When you use IES tools it appears that you are working, when in fact, you are playing: creating and producing wonderful designs, resulting in the appearance of actual work.
April 2006 a newsletter for IES customers and friends Volume 12.4

Customer Service 2006

Updated Information on Reaching IES

Doing business with IES, Inc. should be a pleasant and efficient experience for you. The staff at IES has been overhauling procedures as well as implementing system changes to help insure our internal efficiency as well as meet customer needs and demands. Here is a quick run-down on how to best contact IES for various items of business:

Orders, Quotes, Licenses, Business

imgPlace an order, get a price quote, get replacement license keys, ask billing questions, or other general inquiries:

a. Internet: www.iesweb.com/customer.htm is the place to bookmark!

b. Email: info@iesweb.com

c. Phone: 800-707-0816, or 1-406-586-8988 outside of North America.

Technical Support

imgAsk a technical question, or trouble-shoot technical problems: First check the FAQ Answers. We have answered over 85 frequently asked questions in this automated 24/7 system. If you don't find your answer, enter a new question (if you think others might benefit from the answer). Answers appear in this system within a few days, typically. There is a link in IES products directly to the FAQ Answers under the Help menu!

imgGet specific help on an error or problem. Email IES Technical Support, using the built-in Help menu command! If for some reason, the command does not work, you may email directly to 'support@iesweb.com'. We try to respond to email questions within a couple hours.

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AnalysisGroup vs. VisualAnalysis

Two Tools: Conflicting or Complimenting?

Did you know that AnalysisGroup 3.0 uses an entirely new analysis engine with sophisticated thick-plate elements? Did you know that version 3.0 also has envelope results, input validation checks, and a built-in Rich Text report?

These are just some of the tremendous time-savers in this latest IES upgrade. AnalysisGroup 3.0 offers a variety of advantages over it's more powerful sibling, VisualAnalysis. Here are some of those advantages:

Simpler Modeling

The "Big Idea" behind AnalysisGroup is that defining detailed finite element models can be a tedious endeavor. With the limited-scope of projects that AnalysisGroup can solve, comes the benefit that the software can do a lot more for you than a general-purpose tool. This means you spend less time thinking about how to model things, and more time getting the results you need.

AnalysisGroup will automatically determine soil-spring stiffnesses in the Mat Footing analysis module, for example, and it will create and place beam elements in the plate mesh to simulate grade beams or walls on the footing. img

Highly Formatted Reports

Because AnalysisGroup has a good understanding of the input and output generated for its project types, it can create highly stylized reports that are concise, informative, and attractively organized with full-color graphics.

Classical Shear-Wall Solution

The shear wall solution in AnalysisGroup uses a classical "rigidity" solution rather than a numerical finite element approach. This makes it both fast and reliable for concrete or masonry shear wall systems. While the software does not design any walls, you will get results you need to complete your designs quickly; including pier forces around openings, and wall overturning moments.

Circular Tank Analysis

AnalysisGroup solves round tanks using an axisymmetric shell element for efficiency in modeling, reducing your modeling effort to specifying a few dimensions and boundary conditions. While you cannot handle unsymmetric loading conditions, like you could in VisualAnalysis, the modeling is dramatically easier. And so is result interpretation, as AnalysisGroup understands hoop forces and backfill surcharge pressures.

Conclusions

While AnalysisGroup and VisualAnalysis overlap significantly in their capabilities, there are many times when AnalysisGroup might be the product of choice based on its ability to get you in and out of a project more rapidly. Of course, if you have projects that AnalysisGroup just can't handle, like irregularly shaped mat footings, or tanks with unsymmetric loads, then you may need to bring out the big gun.

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Basement Walls

QuickRWall handles basement walls!

imgRetaining walls are what QuickRWall is all about. But there are many variations on retaining walls that you may not think of when you go hunting for a tool. One of these variations is the lowly basement wall.

QuickRWall's ability to analyze and design the "Propped Cantilever" wall is one of it's lesser publicized features. What may be difficult to calculate by hand is handled easily by the software. All you need to do is to check the Has Lateral Support option on the Stem tab of the Input View, and also an Axial Load on the the Loads tab.

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Contents

Licensing & Pricing

Protecting Your Investment

Licensing structural software from IES is a partnership based on mutual trust. You trust IES to provide the tools, features and support you need. We trust you to purchase the licenses you need.

If IES software is distributed illegally, this relationship is compromised. IES instituted an activation system with VisualAnalysis 5.5 and we are proud to report that most IES customers are using the software honestly. This is great news, considering the software piracy rates worldwide.

At the same time, the IES software business model is in jeopardy due to pirated license keys and distribution, primarily outside the USA.

We are considering changing our pricing, licensing, and support models to better protect our intellectual property and to insure that we can provide reasonably priced software and service to our loyal customers.

Please answer the following questions to help us determine the best course of action:

1. How would you feel about IES using a hardware lock, like a USB device?


2. Software license costs are directly affected by support costs. How would you feel about paying for telephone support? (Email support would still be free)


3. How would you feel about paying a deposit (say $50) before you could run our free-trial software?


4. How many structural engineers work in your office?

5. What kind of licensing do you think works best for your office, assuming the prices were right:

(Survey was completed, see results

in the May issue.)

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Latest Updates

New Features and Fixes

The developers have been very busy over the past few weeks and have released updates to almost every IES product. Please make sure your installations are current to avoid defects and also to take advantage of new software tweaks to simplify your life.

The updates are found here:

www.iesweb.com/install.htm

Here are just a few new features to leverage in your work. These are FREE maintenance features!

  • VA: Add a concrete or steel design material without going outside the software!

  • VA: Improved 'Check Model for Errors" command.

  • AG: Easier beam projects with an improved 'Project Dialog' and rectangle shapes supported!

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