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README.TXT File SAP2000 Version 6.11 Release 1997/10/22

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PLEASE READ THIS FILE!

It contains important information that is more current than the Manuals.

CONTENTS
--------
1. SAP2000 Version 6.11
2. Distribution on CD
3. Significant Changes from SAP2000 Version 6.00 and Later
4. Analysis Executables
5. Upgrading from SAP90 Version 5.4 or 5.5
6. Using a Novell Server as a Key-Server

1. SAP2000 Version 6.11

-----------------------
SAP2000 is a fully graphical Windows program, and is available in three
different versions: SAP2000 Standard, SAP2000 PLUS, and SAP2000 Nonlinear.
All versions require Windows 95 or Windows NT to be running on your computer.
Model creation, analysis, display of results, and design are all performed
within the SAP2000 graphical user interface.
SAP2000 is a very extensive program, featuring a friendly and powerful
graphical user interface and sophisticated analytical capabilities. However, a
few of the advanced analysis features cannot be edited in the graphical user
interface, such as the Plane, Asolid, and Solid elements. The geometry and
analysis results for these elements CAN be viewed in the graphical user
interface.
Users who have need of advanced analysis features described in Volume I of the
Analysis Reference that cannot be edited in the graphical user interface can
use the input data text file as described in Volume II of the Analysis
Reference. See Topics "Overview" and "Input Data Files and the Graphical User
Interface" in Chapter II of Volume II for more information.
For users who already have SAP2000, we recommend that you remove the previous
version of the program and begin using version 6.11 as soon as possible in
order to take advantage of the latest features, improvements, and error
corrections.

2. Distribution on CD
---------------------
You may have received SAP2000 either on diskettes or on a CD. In addition to
the SAP2000 program that is contained on both types of media, the CD contains
the following:
(a) The latest version of all program manuals in Adobe Acrobat format. These
manuals can be viewed and printed using Adobe Reader which is included
on the CD. To access these manuals, you may select Manuals during the
installation process to have them copied to your machine, or you may
 view them directly from the CD in folder MANUALS.

(b) Several self-running tutorials. To access these tutorials, you may select
Tutorials during the installation process to have them copied to your
machine, or you may run them directly from the CD in folder TUTORIAL.

(c) Analysis executables. These are not needed by most users, but are provided
for those users who need to run analyses in "batch" mode. These are
automatically copied to the UTILITY sub-folder under the SAP2000 folder on
your machine. For more information, see topic "Analysis Executables"
below.

*************
IMPORTANT !!!
*************
(d) The Sentinel drivers for Windows NT or Windows 95 are also located on the
CD, rather than on Supplemental diskettes as described in the Getting
Started manual. These drivers can be found in folders DRIVERNT and
DRIVER95, respectively, on the CD. Both of these folders are also copied
to the SAP2000 folder on your server during a Network Server installation.
To install or remove the Sentinel Driver on a Windows NT machine, run
...DRIVERNT\SETUP.EXE
To install or remove the Sentinel Driver on a Windows 95 machine, run
...DRIVER95\SETUP.EXE
In both cases, "..." indicates the path to the DRIVERNT or DRIVER95 folder
on the CD, or on your server if you are installing from a previous Network
Server installation. From the Functions menu, choose Install or Remove,
as appropriate, and click OK. You will get a message indicating the
operation is complete. Click OK, and restart your system.
This is a one-time installation that is only required for machines to
which the hardware key device is attached. See Topic "Using the Hardware
Key Device" in the Getting Started manual for more information.

3. Significant Changes from SAP2000 Version 6.00 and Later

----------------------------------------------------------
Changes from version 6.10 to 6.11:
(a) Minor errors have been corrected in the Design algorithms. Most
importantly, correspondence of Frame element forces for Moving Load
cases (when available) was not properly accounted for in 6.10. Note that
for correspondence to be used, you must first request that corresponding
forces be calculated in the definition of the Moving Load analysis, and
you must also select that corresponding forces be used in the Steel and
Concrete panels under the Options > Preferences menu item.
In addition, certain assumptions made for non-American codes were
over-conservative, resulting in rejection of certain members that should
 be acceptable.
IMPORTANT !! All jobs designed/checked with previous versions of SAP2000
(6.10 and earlier) should be re-analyzed and re-verified with Version
6.11 !!

(b) Design output and parameter overwrites for non-American codes have been
improved.

