ETABS 2013 Version 13.1.

1
Copyright Computers and Structures, Inc., 2013

Release Date: 2013-07-22

ETABS 2013 Version 13.1.1 is a minor update from Versions 13.0.0 and 13.1.0, and is distributed
electronically by download from the internet using the CSI Installation Wizard.
Version 13.1.1 is being released shortly after v13.1.0 to correct a problem inadvertently introduced
in v13.1.0. If you have already installed v13.1.0, we recommend that you download and install
v13.1.1.

PLEASE READ THIS FILE!

It contains important information that may be more current than what is in the Manuals.

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Installation Instructions for ETABS 2013 Version 13.1.1

Installation Instructions for License Manager 8.5.0
New Features for ETABS 2013
File Compatibility with Older Versions
Significant Changes from Versions 13.0.0 and 13.1.0

1. Installation Instructions for ETABS 2013

ETABS 2013 Version 13.1.1 is available electronically as a full installation by download from the
internet using the CSI Installation Wizard, or on DVD by request.
ETABS 2013 is available as a 32-bit or 64-bit application. On a 32-bit operating system you can
only install the 32-bit application. On a 64-bit operating system you can install either the 32-bit or
the 64-bit application, but not both. Normally the 64-bit application would be recommended unless
you need connectivity to a 32-bit version of Microsoft Excel or Access.
Whether you are using a standalone license or a network license, the full 32-bit or 64-bit
application must be installed on each workstation where ETABS 2013 will be used.
Using the Installation Wizard will guide you step-by-step through the process of installation and
licensing. If you choose instead to use the DVD, follow the instructions provided in the installation
browser that automatically starts up when the DVD is inserted into the drive on your computer.

Before installation, be sure you have your Activation Key available if you are using a Standalone
license. You should have received this by email from CSI or your dealer. For Network licenses, it is
necessary to have the licenses already activated on license server that is accessible to the
workstation.
To begin the CSI Installation Wizard, click this link:
http://www.csiberkeley.com/go/installation-wizard
The Wizard will start and guide you through the process. The actual files needed for installation
will be downloaded as necessary. An active internet connection is required throughout the
installation and licensing process.
The license activation server ports are 8080 and 8443. If either of these ports is blocked, they need
to be opened. Otherwise license activation will not be possible.
When ETABS 2013 v13.0.0 is Already Installed
If you have ETABS 2013 v13.0.0 installed on your system, it will be necessary to uninstall this first
from the Windows Control Panel before installing v13.1.1. We recommend that you do this using
the CSI Installation Wizard, which will guide you through the process.
If you have already installed v13.1.0, this will be automatically uninstalled when v13.1.1 is
installed. Only v13.0.0 requires the use of Control Panel.
Installing ETABS 2013 will not uninstall older versions of ETABS prior to v13.0.0.
If you are using a Standalone license, your Activation Key will be provided to you when v13.0.0 or
v13.1.0 is uninstalled so that you can use it to activate your license for v13.1.1. This is handled
automatically if you are using the Installation Wizard.
Windows User Account Control (UAC)
For recent versions of the Windows operating system (Windows 7, 8, Vista, and XP SP3), User
Account Control (UAC) is enabled by default. When UAC is turned on, you must explicitly give
permission to any program that wants to use "Administrative" privileges. Any program that tries to
use Administrative privileges without your permission will be denied access.
The installation of the ETABS and the activation of the license require "Administrative" privileges
to run. When installing ETABS with UAC enabled, you should expect to be prompted to allow the
installer access to system folders and Windows registry. Please allow it to continue so that the
installation can complete.

2. Installation Instructions for License Manager 8.5

The information in this section does not apply if you are using Standalone licenses.
If you will be using a network license to run ETABS 2013, the License Manager and Utilities
should be installed on a license server, which is usually not one of the client workstations. The
Installation Wizard (and DVD) provide the following installations:
Sentinel RMS License Manager 8.5

If you have an earlier version of Sentinel RMS License v8.x.x running, uninstall it after
making sure no licenses are currently in use and no commuter licenses are checked out.
Make a backup of the license file lservrc, and then proceed with the installation of
License Manager 8.5.

