STL.LSP Version 1.

0
(C) Copyright 1998 by Al Rogers
E-mail: alrogers@ici.net

THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITH ALL FAULTS. AL ROGERS
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE. AL ROGERS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE
OPERATION OF THIS PROGRAM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE.
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CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:
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THIS PROGRAM WAS INSPIRED BY 2 OTHER SIMILAR PROGRAMS THAT EACH
EMBODIED PORTIONS OF THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THIS PROGRAM. HOPEFULLY
I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN INCORPORATING THE BEST FEATURES OF BOTH AS WELL
AS A FEW NEW INNOVATIONS OF MY OWN. THESE PROGRAMS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
STEEL.LSP BY JEFFREY DAVID WELLS OF PELLHAM PHILLIPS HAGERMAN
ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS, SPRINGFIELD, MO
BEAM.LSP VERSION 1.0 BY STEVE Q. STAPLETON, PO BOX 16066, JACKSON,
MS 39236, MODIFIED BY BILL LE COUTEUR.
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COMPANION FILES:
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STL.LSP HAS 22 COMPANION FILES THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE IN THE SAME
DIRECTORY IN ORDER TO FUNCTION. THESE FILES ARE NAMED AS FOLLOWS:
STL.DCL, STL_HELP.TXT, STL_C.DIM, STL_HP.DIM, STL_L.DIM, STL_M.DIM,
STL_MC.DIM, STL_MET_A.DIM, STL_MET_C.DIM, STL_MET_R.DIM, STL_MET_W.DIM,
STL_MT.DIM, STL_P.DIM, STL_PX.DIM, STL_PXX.DIM, STL_S.DIM, STL_ST.DIM,
STL_TS_RECT.DIM, STL_TS_SQ.DIM, STL_TUBE.DIM, STL_W.DIM, STL_WT.DIM.
THESE FILES CONTAIN THE DIALOG (.DCL) CODE, THIS HELP FILE (.TXT) AND
THE DATA TABLES FOR SHAPE DIMENSIONS (.DIM).
1. ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
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A. ALL SHAPES ARE DRAWN AS POLY-LINES FOR EASE OF HANDLING, EXTENDING TO,
TRIMMING TO, CHANGING LINETYPE OF, REGION MODELING FOR COMPOSITE SHAPE
ANALYSIS, AND CONVERTING TO 3D SOLID AND 3D SIMPLE. INCLUDES AUTOMATIC
"PLINEWID" SETTING TO "0", THEN RE-SET TO ORIGINAL SETTING.
B. INSERT POINTS ARE TOP BEAM CENTER, TOP TUBE CENTER, PIPE OR TUBE CENTER,
ANGLE HEEL, AND CHANNEL HEEL.
C. SHAPE CONTOURS ARE DRAWN ACCURATELY WITH TAPERED FLANGES AND RADIUSED
CORNERS AND EDGES.
D. THE PROGRAM SETS AN AUTOMATIC "OSMODE" SETTING OF "111" (INTERSECTION,
ENDPOINT, MIDPOINT, CENTERPOINT, NODE, AND INSERTION) TO AID IN
SELECTING INSERT POINT, AUTOMATIC RE-SET TO "0" FOR DRAWING THE SHAPE,
THEN RESET TO ORIGINAL OSMODE OF DRAWING ENVIRONMENT.
E. INSERT PROMPT HAS A REFERENCE OPTION. THIS ALLOWS PLACEMENT OF INSERT
POINT BY "PICKING" A BASE POINT AND THEN ENTERING ITS X,Y REFERENCE TO
THE "PICKED" BASE POINT.
F. PROGRAM DRAWS ALL OF THE STRUCTURAL SHAPES, PIPE, AND TUBE LISTED IN
THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION'S (AISC) STEEL CONSTRUCTION
MANUAL, EITHER THE ASD NINTH EDITION OR THE LRFD FIRST EDITION. METRIC
SHAPE DATA TABLES WERE OBTAINED FROM BEAM.LSP BY STEVE Q. STAPLETON AND
BILL LE COUTEUR.
G. THE PROGRAM ALTERS THE DRAWING ENVIRONMENT WITH A TEMPORARY "OSMODE"
"111" AND "PLINEWID" "0" SETTING. SHAPES ARE DRAWN ON THE CURRENT
LAYER AND UCS.
H. IF YOU MAKE IMPROVEMENTS, HAVE COMMENTS, OR FIND BUGS, PLEASE CONTACT
ME BY E-MAIL: alrogers@ici.net
2. LOADING AND STARTING THE PROGRAM:
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A. FIRST, ALL STL FILES SHOULD BE LOCATED IN THE SAME DIRECTORY. THE DIRECTOR
Y
SHOULD BE SPECIFIED IN THE AUTOCAD SEARCH PATH. MY PERSONAL APPROACH IS TO
PUT ALL MY CUSTOM AUTOLISP FILES IN A DIRECTORY CALLED AUTOLISP WHICH I TH
EN
ADD TO MY AUTOCAD SEARCH PATH. THIS KEEPS THEM SEPARATE FROM ALL THE ONES
SUPPLIED WITH AUTOCAD IN THE SUPPORT DIRECTORY.
B. LOADING CAN BE DONE BY VARIOUS MEANS DEPENDING ON HOW FREQUENTLY YOU EXPEC
T
TO USE THE PROGRAM. FOR INFREQUENT USE, THE "LOAD APPLICATION" MENU ON THE
"TOOLS" PULL-DOWN (R13 AND R14) MAY SUFFICE. YOU CAN ALSO LOAD DIRECTLY
AT THE COMMAND PROMPT BY TYPING (LOAD "STL") AND PRESSING ENTER. FOR
FREQUENT USERS WHO WANT THE PROGRAM AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES, ADD (LOAD "STL
")
TO YOUR ACAD.LSP FILE SO THAT THE PROGRAM LOADS AUTOMATICALLY EVERY TIME.
YOU CAN THEN START THE PROGRAM BY TYPING STL AT THE COMMAND PROMPT OR BY
CONFIGURING A CUSTOM TOOLBAR BUTTON TO START. MY PERSONAL APPROACH IN R13
AND
R14 IS TO CREATE AND CONFIGURE A CUSTOM TOOLBAR BUTTON THAT BOTH LOADS AND
STARTS THE PROGRAM. THE BUTTON COMMAND IS (LOAD "STL") STL. IT'S THAT SIMP
LE.

