FIRE README.

TXT

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Contents
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I. Obtaining Minor Updates
II. Network installations
III. New features/bug fixes
IV. Attention Canon Bubblejet Printer Owners.
V. Attention HP Laserjet series 5 Printer Owners.
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I. OBTAINING MINOR UPDATES

Minor updates to FIRE are currently available on our World Wide Web site
at:

http://www.elitesoft.com

II. NETWORK INSTALLATIONS:

The FIRE program is not specifically designed to run on a network. It

is only intended to be run on the same computer on which it was
installed. However various program directories can be located on a
network. This procedure enables the setting of these directories
immediately prior to program installation.

If you want to install FIRE with different than default directories,

open a command prompt and type:

[your floppy drive name]:SETUP /M

to install FIRE. This will enable you to specify the locations of your
WINDOWS, SYSTEM and TEMP directories.

III. NEW FEATURES/BUG FIXES:

Version 6.0.234 2/3/10

1. Made it so Fire links with AutoCAD MEP 2010.

Version 6.0.233 1/22/10

1. Fixed a problem with the Auto Save feature.

2. Made it so a warning appears if you enter hydrant test data and the
static pressure is equal to the residual pressure.

3. Fixed a problem with tree and grid creation. If you indicate that
you want to delete existing pipes before creating a tree or grid, all of
the existing pipes will now be deleted.

4. Made it so you can use the arrow keys to navigate in the Enter/Edit
Node Data window.

Version 6.0.232 7/10/09

1. Fixed a metric conversion problem. When a project's units were
changed from English to metric, the values on the General Project Data
window were not converted.

2. Fixed a problem that made the K-Factor Calculators unusable when the
program units were metric.

Version 6.0.231 6/18/09

1. Fixed an error on the Overall Pipe Output Data report. The displayed
pressure loss or gain was the same for all constant pressure loss
devices and pumps.

Version 6.0.229 6/8/09

1. Made it so the user can choose whether or not the pump curve will be
shown on the hydraulic graph. This choice will affect the calculated
demand pressure as well.

2. Corrected the pipe system water volume. This result was sometimes
wrong for projects with autosized pipes.

3. Corrected the calculated excess available pressure at demand flow

when the pump boost is 0 at demand flow.

Version 6.0.228 5/8/09

1. Fixed a problem with the demand curve on the hydraulic graph that
happened when the Calculate button was clicked in the Print Preview
window.

Version 6.0.227 5/4/09

1. On the hydraulic graph, made it so the pressure required for the
first sprinkler to flow accounts for the pump boost, if any.

Version 6.0.226 4/16/09

1. Fixed a problem that made the program crash when printing reports.
The problem had to do with reading pump curve input data incorrectly.

2. Fixed a problem with the demand pressure and demand flow

calculations. The program botched the calculations when a fire pump was
present.

Version 6.0.225 4/8/09

1. Fixed a problem with the demand curve on the hydraulic graph.

Version 6.0.224 4/7/09

1. Made it so the static pressure, test residual pressure, and test flow
rate that you enter in the General Project Data window must be measured
without an exterior hose flowing.

2. Added the exterior hose flow to the demand curve on the hydraulic
supply/demand graph.

3. Added the fire pump curve and the combined fire pump/public water
supply curve to the hydraulic supply/demand graph.

4. Eliminated the Pump Curve Input Data report and moved the pump curve
input data below the hydraulic supply/demand graph.
5. When "New Projects Copy AUTOLOAD.FIW" is checked in the Options
window, Fire will look for AUTOLOAD.FIW in the current project folder
and the original (default) project folder.

6. Converted the program's help file to HTML Help.

Version 6.0.223 2/13/09

1. Fixed a problem that caused the pipe lengths and elevations to be
incorrect when an AutoCAD MEP drawing with drawing units set to
millimeters was imported into Fire.

Version 6.0.222 12/19/08

1. Fixed a data loss problem. When you click the Open Selected Project
button in the Exploring window while a modified project is open, you
will now be asked if you want to save the open project.

2. Fixed a problem that caused a certain pipe section to be printed

multiple times on the Pipe Input Data report.

3. Made it so Fire will not calculate results when all K-Factors are
zero and the project is in Demand mode.

4. Made it so high water velocity warnings for non-autosized pipes can

be turned off without erasing any autosizing constraints.