If you are already running the Sentinel RMS License Manager 8.5 or a later version, you
can skip this installation.

If you have an earlier version of Sentinel RMS License v7.x.x running, you will need to
leave this installed as v8.5 does not recognize v7.x.x licenses. Install the Sentinel RMS
License Manager 8.5 on a different server.

Sentinel RMS License Manager 8.5 Utilities

The Sentinel Utilities for License Manager 8.5 needs to be installed even if you are running
a later version of the License manager. The Utilities are to be installed on the same license
server as License Manager. During the installation you will be prompted for a Network
Activation Key. You should have received this by email from CSI or your dealer. Enter the
key and click on Activate; a Network license will then be generated and copied to the server
location or appended to an existing license at the server location. Note that the License
Manager 8.5 needs to be running to activate the license.

On the client workstations

To speed up finding a network license when ETABS is launched, you can do either or both of the
following:

Create a text file, LEVEL.TXT, and enter the ProgramLevel in a single line. The
ProgramLevel should be one of the following:
PLUS / NONLINEAR / ULTIMATE / PLUSC / PLUSCD / PLUSCC / PLUSCS /
NONLINEARC / ULTIMATEC / PLUSI / NONLINEARI / ULTIMATEI

Save this file to the folder where ETABS 2013 is installed. This file will cause the program
to find the license faster.

Create a text file, LMHOST.INI, and enter the network name or IP address of the machine
that is running the License Manager. If you are serving licenses on more than one machine,
enter each name or IP address on a separate line of text. Save this file to the folder where
ETABS 2013 is installed.

Either the LEVEL.TXT file or the LMHOST.INI file can also be placed in the user settings
folder, which can be found by entering %LocalAppData%\Computers and
Structures\ETABS 2013 (without quotes) in Windows Explorer. Accessing this folder does
not require administrative permissions like the installation folder does. Files located in the
user settings folder will take precedence over those in the installation folder.

As an alternative to using the LEVEL.TXT file, you can specify the program level as a commandline option. To do this, use the Windows Run command or create a shortcut pointing to ETABS.exe
in the installation folder. Add the following text to the command line after ETABS.exe
/L ProgramLevel
where ProgramLevel is one of the values listed above for the LEVEL.TXT file. Specifying
ProgramLevel on the command line will supersede the value in the LEVEL.TXT file.

3. New Features for ETABS 2013 Version 13.0.0

ETABS 2013 is a major new release, and significant new features have been added or enhanced
since Version 9.7.4.
For a full list of features and capabilities, please visit the ETABS 2013 news page at
http://www.csiberkeley.com/etabs2013/news.

4. File Compatibility with Older Versions

ETABS 2013 Version 13.1.1 can open model files (*.EDB) from older versions of ETABS, as well
as import older ETABS text files (*.E2K and *.$ET.) Note that once you save or run these models
in Version 13.1.1, they will not be usable by older versions of the program, so you should save
them under a new name after opening or importing them in v13.1.1. By default, this is done
automatically for model files from v9.7.4 and older.

5. Significant Changes from Version 13.0.0 and 13.1.0

For a complete list of all changes, please see the separate file ReleaseNotes.PDF in the Manuals
subfolder of the ETABS 2013 installation and available by using the Help > Documentation
command in ETABS 2013. Note that most incidents do not affect most users.
Significant Changes from v13.1.0 (Released 2013-07-10)
Modeling
Incidents Resolved
Incident
55934

Description
An incident was resolved that addressed three issues for the layered shell: (1) The
thickness reported for a layered shell property was not correct. Now this has been changed
to represent the distance between the extreme outer surfaces of the combined layers. (2)
The mass computed from the layers was sometimes reported incorrectly in the tables. The
mass used for analysis was correct. (3) The automatic modeling of embedded beams for
connectivity with frame objects has been removed. This was used to provide good moment
continuity between frame objects and the out-of-plane (drilling) degrees of freedom for the
shell elements, which has no stiffness for the layered shell. However, the definition of the
beam properties was not realistic for all cases. The user should manually model embedded
beams to achieve continuity based on their knowledge of the expected behavior of the
structure. Automatic modeling of embedded beams for homogeneous shell wall elements is
still provided and has not been changed..

