dbMASS 5.0 |
Bug Fix SectionThis file documents the problem fixes provided with dbMASS version 5.0. Please read to stay up to date on these developments. CONTENTS----------------------------------------------- Version / Published------------------------------------------------- 5.00 / May 15, 2008
------------------------------------------------- 5.01 / Dec 4, 2008------------------------------------------------- 5.02 / Sep 10, 2009------------------------------------------------- 5.03 / Dec 22, 2009------------------------------------------------- 5.04 / Jan 11, 2010
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I. New Features (link)II. Bug FixesA couple of vocabulary issues were addressed, both of which apply to when 'Display' was selected from the top level vocabulary. This selection is followed by a list of the types of entries that can be displayed (assembly, installation, part, and project) and 'report.' Previously, 'sequence' was also included in this list, however, it has been removed since displaying a 'sequence' entry is not an option. The other 'Display' issue was simply a matter of fixing the alphabetical order of the listed items; 'report' was out of order. Selecting the 'Database' command from the dbMASS Vocabulary normally closes all other windows prior to opening the Active Database Window. However, if the User Window was open when this command was selected, the Active Database Window would open and then be closed leaving a stranded Database Vocabulary Window. This issue has been fixed. Fixed an issue that would limit the copying of mass properties data to the clipboard to small values. This was an issue that was present in the Mass Properties Window for large values only. The horizontal scrolling for the Path Window wasn't working properly for directory levels greater than three deep. For the special case were the material density was zero there were a couple of issues that surfaced on some of the available shapes. An overflow error or an incorrect CG calculation could occur for these shapes if a wall thickness was specified. The shapes affected by this correction were the cone, frustum, hemisphere, spherical-segment and parabola. Fixed problem with custom reports truncating long notes even though report layout cell was wide enough to contain the whole note. Notes were being truncated due to embedded linefeed characters. Fixed problem with losing color assigned to parts with items under circumstances when the part mass properties were being recalculated. This could occur for global database updates, updates to material density, updates to contingency values and during the import process (e.g. MPEX import). Found and fixed a configuration issue that would cause a "lookup" error when performing an MPEX export. This error would occur for licenses that did not have the Entry Fields & Custom Reports module. Using the PageUp/PageDown for Add Find Window prior to activating the "find" mode, which opens the list box, would cause dbMASS to crash. This has been fixed to automatically activate the "find" mode when necessary. Normally, one can use the escape key [esc] to abort changes made prior to exiting the affected data field. This also holds true for the combined id and description fields for entries. As long as the id or description field is still active, the changes will be aborted when hitting [esc]. Previously, the Standard Part Window did not handle this properly, but has since been corrected. There were a couple of weight change tracking issues identified and corrected concerning weight changes to parts within the Entries Window. Editing the weight of a standard part within the Entries Window failed to log weight changes. Regular parts were handled correctly; however, another limitation was identified that affect both types of parts. This pertains to when a new part or standard part is created within the Entries Window. In this case, a weight change should be logged against the part and the assembly. Previously, for weight changes introduced in the Entries Window, only the part would capture the change and the assembly would be adjusted to not show the effect of the new weight for the part. Once a part is defined, this is a reasonable way to handle it since the weight change could occur within the Part Window and/or the part could have multiple references and limiting the weight change logging to the part is appropriate. The weight changes normally occur for the assembly when existing entries are added to an assembly. So now when defining a part within the Entries Window weight changes are logged to the part when the weight changes from zero to some other defined value (as normally would have been performed) and when the Assembly Window is closed, capturing an all inclusive weight change for the changes made to the assembly including the newly defined part weight. However, this new approach has its limitations. Since this type of weight change detection is based on weight going from zero to some other value (and vice versa) it is possible to foil the simple logic. That is, it would be possible to add a part with zero defined weight to multiple assemblies, close them and then change the weight within the Entries Window for one. In this case only the open assembly in which the weight change occurred would record a weight change along with the part. This is a limitation that we'll just have to live with for now. It should occur rarely if at all. Some dual display systems are having sporadic mouse range of motion issues. It seems to be isolated to configurations that have two displays that are using different resolution settings, e.g. 