3. PICK THE SHAPE TYPE:
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WHEN THE PROGRAM STARTS, IT CALLS UP THE MAIN DIALOG BOX. THE BOX CONTAINS
20 BUTTONS, ONE FOR EACH AVAILABLE SHAPE TYPE. WHEN A BUTTON IS SELECTED,
A LIST OF AVAILABLE SHAPE SIZES IS DISPLAYED IN THE LIST BOX.
4. PICK THE SHAPE SIZE:
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SCROLL THE LIST OF AVAILABLE SHAPE SIZES AND PICK A SIZE. THE PICKED SIZE
WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED AND A LIST OF THE DIMENSIONS FOR THAT SIZE WILL BE
DISPLAYED TO THE LEFT OF THE LIST BOX.
5. PICK THE VIEW:
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FIVE VIEW SELECTIONS ARE AVAILABLE BY RADIO BUTTONS. SELECT A VIEW BUTTON
AND YOU ARE NOW READY TO DRAW THE SHAPE. THE 2D END VIEW IS DEFAULT. IF YOU
SELECT ANY OF THE OTHER 4 VIEWS, A LENGTH DIMENSION IS REQUIRED IN THE
HIGHLIGHTED LENGTH EDIT BOX. IF YOU DO NOT ENTER A LENGTH DIMENSION THE
DEFAULT IS 1 UNIT.
6. PICK OK:
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THE PROGRAM WILL DISPLAY AN ALERT BOX WITH A OOPS! ERROR MESSAGE TO TRY AGAIN
IF YOU FAIL TO PICK EITHER A SHAPE TYPE OR SHAPE SIZE. IF YOU FAIL TO SELECT
A VIEW, THE PROGRAM WILL DRAW THE 2D END VIEW BY DEFAULT.
7. HELP IS AVAILABLE:
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IF YOU EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS, CONTACT ME BY E-MAIL: alrogers@ici.net
I HOPE YOU WILL GAIN MUCH IN THE WAY OF PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH THE USE OF THIS
PROGRAM.