Analysis
Incidents Resolved
Incident
53383

55817
55878

Description
An incident was resolved in which the equivalent properties of waffle and ribbed slab
property types were not being correctly calculated. This only affected waffle and ribbed
slabs modeled using these new property types introduced in v13.0.0. The slab self-weight
and stiffness for these property types was incorrect and the error was obvious.
An incident was resolved where sometimes the analysis model could not be created and
results were unavailable. This would happen under certain conditions where the number of
frame objects or the number of shell objects was larger than the number of joints and
internal meshing was involved. This error was inadvertently introduced in v13.1.0 and
only affected this version.

Frame Design
Incidents Resolved
Incident
55860

Description
An incident was resolved where the frame design would not consider a multi-valued load
case in a design combination if step-by-step results were requested but the particular case
was not the last case in the combination. This error did not occur if enveloping results
were requested or the case was not multi-valued or the case was the last one listed in the
combination definition.

Incident
56057

Description
An incident was resolved for steel frame design using the AISC 360-05 and AISC 360-10
codes where the special seismic loading combinations required to amplify the seismic
loads for certain type of members were not being applied. This error was inadvertently
introduced in v13.0.0.

Shear Wall Design

Incidents Resolved
Incident
55875

Description
An incident was resolved where spandrel flexural design was in error for Turkish TS 5002000 code. The GammaC and GammaS factor for material strength reduction were both
incorrectly used as 1.11 instead of 1.5 and 1.15 respectively. The previous results could be
unconservative.

Significant Changes from v13.0.0 (Released 2013-04-17)

User Interface
Enhancements Implemented
Incident
53254

Description
An enhancement has been implemented to allow customization of the keyboard shortcuts
for the various menu items. These keyboard shortcuts and the toolbar settings are saved in
the local user folder so that settings are maintained with each use of the program.

Loading
Enhancements Implemented
Incident
53532

Description
Automated wind loading has been added according to the Australian and New Zealand
code AS/NZS 1170.2-2011.

Frame Design
Enhancements Implemented
Incident Description
53544
Concrete frame design and shear wall design have been added for the Hong Kong CP 2013
code.

Modeling
Incidents Resolved
Incident
53758

Description
An incident was resolved where using the Edit > Frame > Divide Frames command would
result in applied point and distributed loads on frames being duplicated in each of the new
segments. This modeling error is limited to editing done in V13.0.0 only.

Section Designer
Incidents Resolved
Incident
52881

Description
An incident was resolved for Section Designer where the section properties were
sometimes calculated incorrectly for a filled pipe due to an internal tolerance issue. When
this occurred the error was obvious and the section properties were usually zero.

Loading
Incidents Resolved
Incident
53304

Description
An incident was resolved where the additional eccentricity specified for seismic loads
(equivalent static or response spectrum) was not being correctly applied to the loads at
joints that were part of a semi-rigid diaphragm. The primary translational loads were
correctly applied. Seismic loads applied to rigid diaphragms were not affected.

Analysis
Incidents Resolved
Incident
54135

54165
54634

Description
An incident was resolved where the out-of-plane (plate bending) behavior of the layered
shell was not correct for the case where a frame object was connected to one of the joints
of the shell. The reason for this is that ETABS extends the frame object into the shell to
establish good continuity, but this behavior was incorrectly implemented for the layered
shell. The homogeneous thin and thick shell objects were behaving correctly.
An incident was resolved where the tabular output for story mass was incorrect for models
with multiple towers. This was only a reporting issue.
An incident was resolved where the results for structures modeled as multi-tower were
obviously inconsistent and incorrect. This was due to duplication of some members in the
analysis model.

Shear Wall Design

Incidents Resolved
Incident
53970
55285

Description
An incident was resolved where in certain cases an incorrect pier section for shear wall
design was being created when multiple wall objects in the same plane were assigned the
same pier label. When this occurred the error was obvious because the wall area shown in
the design report was clearly incorrect.

Connection Design
Incidents Resolved
Incident
54668

Description
An incident was resolved in the baseplate design in which the minimum plate thickness
calculation displays a square root symbol in the design details, but the calculated minimum
thickness value is missing the square root. This could result in unconservative baseplate
thickness.