Hardware Requirements:
Pentium processor 1.8GHz or higher
1GB Ram or higher
500GB free hard drive space
3D compatible graphic card
Operating System Requirements:
Windows XP Pro
Windows Vista
Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit)
Windows 8 (32 or 64 bit)
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2008
Software Requirements:
.NET Framework 2.0
Windows Installer 3.0
Internet Explorer 7 or above
Peripherals Requirements:
SVGA color Monitor
Any Windows compatible printer or plotter
For older versions (9.40.xx up to 10.00.00) of Deck, Fence and Garage modules, start the program then open one of these modules. Once you have opened a module, (on your keyboard) hold the "alt" key and the "V" key at the same time. A small window will appear giving you the version and the serial number of your device. When you click on the OK button it will then ask you to run the diagnostics. Click no.
For newer versions (10.00.01 +) and older versions of the Post Frame module, open a module then go to the Help|About menu option which displays the version.
With older versions of Design Tools your program may be running in "demo" mode. When you start the program a message will notify you of this. In order to run in "full" mode you require a security device which is a small plug that attaches to your printer port. If this device is attached to LPT1 and it still runs in DEMO mode check for the Serial Number of the Device using the "alt" "V" key combination, click "OK" and check if the diagnostics has the same serial number as the device attached to your computer.
If the serial number is 0 then there is either a problem with your printer port or the device. You must first test that the printer port is working ok. It has to be in a bi-directional mode, ie: ECP, ESP, etc. This is done through your BIOS. See your computer manual or contact the manufacturer of the computer. If it is ok and you are running Windows NT, 2000 or XP make sure you have installed the security device driver. (Windows 95, 98 and ME do not require the driver.) You can do this by selecting the Sentinel Driver Installation icon from the Design Tools program group from the start menu. If the driver has already been installed, then try the device on another computer. (If you have another computer, load the program and run it with the device.) If it still does not work, then contact our support department.
If the serial number has a value other than 0 then the program is able to communicate with the device but has determined that it is not a valid device. There can be two possible explanations for this. You need to update the Ser.dat file (contact Technical Support) or you do not have a valid device to run the program. In this case you would need to contact The Luxwood Corporation in order to purchase a licence.
There are many reasons why you could be having problems when printing your reports. Most can be attributed to a printer hardware and/or software setup or with a Windows setting. For instance, graphic files under Windows require a lot more overhead (what we mean by this is that the files are a lot larger therefore require a lot more resources from your operating system) then a simple text file. Many programs do not put such a load on their operating system simply because the files they are printing are normally text or simple bitmap files (such as MS Paint).
If the report has been passed from Design Tools to the print queue then Windows and/or the printer driver is in control. If the print job is passed quickly from Design Tools to the print queue and it takes a long time to print, prints garbled reports (ie: funny characters and/or prints partly on 1 page then on another), gives "time-out" errors or does nothing then you need to check the following:
Virtual (Swap) Drive size: Normally Windows takes care of this but if the virtual drive has been manually set then you may need to increase the size.
Print Spooler size: This is a temporary holding for print jobs. The location and size is normally set by Windows. If there is not much hard drive space left on the drive which has the print spooler it may cause problems. Make sure the drive which has Windows loaded on it (usually C:) has a large amount of free space.
Printer Drivers: In a number of cases updating the printer driver has solved the problem. Updated drivers can usually be downloaded from the manufacturer's web site.
Printer Memory: Most printers have a small memory capacity (2 megabytes and under), a simple graphic file is normally larger than 2 megabytes in it's default mode. There are 2 things you can do, the 1st is to increase the memory of the printer (if possible), the other is to open the printer properties and see if you can modify the graphics resolution options. Not all printers have this option (the available options differ for each printer) but if they do and you will need to experiment with the available options to get the best results. For example an HP Laserjet 1100 with 2 megabytes of ram will take almost 10 minutes to print a 2.5 megabyte graphic file (using the printer default mode). When the graphics mode was set to custom (using raster mode, 600dpi) the same report took 1 minute.
External Components: The use of other external components such as switch boxes, scanners, external drives, etc on the same port as the printer which may cause hardware or software conflicts. If these devices are connected between the computer and the printer, they may affect the electrical signal timing, potentially disrupting communication to and from the printer resulting in garbled printing. Try removing the external component so that only the printer is hooked directly to your computer then reboot your computer and try again.