(c) Minor errors encountered during the import of certain loads in SAP90 and
SAP2000 text files have been corrected. These affect triangular-shaped
distributed span loads on Frame elements (when the load value at one end
is zero), pore-pressures load on Plane elements, and temperature-gradient
loads on Shell elements. This error only affects versions 6.08 to 6.10.

(d) Bridge lanes can now be displayed, including eccentricity and the ordering
of the elements.

(e) Tables of bridge influence line values can now be displayed and printed
from the Display > Show Influence Lines menu item.

(f) Corresponding Frame-element forces and moments for Moving Load cases can
now be printed. These are available only in spreadsheet form through the
File > Print Output Table menu item. You must request spreadsheet
output. In addition, you must first have requested that corresponding
forces be calculated in the definition of the Moving Load analysis.
(g) Assembled joint masses are now printed in the analysis output (.OUT) file.
Masses at restrained degrees of freedom are included, contrary to what
is stated in the manual.
(h) Joint accelerations are now printed in the analysis output (.OUT) file
for any response-spectrum analysis for which displacements are requested.

Changes from versions 6.00 and later to 6.10:

(a) Many changes have been made to the Graphical User Interface to make it
easier to use, more powerful, and more stable. Most dialog boxes are
self-explanatory and are also described in the on-line help. You can
press the F1 function key at any time for on-line help, or access it
from the Help menu.

(b) The design/check algorithms of the program have now been documented and
completed.
IMPORTANT !! All jobs designed/checked with previous versions of SAP2000
(6.10 and earlier) should be re-analyzed and re-verified with Version
6.11 !!
Minor errors have been corrected from version 6.10. Design output and
parameter overwrites for non-American codes have been improved since
version 6.10.
(c) Bridge analysis capabilities are now available.
Full correspondence of Frame element forces can be computed as an option.
See the Reference manual, Volume I. By default, corresponding forces are
not computed in order to save time. If computed, corresponding forces are
only used for design and cannot be displayed.
The Quick method is available for Bridge analysis with a variable degree
of approximation. The default is to use the "Exact" method, using the full
influence line to get the "Exact" moving load results. In the Quick
method of degree 1, the influence line is simplified by using only the
maximum value in each span. Higher degrees of refinement use additional
points. The "Exact" method should always be used for final results. The
Quick method of degree 1, 2, or 3 is recommended for preliminary
analyses, with degree 2 offering a good balance between speed and
accuracy.

(d) Four types of Combos are now available: additive, enveloping, absolute
sum, and SRSS. Combos can be printed, displayed, designed, imported, and
exported.

(e) Envelopes of time-history results can be requested. By default, they are

not computed in order to save time. If requested, these envelopes can be
printed, displayed, and included in Combos.

(f) Analysis output in the .OUT file can be requested for all analysis cases
and Combos. Requests can be imported and exported. No control is available
for individual joints or elements, only for element types.

(g) A "static period" parameter has been added for time-history analyses. This
is used to specify a period below which modes are treated as static, and
is useful for certain very stiff problems under quasistatic loading. This
did not exist in version 6.05 and earlier, was automatically set to
"dtmax" in version 6.06, and is user controllable in versions 6.07 and
later. By default, it is not used.

(h) The role of the effective stiffness in the Nllink elements has been
slightly changed: For linear degrees of freedom in a nonlinear
time-history analysis, the effective stiffness "ke" is used instead of
the elastic stiffness "k" that was used for versions 6.07 and earlier.
This change is only significant if "ke" and "k" are different for a linear
degree of freedom, which is not normally the case.

(i) An error has been corrected in the rotational degrees of freedom for
Body, Plate, and Beam constraints. Any models containing these types of
constraints that were analyzed with versions 6.07 and earlier should be
re-run.

(j) Allowable values for Poisson's ratio "u" have been expanded to include
-1<u<0.5 for Isotropic materials, and any value for Orthotropic and
Anisotropic materials.
(k) Nonlinear time-history analysis has been made more efficient. The speed-up
is problem dependent, and may be as much as a factor of two for some
problems, and possibly more.

(l) An error has been corrected that affected the internal moment that was
reported in Frame elements under trapezoidal loading. This error affected
only the internal moment results, not the effect of the load upon the rest
of the structure. This was corrected in versions 6.08 and later.

(m) An error has been corrected in the P-Delta moment M2 toward End J of the
Frame element: it was of the wrong sign. This was corrected in versions
6.08 and later. Moment M3 has always been OK.

(n) An error has been corrected in the P-Delta forces and moments in Frame
elements that have end releases. Elements with only moment releases have
been corrected in versions 6.08 and later. The case with shear releases is
not well defined, and the reported P-Delta moment distribution is somewhat
arbitrary in this case.

