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Legacy StruCalc File Importer

September 15, 2022 | 8 min read

Import an existing Legacy StruCalc project into StruCalc Plus or Pro to preserve all of your loads, load trackers, sizes, spans, and building code settings.

  • Differences in building and materials standards from some Legacy StruCalc files means some items and settings will not import directly into StruCalc Plus or Pro. Please be sure to check all of your inputs from Legacy StruCalc to ensure that if a value existed in Legacy but is not supported in StruCalc Plus/Pro that a suitable (i.e. conservative) replacement is selected and suits your needs.
  • Import a load by selecting File -> Import -> StruCalc 10.0 Project and selecting the StruCalc project file you wish to import. Legacy StruCalc project files end with a ‘.prx’ file type.

Notable Differences Between Legacy Strucalc And StruCalc Plus/Pro

Setting the Load Type Using Duration Factor

Duration Factor will be the prime determinant for load types (live, snow, roof live, etc.). Legacy StruCalc allows the use of checkboxes and radio buttons to treat the live load inputs as other load types, while also allowing the duration factor to be set to values that may not correspond to the load type indicated. StruCalc Plus and Pro allow each load to have its load type set independently, and the duration factor for every applicable load combination is automatically set. Imported Legacy modules use the duration factor to set the load type in StruCalc Plus/Pro with the exception of Steel and Tube Steel members (which don’t have a duration factor), as explained further below.

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Building Codes: 

The latest IBC and IRC standards that Legacy StruCalc 10 used are from 2015, and the earliest standards that StruCalc Plus & Pro support are from 2012. We’ve matched the building codes from Legacy with those present in StruCalc Plus and Pro, but any standards from before 2012 will be imported as their 2012 equivalent. The same is true for National Design Specification, as well as Steel Design Specification. Additionally, Legacy StruCalc allows you to set different code standards across different members in the same project, whereas all modules in a project in StruCalc Plus and Pro share the same global code settings. On importing a Legacy project, StruCalc will take the IBC/IRC, NDS, and SDS settings from the StruCalc member which was most recently saved.

Materials, Species, Grades:

Legacy StruCalc enabled users to select a wide variety of materials, species, and grades for their members which are no longer relevant and/or available, and as such are not present in StruCalc today. Please be sure to double-check your imported Legacy values to ensure that if the Material/Species/Grade is no longer available, the replacement value suits your needs. Below are a few examples of Materials that are no longer available and their appropriate replacements.

  • Structural Composite Lumber:
    • Type ‘APA EWS LVL Stress Classes’ replaced by Roseburg Forest Products of the equivalent grade. 
    • Type ‘Georgia Pacific’ replaced by Roseburg Forest Products of the equivalent grade. 
    • Type ‘International Paper’ replaced by Sundre/West Fraser of the equivalent grade.
  • I-Joists:
    • Type ‘iLevel Trus Joist’ replaced by Weyerhaeuser of the equivalent grade.
    • Type ‘Georgia Pacific’ replaced by Roseburg Forest Products.

Load Trackers and Links:

Like in Legacy, StruCalc allows you to link members/modules above and below another module to transfer their loads. When you import a load tracker from StruCalc, be sure to calc both the module above and the module below (in that order) in to make the link ‘complete’. 

  • Studwalls in StruCalc do not currently support linked loads above or below. 
  • StruCalc calculates linked loads from top to bottom, so be sure to run your calculations on any load trackers in that same order. Running the calculations in a different order won’t have any adverse effects on the modules, but you will get a notification alerting you that ‘a link is broken’, and can be fixed by calculating the module above. Once all the linked loads have been calculated, the links will be complete.