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024. When this situation occurs the mouse will no longer cover the full range of the dbMASS screen. This is an operating system or video driver problem, however, a work around has been provided that resets the mouse to reestablish full range of motion. From the keyboard type [Ctrl]+[m]. With the mouse you can right click on the dbMASS background and then left click the [reset mouse] button. The Units Window was adjusted to reactivate the active button after using [space] or [enter] keys to advance any of the settings. There were several windows that displayed the Copy and Paste icons in the top left of the window label bar that did not support these features. These icons were removed from the following affected windows: Contingencies, Configurations, Effectivities, Factors, Materials and weight change Categories. A new condition has been identified that is now handled by the database repair processing. Normally, contingency can only be assigned to parts. However, if one has a part with a contingency assigned and then changes that part to an assembly, the assigned contingency remained. Even though it does not get used or have any effect on calculated values, having it assigned can be a point of confusion. This is particularly true if one looks up the references to a contingency that has been assigned to entries that are no longer a part. Since only parts are shown, these assignments are hidden. This is all good and fine unless one wishes to delete a contingency that isn't referenced by any parts. dbMASS will recognize that it is assigned (to a non-part) and will not allow its deletion. The Database Repair command now removes contingency assignments from all non-part entries. The ability to identify the entries referencing a particular contingency is handled by the mouse right-button-click within the Contingencies window. A bug was introduced in dbMASS version 5.0 that caused reference lookups to be offset by one line. That is, one would need to select the contingency below the one of interest and then right-button-click on it to get the references to the contingency above it. This glitch has been fixed. A problem was identified and fixed in the Uncertainty Analysis processing. The problem was limited to product structure (drawing tree) uncertainty summations. Instances of entries with a quantity greater than 181 (or less than -181) were not being handled properly. The condition would cause the uncertainty attributed to the particular instance of the entry to be incorrectly totaled into the next assembly. The magnitude of the error produced would depend on the particulars of the situation. An error message when the mass properties were being totaled would occur for some situations. When it did produce an error the error message was: "sqrt: Domain error:" followed by a number. Class based reports which provide the uncertainty totaled by class categories were not affected by this issue. The most likely impact is that the uncertainty would be underestimated for the affected entries. To assess the impact of this error on your uncertainty analysis it is recommended that you create an Uncertainty Analysis report for your project(s) of interest. Then, after you have updated your software to the latest release (5.02 or later), perform a database update via the Database Update command. Have dbMASS update the mass properties. There is no need to recalculate the items so you can select 'no' when asked. Be sure you have a recent backup of your database prior to this update so that you can refer back to it if needed. A bug was introduced in v5.01 concerning database repair processing. In the process of removing contingency assignments to non-parts, many parts were also mistakenly being included. This inadvertently resulting in inappropriate removal of contingency assignments. This issue has been fixed with this release. A bug was identified and fixed in the update sequencing logic. This logic determines the order that entry mass properties will be recalculated, making sure that all subs entries are calculated prior to a super entry. Most likely you have not been affected by this bug because it required very specific unusual conditions. However, it is an important bug because it can result in an error in the mass properties. A simple test can be run prior to updating to this version that will identify whether this bug affects your data. To see if you are affected open dbMASS and edit an important top level entry. Then change the contingency mode by clicking on the [+] button located between the entry weight and contingency labels. You will get a message asking whether you want to add or remove the contingency to the weight of all entries. Select [yes]. A sequence of messages will pop up along with a percent complete window that informs you of its progress. Wait for the updates to complete as indicated by the mouse cursor returning to its default look (no longer indicating background processing). You may need to move the mouse to see this change. Note the mass of the entry. Then run the Database Update command and select to update the mass properties. You do not need to recalculated the parts or flow-up class information. Then go back and edit the same entry previously considered. Again, wait for the updates to complete and then note whether the mass has changed from previously. If it did, then you are affected by this bug. After installing the update, run the Database Update command on any database you may believe has been affected by this bug. |