5. Made it so a warning will be displayed when multiple pipes are

connected to the fire pump inlet or when multiple pipes are connected to
the fire pump outlet.

Version 6.0.221 10/31/08

1. Fixed a problem that prevented reports from being printed if there
was a percent sign (%) in the project name.

2. Made it so the adjusted hydrant data and excess available pressure

are not printed under the hydraulic graph if there is no hydrant test
data.

3. Fixed an error that caused the program to print incorrect data on the
reports under certain circumstances.

Version 6.0.219 6/27/08

1. Added a new pipe material, Aquatherm PP-R, to the Pipe Database.

Version 6.0.218 5/28/08

1. Made it so Fire can import data from an AutoCAD MEP 2009 drawing and
export data back to the drawing.

Version 6.0.217 4/24/08

1. Made it so the Select AutoCAD MEP Version window does not require you
to click a version name that is already highlighted.

Version 6.0.216 3/10/08

1. Made it so dynamic link library files that don't need to be
registered are not registered during installation.

Version 6.0.215 3/7/08

1. Made it so each of the system files installed by Fire is compatible
with the Windows systems that the program is designed to run on. If you
installed Fire version 6.0.214 and you don't use Windows Vista, you
should uninstall Fire before installing version 6.0.215.

Version 6.0.214 3/3/08

1. Added a report that displays pump curve data. If you entered a pump
and it has a pump curve, the flow and pressure at each point on the
curve will be displayed on the report.

2. Fixed a problem that caused the program to lock up when pipe 1 was
inactive or blank.

Version 6.0.213 2/15/08

1. Made it so each of the system files installed by Fire has the correct
version number.

Version 6.0.212 1/11/08

1. Added "Start a new project upon opening program" to the Options
window.

2. Fixed the "Show Project Explorer at Startup" option and the "Show
Tips at Startup" option.

3. Made it so all of Fire's dynamic link library files will be

registered during the installation.

Version 6.0.211 12/4/07

1. Added a note to the Hydraulic Supply/Demand Graph that displays the
pressure at the bottom of the demand curve.

Version 6.0.209 11/16/07

1. Fixed a problem that caused error 9 to appear after Quick Preview
Reports was clicked.

Version 6.0.208 11/9/07

1. Fixed a problem with the AutoCAD MEP drawing import. If you have
both ABS 2007 and AutoCAD MEP 2008 on your computer and you import a
drawing saved in one of those programs, Fire will always open the
program you selected (ABS 2007 or AutoCAD MEP 2008).

2. Made changes that should enable Fire to run on a computer with a high
resolution monitor.

Version 6.0.207 10/29/07

1. Fixed a problem that prevented an AutoCAD MEP drawing from being
imported when the drawing had more than one possible inflow pipe.

Version 6.0.206 10/29/07

1. Made the description of standpipe analysis more specific on the FAQ
page.

Version 6.0.205 10/4/07

1. Fixed a division by zero error that happened when the program printed
reports.

Version 6.0.204 9/28/07

1. Fixed a problem that caused the program to crash when the Sprinkler
K-Factor icon in the toolbar was clicked.

2. Fixed a problem that made the K-Factor Calculators unusable when the
program units were metric.

3. Added an option to remove the filename from the footer on the

reports.

Version 6.0.203 8/6/07

1. Fixed a problem that sometimes caused Fire to open the wrong version
of ABS or AutoCAD MEP during a drawing import.

Version 6.0.199 7/24/07

1. Corrected some invalid results that appeared on the reports after the
last update.

Version 6.0.198 7/20/07

1. Made it so Fire will calculate results when a pump is present and the
demand pressure is negative.

2. Made it so a sprinkler or hose can be assigned to multiple area

groups.

Version 6.0.197 7/10/07

1. Made it so Fire can import data from an AutoCAD MEP 2008 drawing and
export data back to the drawing.

2. Made it so the Sprinkler K-Factor Calculator will calculate the K-

Factor, residual pressure, or flow rate of a sprinkler.

3. Added a Duplicate button to the Global Editor tab of the Enter/Edit

Pipe Data window that will duplicate multiple pipes or nodes.