Printer Cable: The combined length of the cable exceeds 10 feet and/or is NOT IEEE Std 1284-1994 Compliant. IBM compatible printers require the use of an IEEE Std 1284-1994 compliant parallel printer cable. Some cables labeled IEEE-1284 "Compatible" (rather than "Compliant") may not be reliable. Using a parallel printer cable that does NOT meet IEEE Std 1284-1994 specifications can cause:
Multiple Versions: Having 2 different versions of the program on the same computer (use only the latest version).
New Printer: If you installed a new printer after Design Tools has been installed it may still think that the original printer is the default. Open the Postframe module, create a simple design, build it then open a single report (ie: Plan view) then click on the printer icon (top left hand corner). When the printer dialog window opens select the printer (even if it shows the correct printer select it) and click on the properties button, once you are in the properties window just click on the ok button. This method makes sure that the correct printer is being seen by Design Tools. Continue printing the report, if it is ok try the reports that originally caused the problems.
Try printing an individual report rather than selecting a number of reports through the "Final Listings" option. If each report prints individually this could indicate that you do not have enough free space for the print spooler and/or swap drive. An incorrect parallel port configuration in the computer setup utility (normally this would need to be checked only if there were problems printing from other programs). Below are 2 of the common parallel port settings found in the CMOS setup:
ECP (Extended Capabilities Port): This setting allows the computer parallel port to send and receive data in both directions simultaneously. This is the preferred and the fastest type of communication available to the newer printers available today. SPP: These settings allow the parallel port to operate in an output-only mode where data can be sent out to the printer. In this mode, the parallel port can also receive limited feedback from the printer. These can be the alternate port settings if the ECP port option is not available.
Standard / bidirectional: These settings allow the computer parallel port to send and receive data but only in one direction at a time. If you have carefully checked and confirmed that the above conditions have been meet then you should report the problem to our Technical Support Staff. You will need to give them the version of Design Tools, the version of Windows, the printer(s) on the system and the problem.
Links to the following Point of Sale systems are available:
Yes, if you are making changes to your products it is strongly recommended that you make regular backups for all files in the material folder (sub-directory) as it contains your MC files, SKU (Product) files as well as files for your openings, precut studs, wood types, etc.
If you need to keep a record of your customers and designs then you will also need to make backups of all files in the customer folder as well as the designs.dat and custlist.dat files.
When upgrading to a newer version and the newer version is being copied into the same folder as the original version there are certain files which may be overwritten therefore you will have to reset the values stored in these files. This includes resetting your options in basic design, run time options and materials available. You should note these settings in your current version before upgrading. Customer files found in the customer folder do not need to be saved. When installing a new version into an existing folder you will have the option to keep or overwrite the material files. If you have made any changes to any MC or SKU files you need to select the keep option otherwise these files will be overwritten with the generic SKU files. This also a good reason to keep backup copies of these files. In fact it is a good idea to backup ALL the files in the material folder.
Notes:
1) As with any updated version new variables are made available to the MC files. If you create a design and review the materials you may encounter an error such as "UNDEFINED VARIABLE stair_riser_wood". If you select "ok" the program will still run and complete your material calculations. What the program is saying is that it found a variable which it does not recognize. To eliminate this problem all you need to do is initialize this variable in the initial section of your MC file (ie: stair_riser_wood = 0).
2) There may be changes to program in regards to calculations, variables passed, etc. Sometimes a temporary fix was made in the MC file to correct a program variable which was passing an incorrect value (ie: Garage Roof area may have been calculated incorrectly in the program). When the changes are made to the calculation in the program the fix is no longer required therefore the calculation may have been removed or modified. If you notice that what used to be calculating correctly in the older version is calculating incorrectly check the MC file that came with the newer version of Design Tools to the original version to see if there are any differences.
Design Tools was originally set up as a stand alone program. (ie: single user) but now allows users that have 2 or more versions of the program to share the customer files over a networked system (requires version 9.40.6 or later). This feature is not set inside the program itself, rather you have to make a minor change in your Windows Registry. Warning! modifying your Windows Registry incorrectly can cause problems up to and including Windows not being able to run.
Make sure you have backups of the Registry before continuing (see Windows Help on how to do this). The first step will be to determine where to locate the custlist.dat and designs.dat files along with any customer files (customer files are found in the \Customer folder). You need to store these files into a directory (folder) which is accessible to anyone who has a copy of the program and that the directory has a valid drive letter that can be mapped from each work station.
If you have no customer files then you only need to create the "shared" directory. Once you have created the "shared" directory you need copy the .dat files and customer files to this directory then go to each workstation which has a copy of the program, open the registry and work your way down to the setting which needs to be modified. The setting which needs to be modified is called "path". Normally this is set to the path that the program was installed to (ie: C\Deck). You need to modify it to the "shared" directory you had created. In the example we set the path to N:\LpakCustFiles. Save your changes and exit from the Registry then open Design Tools and pull in a design. If you have no customer files then create a design and save it. Once saved you should see the two .dat files along with the customer's .zip file in the new directory. When sharing the customer files you will notice that if one customer file is open no one else will be able to open it.