(o) An error has been corrected that affected the time-history base reactions
reported for any History that contained modal damping. This was corrected
in versions 6.08 and later.

(p) The response-spectrum base reactions reported in the .OUT file for
individual modes has been corrected. It is now reported separately for
each direction of loading. This was corrected in versions 6.06 and later.
The combined results for all modes and all directions has always been
correct.

(q) An error was corrected that affected the import of the Frame Section
data block when data-base or calculated properties were overwritten by
directly-specified properties. Whenever A, I, AS, or J was specified in
addition to a data-base or calculated shape using the SH parameter, the
specified A, I, AS, or J values were ignored and only the data-base or
calculated properties were used. This was corrected in version 6.10.

(r) An error was corrected that affected the linear degrees of freedom of
the Nllink elements in a nonlinear time-history analysis. This error
only affects versions 6.08 and 6.09. All previous versions were OK. This
error caused all linear degrees of freedom of the Nllink elements to
report zero internal forces for a nonlinear time-history analysis. In
addition, nonlinear deformation loads were generated for all linear
degrees of freedom that had non-zero effective stiffnesses. This has
been corrected in version 6.10.

(s) The definition of the Nllink U2 and U3 internal deformations reported for
time-history analysis has been changed to agree with that described in
the manual. The values reported previously were the relative shear
deformation at joint J. The values now reported are the relative shear
deformation at distance DJ from joint J. The values reported for static
 loads and response-spectrum analyses have always been correct. This change
was made in version 6.10.

(t) In Figure 99 of Version 6.0 of the Analysis Reference - Volume I, the

value of 27.9k given for the larger concentrated load is incorrect: it
should be 28.8k. Only the manual is incorrect, not the program.

(u) Format changes in the .S2K text file:

* The Combo block has been changed to include the four types, to include
all analysis cases, to use a single scale factor for each analysis
case, to eliminate mode selection from the Spec data line, and to
eliminate correspondence.
* The Output block has been changed to include History cases, and to
eliminate individual element control.
* The Nlprop block has been changed as follows: On every Property data
line, you MUST specify "ke"; there is no default. On every nonlinear
Property data line you MUST specify "k"; there is no default. On every
linear Property data line, "k" may NOT be specified.
* The History data block has been changed to add the following parameter
to the Name data line: ENVE=enve, where "enve" may be either "Y" or
"N" to indicate whether or not to calculate response envelopes for
that time-history case. The default is "N" in order to save time.
* The Moving Load data block has been changed to add the following
parameter to the Control data line: CORR=corr, where "corr" may be
either "Y" or "N" to indicate whether or not to calculate correspondence
for Frame element forces. The default is "N" in order to save time.
* The Moving Load data block has been changed to add the following
parameter to the Control data line: QUICK=quick, where "quick" may be
any integer, zero or positive. The default is "0", indicating to use the
full influence line to get the "exact" moving load results. Positive
integers indicate increasing degrees of refinement for the quick method.
See item (c) above for more information.
* For Frame, Shell, and Nllink elements, the default for the second
PLDIR value has been changed. Whenever the first PLDIR value is changed,
the default for the second value is equal to the new first value, rather
than the previous value as before. Thus specifying PLDIR=+X is the
same as PLDIR=+X,+X. Normally you should specify the second PLDIR
value so that it is not parallel to the first value in order to
prevent failure if the first value is parallel to the geometric local
axis of the element.
* For the Frame Section data block, SH=2L may now be used to specify
double angles.