4. Made it so the Overall Pipe Output Data report will show all the data
for a pipe on one page rather than two pages.

Version 6.0.196 6/28/07

1. Added buttons on the main toolbar that open each K-Factor Calculator.

2. Made Fire compatible with Windows Vista.

Version 6.0.195 6/26/07

1. Added a Branch Line K-Factor Calculator that calculates the K-Factor
for a branch line with a sprinkler at the end.

2. Fixed a problem with the Hydraulic Graph report. The program chose
the wrong graph limits for the report in some cases.

3. Fixed another problem with the Global Editor. The program was still
not changing all the values it was supposed to change.

Version 6.0.194 4/19/07

1. Proprietary changes.

Version 6.0.193 3/27/07

1. Made it so the Minimum Desired Density has no effect on the results
when calculating in Supply mode.
2. Fixed a problem with the Global Editor because it was not changing
all the values that were supposed to change.

3. Added a button to the Global Editor tab of the Enter/Edit Pipe Data
window that will delete multiple pipes or nodes.

Version 6.0.192 2/12/07

1. Modified the link with Autodesk Building Systems so that it works
with version 2006 and version 2007. During the import process the
program asks you which version you want to link with for the drawing you
are importing.

2. Fixed an error that prevented the results from being calculated in

some projects.

3. Fixed an error that caused some results on the Overall Sprinkler

Output Data report to be in English units when they were supposed to be
in metric units.

4. Fixed an error that changed the density in the Calculation window

when the units were switched from metric to English and back to metric.

5. Made it so the default projects folder at startup will be the folder

containing the last project that was opened.

6. Added a Browse for Projects Folder button to the Project Explorer.

7. Made it so the items in the Edit menu and the Window menu are enabled
and disabled at the right times.

8. Added a list of all the open windows to the Windows menu.

9. Made it so the Print Setup dialog will appear after Quick Print
Reports is clicked.

10. Improved the appearance of the report headers.

Version 6.0.189 9/7/06

1. Added interface with Autodesk Building Systems (ABS) 2007, which
supercedes ABS 2006. Note that Fire version 6.0.188 or earlier must be
used if ABS 2006 is still being run on your computer; version 6.0.189
and later will not work with ABS 2006. A link will remain on the Elite
Software website for a reasonable amount of time to download an update
patch for the last version of Fire to work with ABS 2006.

2. Fixed rare problem that caused calculations to stop for a project

using a density requirement and Automatic Peaking.

Version 6.0.188 8/30/06

1. Fixed problem with reading some ABS drawings, with grids or loops
that have more than one fitting (e.g. transitions, reducers etc.) at the
closing loop junction. Previously a closing loop junction was only
recognized with a single fitting, e.g. tee, cross or Y fitting.

2. Made top caption of the Enter/Edit Pipe Data window update the number
of active pipes as they are entered. Previously the total number of
pipes would only be updated if you clicked away from this window. Now
an accurate pipe count is always shown.

3. Fixed problem introduced by item 4 in the previous update to set

pipes to Autosizing. Some pipes were set to Autosize even with non-zero
manually entered diameters, but now this problem no longer occurs.

4. Fixed problem that occured with some ABS drawings that did not number
certain pipe nodes correctly. Now unique node numbers are assigned as
intended.

Version 6.0.187 7/24/06

1. Fixed problem that was fairly recently introduced which caused the
text cursor to move to the beginning of a number when typing elevation,
non-sprinkler flow, etc. in the Enter/Edit Pipe Data window using Metric
units. Now all these numbers can be typed normally.

2. Fixed bug which did not check for all isolated pipes with a project
with multiple Inactive pipes near the top of the pipe list in the
Enter/Edit Pipe Data window.

3. Made the Hydraulic Graph display supply curve test data entered in
the Hose Flow column if that was the only test data entered, and no data
was entered in the right column (for no hose flow). Previously if only
one set of test data was entered, it had to be the no hose flow test to
calculate available pressure in this report. Now either test is
allowable.

4. Fixed rare problem where a project was saved with one or more 0
diameter values but Autosizing was not indicated. Now even if a project
is saved like this, the program automatically sets it to Autosize these
pipes.

5. Made it so the two calculated values in the General Project Data

window, System Data tab display two significant digits after
calculations. Previously more digits were shown until the GPD window
was refreshed, so now these numbers are shown with limited digits, more
consistently with corresponding numbers in other windows.

6. Fixed problem that in some cases would resize pipe diameters

incorrectly when trying to prevent increasing sizes in downstream pipes.