This error refers to a problem finding a saved design. For some reason the database which holds a list of designs cannot find it in the customer folder. As you can see from the example you have 3 choices. If this is happening quite a lot it usually indicates corrupt designs.dat and/or custlist.dat files.
Windows 95/98 is trying to switch to DOS-Only mode but doesn't need to. If you get this message click on yes or no (it doesn't matter and will not affect anything). For some reason there is a setting in the Command.pif file which has the "MS-DOS Mode" option checked (the Command.pif is a Windows setting, it has nothing to do with the Design Tools program). To fix this problem use the Find feature in Windows to search for the Command.pif file (usually found in the Windows folder). Right click on the file and select Properties. Click on the Program tab then select the Advanced button. You will see a number of "check" boxes. Make sure the the check box labeled "MS-DOS Mode" is not checked (if it is un-check it) then click OK to exit.
The store name is limited to 15 characters (or less) in length. Restart the program and re-enter a name which is no longer than 15 characters.
The easiest way to do this would be to make a copy of the shortcut which is also used to load the program form Windows start menu. To do this open Windows Explorer, goto the Windows folder and continue opening until you get to Windows|Start Menu|Programs|Design Tools (if you did not install to the default directory you will need to search for the Design Tools folder). You should see a file called "Lumber Package". Highlight this file then right-click to bring up the options panel. Select the option "Create Shortcut". A new shortcut will be created. Drag this shortcut from the folder to your desktop, rename it and you are back in business.
There is another option which is more involved but may be necessary if for some reason you cannot find the shortcut in the Windows start folder. Using Windows Explorer goto the main folder in which the Lumber Pack program was installed to (using the install defaults this would be c:\deck). Highlight the file called Engine.exe then right-click to bring up the options panel. Select the option "Create Shortcut". A new shortcut will be created. Drag this shortcut from the folder to your desktop just as in the previous example. The difference here is that you will need to go into the properties of this shortcut and make some changes to the command line parameters in order to have the program load properly. Right-click on the shortcut and select properties (you should see a dialog box similar to the example). Click on the "Shortcut" tab and into the target box add the following line (replacing the path to your own path where the program is installed). C:\Deck\engine.exe C:\Deck\silver.env-splash=C:\Deck\Drw\LPakLogo.jpg
Also, make sure the start in box has the correct path. The final option is to change the icon. Click on the Change Icon button then find the location of the Design Tools program. In the main folder you should find an icon file called "2020lbr5.ico". Select this icon then click on the OK buttons. That should be all that is needed.
Lumber Package requires the use of certain Windows support files. The file MFC42.dll is one of these files. If this error occurs then it's using an older version of the file instead of the newer version that Windows 2000 uses. You need to remark out (or change the name) of this file so the program will use the newer version that came with Windows 2000. Using Windows Explorer go to the directory (folder) where Design Tools was installed (ie: C:\Deck), search for the file in the main directory (ie: C:\Deck\MFC42.dll) and rename it (ie:MFC42OLD.dll). Once it has been renamed the program will run normally.
Note: If you have a similar problem using Windows NT version 4 you should download and install the latest service pack from Microsoft's web site which will install a newer version of MFC42.dll.
The "Final Listings" option acts like a short cut which allows you to select the reports (both text and graphics) to be printed for each design. This way you need only to print from one report rather than opening and printing from each individual report. If you do not want to print any reports (as in the example above) you click on the cancel button from the final listings box.
Once you click on the OK button the following happens:
The 1st print dialog box to appear is for the text reports (ie: bill of materials, pull list, etc). It acts like any other program print option allowing you to change the default printer, number of copies, printer properties, etc. If you click on the OK button it will print the text reports then continue onto the graphics print dialog box. If you click on the cancel button it will not print the text reports but it still continues onto the graphics print dialog box. The 2nd print dialog box which appears is for the graphics reports. This includes the cut list, plan view, etc. This box will also have a number of print options. Please note the default printer as it may not be the default printer that windows has set. If you have changed the default printer since you installed lumber package the graphics printer may still be set to the original default printer. If it's not the printer you want to use change it then continue. Once you click on the OK button the reports will be printed. If you click on the cancel button it does not cancel the graphic reports. It only cancels any changes you made in the graphics print dialog box but continues on printing.