical data not identical!" may be displayed. If this drawing was exported as ASCII file, then this message was erroneously also transferred into the ASCII file.
Translate editing
EL-130611-002; EL-140114-001
In drawing editing there was an error message if a column heading under "Extras/Translate settings" (ODBC) contained umlauts.
Batch processing
EL-130814-001
If no path existed for a batch output in the ASCII format, then this path was not automatically created.
Terminal Editor / Terminal Block Designer
EL-120619-001
If a part number was exchanged in the terminal block designer, then the respective technical data were not adapted.
EL-130926-001
The terminal block designer took a long time for loading a block with many jumpers, this process has been accelerated with version 7.10.
Licensing
EL-140210-001; EL-140117-001
If for any reason a FlexNet server is not accessible for ELCAD and if therefore the required licenses cannot be debited, now a corresponding message is displayed.
4. Network Performance Optimization
In practice, there are considerable differences in performance depending on the locally used hardware. Depending on your infrastructure and the way you operate ELCAD / AUCOPLAN, the results are quite different. One reason for the performance loss is that with the Microsoft standard data access routines the size of the read and written data packages is by default set to 4 KB. This results in "extra" data traffic in the network especially for actions where actually a small data amount is read or written. Especially in heavily strained networks, this can negatively influence the overall performance.
In order for you to be able to locally optimize the performance yourself, the size of the packets can now be set via INI switches. You can find the settings in the section [FileBufferSize].
[FileBufferSize]
UseDefault=0
Read=512
Write=256
The entry "UseDefault=0" deactivates the Microsoft default values of 4 KB for the data access. By means of the entries "Read" and "Write", you can specify other package sizes. Values between 256 and 16384 are possible here. With the values 512 (Read) and 256 (Write), distinct improvements in performance have been attained in intensive test series with slow network environments. Furthermore, you can individually adapt these values for your network within the range of the minimum and maximum values. Please contact your system administrator in this case.
5. Note on the Parallel Operation of ELCAD and EB During the Adoption of Existing Data
If you have started EB and several instances of ELCAD are running simultaneously in your system, an error may occur in the adoption of existing data. Please make sure that during the adoption of existing data ELCAD is started only once on your PC.
6. Felics License Server with 64-bit Operating Systems
You can install and operate the Felics license server on 64-Bit operating systems. To do this, use the Felics version 3.6.1 used by the ELCAD installation medium. The utility also operates on 64-Bit computers. Please note, however, that license management with the Felics tools (Rembrand/Wramon) requires a 32-Bit PC because the tools cannot be started under 64-Bit operating systems. Therefore use any PC with a 32-Bit operating system to install the Felics tools. Thereby it becomes possible to manage the license on the 64-Bit Felics server.
When installing the utility under a 64-Bit operating system, note the following:
1. Depending on the setting, firewalls must be temporarily deactivated during the installation period to carry out the installation.
2. You must assign the administrator write access in the target folder for the installation: "Programs (x86)\Aucotec\elcad\felics".
3. Once you have carried out changes in the settings, you must manually restart the Felics utility from the Windows utility configuration. Unfortunately a restart from the Felics utility configuration does not work.