7. Made a correction to pipe water volume calculation.

8. Technical updates.

Version 6.0.186 3/31/06

1. Fixed recently introduced bug that would cause pipes to be read
incorrectly if running calculations without first opening the Enter/Edit
Pipe Data window. Now this is no longer a problem, although note that
this Pipe Data window opens automatically during calculations if not
already open.

2. Fixed problem that in some projects would show an incorrect value

for average and maximum flow imbalance in the Fire Sprinkler Output
Summary page of the reports.
3. Technical updates.

Version 6.0.185 3/17/06

1. Made it so the Copy feature in the Pipe Database is active for all
pipes. This allows you to copy pipe data from one pipe to another
existing pipe. Previously, pipe data could only be copied to a blank
pipe entry.

2. Fixed bug that incorrectly positioned the cursor in the Enter/Edit

Pipe Data window, Pipe Data tab when global units are changed.

3. Fixed bug that caused pipe and node data to be read incorrectly if
the first or last pipes in the Pipe Data were set to Inactive.

4. Fixed problem that would sometimes cause a position error in the

Enter/Edit Pipe Data window if a helptext window is opened, then another
row of pipe data is clicked. Now this problem no longer occurs.

5. Technical updates.

Version 6.0.184 2/23/06

1. Fixed problems with using the Tree and Grid Builder to create pipes
with metric units.

2. Added check for pipes with same beginning and end node number before
calculations are run. Normally the Fire program prevents this input,
but if a project is imported from a CAD drawing file or other method,
this additional check is needed.

3. Technical updates, mainly with the ABS import and other Tree and
Grid Builder issues.

Version 6.0.183 2/6/06

1. Fixed bug which had reset a few items to 0 that are saved with the
reports. Now once again, if reports are printed or previewed and the
project is saved, you can open the project later, go directly to print
or preview, and you will see the same numbers in all of the reports.

2. Added check that data row has not changed after K-Factor Calculator
or Additional Fitting Length Calculator is opened. This prevents a K-
Factor or pipe equivalent length to be copied to a different pipe than
originally selected.

3. Made it so when the Clear Pipe button is selected, all pipes

currently shown in the Enter/Edit Pipe Data window are immediately
cleared from view.

4. Added button to the Options window that resets all calculated

Autosized diameters to fixed sizes. This is useful if calculations are
running but not converging using Autosizing. Resetting diameters to
fixed sizes makes calculations run and converge faster.

5. Technical updates.

Previous updates:
Added feature to allow importing of Pipe Type Group from an ABS 2006
drawing. This data is entered similarly to other optional data like the
Area Group letter or non-sprinkler flow, except that unlike those
options, no selection is made in the ABS Import dialog box to activate
this import. Instead, simply enter the letters "PT" followed by the
group number in the ABS pipe object General field. Note that this entry
can be made to the General field in addition to the pipe non-standard
fitting length.

Added Check for Update utility. This utility, used by all Elite
Software programs, can automatically check for updates and prompt you
with the option to download an update from the Elite Software website
before proceeding.

Added FireDemoABS.dwg to the install files for Fire. Users who install
the Fire demo version on a computer with ABS 2006 already installed can
import this sample drawing with the demo version of Fire to try out the
ABS interface.

Made it so the program will run properly on foreign versions of Windows

that use the Double Byte Character Set, such as Korean, Chinese and
Japanese versions.

Added interface with Autodesk Building Systems 2005 [now 2007]. This
interface is significantly improved from the ABS 2004 interface. First,
all features are accessed from the File menu, rather than using manual
methods and macros in ABS. The two items in the File menu are File|Read
Data From ABS Autodesk Drawing (used to import the sprinkler system .dwg
file) and File|Assign Calculated Data to ABS Drawing. Once you import
and run calculations in Fire, select the latter option to assign the
results to the drawing. The calculated results appear in the Properties
list for piping and sprinkler objects in the drawing. You can also
resize the pipes in the drawing based on Autosizing at this point by
selecting System Resize from the Mechanical|Engineering Analysis palette
in ABS. NOTE: Node numbers are placed on the drawing automatically
during an Fire import, but ONLY if the drawing has been saved with the
EliteFireTagsTemplate.dwt template included in this installation.