4. Analysis Executables
-----------------------
With SAP2000 you can create your model, perform the analysis, display the
results, and check the design all within a single graphical user interface.
However, some users have requested the ability to perform multiple analyses in
a batch mode outside of the user interface. We have provided executable
files for this purpose in a subfolder called UTILITY under the SAP2000 folder.
These files are 32-bit Windows executables. They can be run from a Command
Prompt (DOS-like) window under Windows 95/NT. These are not DOS executables
and cannot be run on DOS or Windows 3.x machines. In order to run properly,
they must be copied or moved from the UTILITY subfolder up to the SAP2000
folder where SAP2000.EXE is located.
The executables are:
(a) SAPRE.EXE. This reads and checks a SAP2000 input text file and prepares
the data for subsequent analysis using SAPGO.EXE. To run, give the
command:
SAPRE sap2000file /M:nnnnn
where "sap2000file" (required) is the SAP2000 input text file to be
read; and "nnnnn" (optional) is the amount of memory to be allocated
in 1000-byte units. The "sap2000file" must include the extension .S2K.
The default memory if the /M: parameter is omitted is the same as
specifying /M:2000.
(b) SAPGO.EXE, SAPGOP.EXE, SAPGON.EXE, or SAPGOE.EXE. Only one of these is
provided, depending on whether you have the standard, PLUS, Nonlinear, or
Education version of SAP2000, respectively. These perform the analysis
following the execution of SAPRE.EXE. To run, give the command:
SAPGO sap2000file /M:nnnnn
where "sap2000file" (required) is the SAP2000 input text file to be
analyzed; and "nnnnn" (optional) is the amount of memory to be allocated
in 1000-byte units. The "sap2000file" must include the extension .S2K.
The default memory if the /M: parameter is omitted is the same as
specifying /M:2000. Substitute the appropriate name of the executable
you have for SAPGO in the command above.
To perform an analysis using these executables:
(a) Prepare an input text file (.S2K) using a text editor or by exporting a
file from the SAP2000 graphical user interface.
(b) Run SAPRE.EXE, followed by the appropriate version of SAPGO.EXE. These
commands may be place in a batch (.BAT) file.
(c) To display the results, import the SAP2000 .JOB file under the File menu
of the SAP2000 graphical user interface. It is important to import the
.JOB file, not the .S2K file, or your analysis results will be lost.

5. Upgrading from SAP90 Version 5.4 or 5.5

------------------------------------------
Most modeling and analysis features available in SAP90 are also present in
SAP2000, and many new features have been added. Only the SAP90 heat-transfer
analysis features are not currently available in SAP2000.
SAP90 input data files for versions 5.4 and 5.5 may be imported directly into
SAP2000. A translated SAP2000 input data text file (with extension .S2K) will
be created, and the model will be stored in the native SAP2000 data base file
(with extension .SDB). The model can then be modified, analyzed, designed, and
displayed.
When you import a SAP90 input data file, SAP2000 will ask you to specify what
direction was assumed to be upward in the SAP90 model. All coordinate-dependent
quantities in the SAP90 model will be converted to conform with the SAP2000
convention that the +Z direction is upward.
Please note that SAP90 Bridge Moving Load cases may be translated into
multiple SAP2000 Moving Load cases. In many cases, you may be able to combine
them back into a single SAP2000 Moving Load case, but you will have to do
this manually. For each SAP90 Moving Load case, a single SAP2000 envelope-
type Combo is created during translation. Please also note that the "pm"
portion of the SAP90 lane load was used for moments M2 and M3 for all
elements, while the floating concentrated load "pm" for the SAP2000 vehicle
load only applies to the vertical moment (usually M3), and only for lane
elements!
WARNING! Some imported data may be interpreted differently by SAP2000 than by
SAP90. For example, the interaction between end offsets and end releases is
different, as is the interaction between prestress load and P-Delta analysis.
Be sure to check your imported model carefully! Compare the results of
analyses using both SAP90 and SAP2000 before making further use of the
imported model!
See Topic "Upgrading from SAP90" in Chapter II of the "SAP2000 Getting
Started" manual for more information.

6. Using a Novell Server as a Key-Server

----------------------------------------
You may be able to use a Novell server as a SAP2000 key server utilizing the
key-server software NSRVNI.NLM. You may try it, but we do not support this
feature.
NSRVNI can only serve IPX/SPX workstations. If you are running SAP2000 on a
workstation that only uses NetBIOS/NETBEUI, it will not be able to find the
key on the Novell server.
To use a Novell server as a key server, try the following:
(1) Copy file NSRVNI.NLM from the SAP2000 folder to a convenient location on
the server
(2) Attach the hardware key device to an active parallel port on the server
(3) From the server console, give the command:
LOAD NSRVNI
Include the path to the file NSRVNI.NLM as necessary. After a time to
initialize, the display will show the number of current users and the peak
(4) Try running SAP2000 from a workstation to see if it can find the key.
Make sure no other keys are being served on the network for this test
(5) If SAP2000 cannot find the key, stop NSRVNI by giving the command:
 UNLOAD NSRVNI
from the server console (first toggle to the command prompt). Do not
include the path to NSRVNI.NLM here.
(6) Reload NSRVNI using the command:
LOAD NSRVNI /AT:nn
where nn is 50 or 100 (try both if necessary). Include the path to the
file NSRVNI.NLM as necessary.
(7) After initialization, try accessing the key again from a workstation.
If this still doesn't work, you may call us for assistance, but this is not a
supported feature.