Loads:  

Changes in Loads from Legacy StruCalc to StruCalc Plus/Pro:

  • Unbalanced Loads – Regardless of the state of the checkbox in your Legacy project, when importing into StruCalc the default will be false, or unchecked.
  • Area Reduction Factor – StruCalc does not currently support live load reductions.
  • Legacy ‘Wall’ Member, Lateral Point Loads – StruCalc does not support lateral point loads on a Studwall. Instead, lateral point loads imported from Legacy will be added as lateral trapezoidal loads with equal left and right magnitudes, and start and end locations 1′ apart centered on the point load location specified in Legacy.
  • Partially Distributed Loads – Partially Distributed Loads from Legacy will be imported into StruCalc as Trapezoidal loads with equal left and right magnitudes.
  • Roof Rafter/Beam Double Live Load On Eave – In Legacy, when the ‘Double Live Load On Eave’ checkbox is selected, a live load appears on only the right eave regardless of whether there is/isn’t a left eave. When a Legacy member has the ‘Double Live Load On Eave’ checkbox selected and imported into StruCalc, a double live load will be added to both the left and right eaves where applicable. 
  • Studwall Axial Loads Eccentricity – Axial load eccentricity not currently supported in StruCalc.
  • Lateral Load is Wind/Seismic – StruCalc largely ignores this selection in Legacy, instead deferring to the value for duration factor to determine the load type, with the exception of Steel/Tube Steel members. Since Steel/Tube Steel members do not have a duration factor, the lateral load Wind/Seismic option in Legacy is the determinant for the load type/combination for an imported member.
  • Footing Load Calculator – When a Legacy footing is imported into StruCalc which used the load calculator functionality, the imported footing will open in the ‘Design View’ in StruCalc. The design view gives users extra functionality to factor in tributary widths, additional load options, and the ability to add/update loads after they’ve been included on the StruCalc Module. Note that the Design View adds a 30 lbf/ft^2 Snow Load by default. You can remove that default Snow Load from the project by zeroing out the text box. 

Duration Factor To Load Type

| Duration Factor (Legacy) | Load Type (StruCalc) || —————————– | ———————— || 0.9 | Dead || 1.0 | Live || 1.15 | Snow || 1.25 | Roof Live || 1.33 | Seismic (+) || 1.6+ | Wind (+) |

Conversions from StruCalc Duration Factors to Load Types in Vitruvius

Other:

General changes from Legacy StruCalc to StruCalc Plus/Pro:

  • Footing Equal Bar Spacing – StruCalc automatically uses equal bar spacing. The value imported from Legacy will be ignored, and equal bar spacing will be ‘True’ for an imported Legacy project. 
  • Notch Depth – StruCalc does not currently support notch depth.
  • Studwall Unbraced Length – StruCalc Studwall currently automatically sets the out-of-plane unbraced length to the full stud height, and the in-plane unbraced length to 0 (to indicate it is fully braced by drywall, sheathing, etc.).
  • Studwall Sizing – StruCalc allows users to select the most common stud sizes, but some of the sizes present in Legacy are not available in StruCalc. Please be sure to check these imported values and ensure an appropriate comparable replacement is selected.
  • Studwall Material – StruCalc currently only supports solid sawn lumber for Studwall material.
  • Incising Factor on Collar Ties – StruCalc does not currently support incising factor on Collar Tie modules.
  • Collar Tie Material, Glulams – StruCalc does not support glulams for collar ties. Any imported collar tie members from LEgacy with glulams as material will default to structural composite lumber in StruCalc (with Boise Cascade as the manufacturer and the type as ‘1.5E 1800 Versa-Lam LVL West’).
  • Glulam Camber Adjustment Factor – StruCalc does not currently support camber adjustment factor.
  • Steel Members, Unequal Legs Orientation – StruCalc defaults to “Long Leg Up”/”Long Leg Vertical” orientation for ‘L’ shaped steel members.
  • Bending Coefficient/Lateral-Torsional Buckling Modification Factor – StruCalc automatically calculates this factor.
  • Glued and Screwed Plywood – Not currently supported in StruCalc.
  • Combination Roof and Floor Beam, Roof Pitch – The Combination Roof and Floor Beam from Legacy imports into StruCalc as a floor beam, which means that the roof pitch will not be factored into this imported module’s calculations.
  • I-Joist Web Stiffeners – Legacy requires users to manually choose whether web stiffeners are added at each support, while StruCalc automatically adds web stiffeners only where required for bearing calculations.
  • Legacy ‘Framing’ Functionality – While similar functionality to the framing module exists in StruCalc (in Dead Load Templates), the importer does not currently support importing saved framing module information. If this is something you’d like to see as a future update please contact Vitruvius at support@strucalc.com. 

Thank you for reading!

If you have any questions please reach out to our customer support at support@strucalc.com or call 1-800-279-1353.