Added Demand Curve to Hydraulic Graph. The Demand Curve connects the
Demand Point to a point on the y-axis at the elevation pressure of the
first sprinkler in the system.

Added a "Copy License File" button to the About Fire box. Clicking this
button displays a Browse for Folder dialog that lets you select the
floppy drive or any other location from which you want to copy the
program's license file.

Added pipe material type PEX to pipe material database. Note that you
have to manually select to overwrite your existing pipe material
database when installing Fire. Otherwise this new data will not be
installed.

Added ability for Autodesk ABS interface with Fire to recognize pipe
material from an ABS piping drawing if the name is similar. Previously
unless the material name matched the Fire pipe material name exactly, a
default material was assigned.

Added Node Editor window to the Fire program. This window shows the
same data that is shown in the Enter/Edit Pipe Data window, arranged by
node number instead of pipes. The node data can be edited like in the
Enter/Edit Pipe Data window. Editing the data by node may be easier or
more intuitive than by pipes in some cases. For example it is easy to
see which nodes are sprinklers in the Node Editor window based on which
rows have numbers in the K-Factor column. Note that the node numbers
themselves cannot be edited here; node numbers must be entered in the
Enter/Edit Pipe Data window first.

Added feature to print node numbers on an AutoCAD/Autodesk piping

drawing corresponding to the node numbers used in Fire based on that
imported drawing. For tags to be added automatically, you must save the
drawing with the new EliteFireTagsTemplate.dwt template included in the
installation for Fire.

Compiled Fire with Autodesk Building Systems 2005 (ABS 2005), the latest
Autodesk product.

Added Ending Page No. to the Report Options window that can be used in
conjunction with the Starting Page No. to print a range of pages in the
reports. If the Ending Page No. is left blank or 0 it will be ignored.

Compiled Fire with Autodesk Building Systems, so that pipe drawings made
with ABS can be read in by the Fire program. Drawings made in previous
versions of AutoCAD or ABS can still be read by Fire, but it is better
to save them in the current ABS first. Otherwise an extra message may
appear during the import to Fire that mentions converting the file
format, but which is not relevant to the import itself.

Added K-Factor Calculator to allow an estimate of K-Factor based on

pressure and flow through a sprinkler or hose nozzle. This calculator
is accessed through the pop-up help window for the inputs for K-Factor
in the General Project Data and Enter/Edit Pipe Data windows.

Added calculation of the volume of water in the pipe system. This is

shown in the Fire Sprinkler Output Summary report, Overall Network
Summary section as Pipe System Water Volume.

Added non-sprinkler flow to sprinkler flow in the Overall Pipe Output

Data report. This better represents all the discharge flows in a
project in that part of the reports.

Added "Primary Type of Discharge" input in the General Project Data

window, System Data tab. This allows the terminology in the program to
refer to sprinklers as "hoses" since certain fire suppression systems
primarily use hose outlets instead of sprinklers.

Added warning indicating if maximum friction loss or maximum velocity

criteria have been exceeded in any pipe sections. The warning is not
printed if these criteria are set to 0.

Added EliteFireInterface.dvb file to the program installation. This

file can be copied to your AutoCAD directory where macros are stored,
and this macro can be run with a drawing created using AutoCAD 2002 (or
later) with the Building Systems 2 (or later) add-on. This macro
creates an .fra file based on the sprinkler piping drawing, and the .fra
file is read in the same way as with the original AutoCAD link in the
Fire program.
Added "Read Data From AutoCAD Drawing" menu item to File menu. This
allows you to read information from a sprinkler drawing .dwg file saved
in AutoCAD directly into Fire. This feature only works with AutoCAD
2002 (or later) with the Building Systems 2 (or later) add-on installed
on the same computer running Fire.

Added second column of flow test data to allow input of a second set of
hydrant test/supply curve data. If entered, this second curve will be
printed on the Hydraulic Graph, and the data in the General Project Data
report. This data corresponds to a test with an external hose flowing,
and this hose flow is entered above the new test data column. The
column to the right is for a test with no external hose flowing, and
corresponds to the default test data in previously saved projects.

Added feature which informs you that if you have made any changes to
inputs after running calculations, the reports may not reflect those
changes in the inputs and their effect, if any, on the calculated
results. Messages to this effect appear on screen when you try to
preview or print and are printed in the reports.

Updated check for negative pressures upstream of a pump. Now an error

only occurs if negative pressure occurs at the inflow node. This allows
for more pumps to be used, but in some cases negative pressure will be
calculated and shown in pipes upstream of the pump.

Added CPLD menu item to Enter/Edit Pipe Data window. CPLD stands for
Constant Pressure Loss Device. This item opens a window where you can
change the names indicated for item "A" in the pipe material list, which
is the Alternative CPLD. The default name is an Alarm Check Valve.
Whatever names and abbreviations are specified here are shown in the
reports and program output for this project.

Added an option to the Additional Fitting Length Calculator to input

roughness in inches or with a pipe C-Value.

The "Stringer" device has been replaced by an "Alarm Check Valve" or ACV
device. This was requested since stringer devices are not as commonly
used anymore. Any projects previously saved with a Stringer will now
display that device as an ACV with the same pressure loss.

Made Dry system results more clear. For a Dry system, you should
multiply your total sprinkler area by 1.3 and adjust your sprinkler
areas so they add up to the adjusted total. But the program should not
adjust individual sprinkler areas, since they can be different from each
other and should be adjusted manually. So the Dry results show Adjusted
values for total area and density, which you can compare against the
total of your actual sprinkler areas and densities.

Added Sprinkler Area to the Global Editor, as well as a "Total Sprk

Area" label to this window. This duplicates the primary functions of
the Sprinkler Area Assignments screen in Fire for DOS.

Major improvement made to matrix solution method. Now projects should

converge much faster than before.

Added Clear Pipe button to Enter/Edit Pipe Data window. This allows you
to clear all existing pipes from the current project.

Added note to inform the you if you are trying to import a DOS Fire
project file version 4 or earlier. You can only import DOS version 5
files. Contact us if you would like to import DOS version 4 or earlier
files.

Added tree and grid network layout diagram. This is a separate form
that has been added as an option to view after the user chooses the
Display Network button of the Tree or Grid Builder. This new diagram
should be more legible than the diagram used until now, especially when
the tree or grid diagram contains many nodes. This new diagram can be
printed directly to the default printer. Note that this tree and grid
print feature is separate from all other print options in the Fire
program. It is meant to be a quick reference tool, not a primary output
of the program. Note that the tree diagram is limited to 20 sprinklers
per branch and 15 branches total, while the grid diagram is limited to
15 branches and 40 sprinklers per branch. The Display Network window
closes when this diagram is closed.

Now a pump curve is allowed to be run in Supply mode. In this case, the
calculations are run iteratively. First pressures and flows are
determined, and the flow at the pump is used with the pump curve to
obtain a corresponding pressure boost. Then calculations are run again
with this equivalent pressure boost. The system flows and pressures
will adjust after the second run with the pressure boost included (this
can be confirmed with a Supply run with and without a constant pump
boost). Calculations are then run again to see if the adjustment is
small enough. This process will repeat until the adjustment is fairly
small. This should indicate fairly well how the pump will behave
according to the pump curve in Supply mode.

Made update to allow printing or previewing to show input pipe and node
data even if calculations have not yet been run for a project.

Added a checkbox to the Imbalances section of the Calculation window.

This checkbox instructs the program to continue if calculated flow
imbalance is greater than 0.01 gpm. This will converge a project to
sufficient accuracy in most cases. Previously the user needed to check
their printout imbalances after every run to make sure flow imbalance
was small enough, but using this checkbox will make the program perform
this check automatically and continue calculations until this condition
is met. Note that some jobs may take a long time to run using this
check, so it should not always be used, especially for large systems.

Added calculation alert message that blank pipe rows are not allowed.
Previously calculations could stop without clarification if a project
contained blank pipe rows.

Made significant updates to the Displaying window, accessible via the

Display button in the Calculation window. Calculations run a bit faster
if the Displaying window is closed, but the Displaying window allows
almost real-time monitoring of calculation progress. Also useful is the
addition of inputs for Initial Damping Factor, Minimum Damping Factor,
and Maximum Iterations to the Displaying window. These are the
currently used values in the calculations. You can type in new values
here at any time, and the calculations will immediately start using the
new values. This feature can sometimes be useful if the calculations
are not converging; sometimes a smaller or larger minimum damping
factor may improve progress.

Added feature to generate a DXF graph file of the hydraulic curve. A

DXF file can be viewed and used within Autocad. The Save DXF Graph
feature has been added to the Reports menu.

Added feature to show percent completion of calculations in meeting

imbalance criteria. On large or complex jobs which take a long time to
converge, having a percentage monitor can be helpful.

Added more automatic increments to the Hydraulic Graph, so that the x-

axis maximum will be the closest multiple of 1000 up to 10000. For
example if the water supply curve intersects the x-axis between 2000 and
3000 gpm, the x-axis maximum will be 3000. Now the only reason that you
will not see your data on the graph with reasonable clarity (i.e.
without the point or curve pushed up against an axis) is if there is a
data input problem such as incomplete test data or test data flowrate
off by a factor of 10 or more from the calculated flowrate.

Enabled the zoom level or page number to be typed directly into the
preview window entry if the user wants to see a certain zoom level or
page. Also Pg Up/Dn can be used to scroll one page at a time through
the preview reports.

Added Metric conversion feature. Now calculations can be entered and

run using metric (SI) units. Also by clicking on the unit shown for a
given entry, individual inputs can be adjusted to the desired unit. So
for instance pressure can be entered in psi or bars or Pa, regardless of
whether the main calculations are in US or SI units. However, the
printouts will show units in either all US or all SI units.

Added a panel in the bottom Status Bar to display the Units of a given
field in addition to the allowable Range of inputs.

Added additional fitting length calculator. The user has to enter

equivalent length of any non-standard fittings in the Enter/Edit Pipe
Data window, but manufacturer data may only provide pressure drop
information, not equivalent length. This calculator allows the
equivalent length of a fitting to be calculated based on pressure drop,
flow, and fluid characteristics.

Fixed bug which sometimes stopped calculations if there was a blank row
in the pipe data. Now blank pipe data rows are sometimes allowed, but
not recommended. They are deleted automatically if pipes are sorted.

Modified program to allow use with any system Regional Settings other
than English (American). Many European and similar settings use a comma
in place of a period in numbers, and such settings can now be used with
Fire.

Added feature to make better initial guesses on residual pressures in

the system if Use Residual Pressure Estimates is _not_ checked. This
decreases the likelihood of a project getting stuck oscillating between
nodes. In addition, if oscillation is detected, the residual pressures
are boosted again. Once these initial guesses become large enough, the
system will stop oscillating. This should eliminate the oscillation
problem (when Use Residual Pressure Estimates is unchecked), and in many
jobs it eliminates the need to use the Use Residual Pressure Estimates
button unless fine tuning of imbalances in an additional run is desired.
The method of running in Supply mode and then running in Demand mode
using those pressure estimates is still valid, but in many cases is no
longer necessary. Convergence is now possible with a single run in many
jobs.

Updated install script to accommodate installation on Windows 2000 and

Windows XP.

By popular demand, now the table captions are included across the top of
every page of the printout reports.

In fire pump database, added an additional check to distinguish between

blank pump data points and a point deliberately entered as (0,0). You
may want to delete the last (0,0) row of the "Taco" sample pump data,
since it was not deliberately entered, and save it to take advantage of
this new feature.

Made Nodal Pressure Imbalance more sensitive to user inputs. Now the
Nodal Pressure Imbalance is the determining factor for calculations to
converge. When calculations finish, it is at the discretion of the user
to check the pressure AND flow imbalances to determine whether another
more stringent calculation should be made. The imbalance information is
summarized on the last page of the report before the Hydraulic Graph.
NOTE: JUST BECAUSE CALCULATIONS FINISH DOES NOT MEAN THE SYSTEM WILL
BEHAVE AS SPECIFIED. THE IMBALANCES MUST BE REASONABLY LOW AS WELL. A
REASONABLE FLOW IMBALANCE IS 0.01 GPM OR LOWER.

Made an adjustment to place the blinking cursor in Enter/Edit Pipe Data

into a field after the help drop down box is selected for it. Not only
is this convenient and gives a more intuitive feel for the user, but it
also avoids a bug where the program could lose its place if a help drop
down box is selected in another row.

Added feature to allow users to type in the pipe material type or number
directly in Enter/Edit Pipe Data. The user can type in a number from 1
to 50, or M, S, B, or P for constant pressure loss devices or a pump.
Note that if "P" is typed, a window immediately opens giving the option
to use a pump curve.

Fixed Enter/Edit Pipe Data screen code to allow users to specify Dflt,
Inact, None, or Value for the K-Factor of a node. Now this
specification at each node is saved with the project file. The most
obvious benefit is that now users can select "Dflt" either by choosing
it in the help drop down help box or by placing their cursor in the K-
Factor box and pressing "D". The K-Factor for each node selected as
default will now be set by the Default K-Factor in the System Data tab
of the General Project Data window. A single change there will affect
all the default K-factors in the Enter/Edit Pipe Data screen, as could
be done in Fire for DOS.

Fixed bug which caused program to crash if user specified in the Fire
program installation that the Fire projects directory was not a
subdirectory of the Fire program directory. Now these two directories
can be specified independent of each other. They can even be located on
different drives on your computer.

Updated pipe data for Sch. 10 Wet Steel. This data had been virtually
identical to Sch. 40 Wet Steel in previous versions. Note that if you
have manually changed your own pipe database, installing version 6.0.32
or higher and choosing to install the latest pipe database will
overwrite your pipe database file. If you want to use our updated pipe
data and your manually changed data too, you must save your Pipe.dat
file separately for use when needed or reenter your manual changes into
the new pipe database after installation of this program version.

Added the capability to include a fire pump in the system. Currently a

fire pump may only be added at or near the inflow node, upstream of any
sprinkler heads. A fire pump can be selected as a pipe material type,
in the same fashion that a meter can be selected. Like with a meter, a
constant pressure value can be entered for a pump. This is the pressure
boost to the system given by the fire pump. This constant pressure rise
is independent of flow. Alternatively, pump curve data can be entered,
which gives a pressure rise as a function of water flow rate at the pump
inflow node. Currently a pump curve can be used for a Demand mode
calculation, and in a limited capacity in Supply mode. A constant pump
boost can be used in virtually all projects in both Supply and Demand
modes. Pump information can be saved in the pump database (via the
Project menu or the toolbar) as well as to your individual project file.

Added feature to export data to a Fire for DOS file.

Added feature to allow user to update their copy of Fire by inserting

their license diskette in the A: drive, going to the Help menu in the
program, choosing About Fire, and pressing [Shift]+[Ctrl]+L. This will
bring up a dialog instruction box allowing you to copy the license file
from the diskette and update your copy of Fire. This is a simple way to
update the program from the Demo to the Active version.

IV. ATTENTION CANON BUBBLEJET PRINTER OWNERS:

If you have a Canon Bubblejet printer, you may not be able to preview
reports in the current version of FIRE while your default printer is set
to the Canon Bubblejet. Contact Canon to obtain their newest driver for
your printer. Installing the new driver should hopefully fix this
problem, but until you are able to obtain the new driver, here is a
workaround:

Windows 95 users:
1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel.
2. Right-click on Printers, then select Open.
3. Right-click on Add Printer, then select Open.
4. Use the Add Printer Wizard to add an HP Laserjet 4 printer, and name
it "Preview Only" (or whatever you want to call it).
5. Whenever you want to preview in FIRE, set your default printer to
this new "Preview Only" printer. Don't click the Print Current Page
button on the Print Preview window. Whenever you want to print to your
Canon bubblejet, click the Print button from the Reports/Options window.

Windows 3.x users:

1. From the "Main" Program Manager group, double-click the Control
Panel icon.
2. Double-click the Printers icon in Control Panel.
3. Click the Add>> button.
4. Select HP Laserjet 4/4M, then click the Install button.
5. Whenever you want to preview in FIRE, set your default printer to
this new printer. Don't click the Print Current Page button on the
Print Preview window. Whenever you want to print to your Canon
bubblejet, click the Print button from the Reports/Options window.

V. ATTENTION HP LASERJET SERIES 5 PRINTER OWNERS:

There is apparently a bug in the drivers for the HP Laserjet 5 printers

for Windows 3.1x, or at least there is some degree of incompatability
between these drivers and the printing and previewing tool which is used
in FIRE. If you encounter any problems such as GPF's (General
Protection Faults) when either previewing or printing using the Laserjet
5 driver, try setting up your printer with a series 4 driver instead:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Double-click Printers.
3. Click Add>>.
4. Select HP Laserjet 4/4M.
5. Click Install.
6. Insert Windows disk(s) if prompted to do so.
7. Click Set As Default Printer.