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1.0 INTRODUCTION
This bulletin explains how to use an E-CAT for Windows program. While each E-CAT program is unique, they all share some common features and concepts. By learning these concepts and features generally, you will be able to quickly apply them to any E-CAT for Windows program. Read section 1.1 in this bulletin for a quick lesson on how to get started using the software. Features and concepts referred to in this lesson are found in five subsequent sections of the bulletin:
An explanation of unit tags. An explanation of projects. How to use options and features on the main program window. How to generate reports of selection and performance data. How to view / print drawings
Finally, all discussions in this bulletin are brief summaries. Further information on any of the subjects in the bulletin can be obtained via the programs on-line help system. To access the on-line help system, choose the Help option on the program menu bar, or press [F1] at any point during program operation.
Definition of Projects and Tags: Sections 1.2 and 1.3. Using the Main Program Window: Section 1.4, sub-section A. The Program Menu Bar: Section 1.4, sub-section B. The Program Tool Bar: Section 1.4, sub-section C.
When creating a new project, it is useful to enter descriptive project information. To do this press the Edit Project Description button on the tool bar or choose the Project Description option on the Project Menu. For information on individual project description inputs, press [F1] for on-line program help. 4. Enter Tag Information. Next, we must enter information describing the criteria for our selection run. Data for a single selection run is referred to as a Unit Tag. Therefore, we will enter tag information and then run selection calculations. All unit tag information is entered on the working area of the main program window. Information on using the working area of the main program window is found in Section 1.4, sub-section D. 5. Perform Selection. Once tag data has been specified, selection calculations can be started by clicking on the Calculate button found in the lower right portion of the main program window. When calculations have been completed, results will be displayed in the working area of the screen. Finally, when finished reviewing results, click on the Close button to return to the original tag data input screen. 6. Save Tag. Save the tag data by pressing the Save Tag button on the tool bar or by choosing the Save option on the Tag Menu. You must always save the tag before entering information for a different selection or performance run. If you do not save the tag, input and output information for it will be lost once you enter new tag data or exit the program. 7. Generate Output. At this point output for the selection run can be generated if desired. There are three types of reports which are generated by E-CAT program. They are listed below. Note that every E-CAT program may not offer all three types of reports.
Press the Print Tag button on the tool bar to generate a Unit Tag Data Report Select the Submittal option on the Report Menu to generate a Submittal Report. Note that the tag must be saved (step 6) before this report can be generated. Select the Schedule option on the Report Menu to generate an Equipment Schedule Report. Note that the tag must be saved (step 6) before this report can be generated.
Please refer to Section 1.5 for further information on each of these reports. 8. Save Project. Press the Save Project button on the tool bar or choose the Save Project option on the Project Menu to save both the project and the tag data. Note that if multiple tags are created for a project, it is not necessary to save the project each time you save a tag. The project can be saved once after all tags have been created and saved. When a project is saved in such a situation, tags associated with the project will be saved all at one time. 9. Drawings. Some E-CAT programs provide detailed submittal drawings and/or CAD templates of the equipment being selected. For those E-CAT programs which have submittal drawings, the Certified Drawings option on the Drawings Menu allows you to view or print the drawings. For those E-CAT programs which have templates, the Templates option on the Drawings Menu allows you to view, print or save the template as a DXF file. For further information see section 1.6. 10. Exit Program. At this point we can enter, calculate and store data for further tags, or we can exit from the program. To exit from the program, choose the Exit option on the File Menu. This concludes the overview. Note that for quick selections the E-CAT program can be run in a simpler manner. If you do not want to save data for future reference, and you are not interested in generating the performance summary or equipment schedule reports, it is not necessary to create projects or to store tags and projects. For such a quick run steps 3, 6 and 8 can be skipped.
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A new unit tag is created by choosing the New command on the Tag Menu or by pressing the New Tag button on the program tool bar. Unit tag identification information is modified by choosing the Edit Tag Description command on the Tag Menu or by pressing the Edit Tag button on the program tool bar. The desired selection or performance characteristics of the unit tag are modified by revising items on the main program window. A selection or performance calculation for a unit tag is run by pressing the Calculate button located in the lower right portion of the main program window. A unit tag is saved by choosing the Save command on the Tag Menu or by pressing the Save Tag button on the program tool bar. It is important to note that this only saves tag data in the project it is associated with. It is also necessary to save the project. If you save tag data, but exit the program without saving the project, the tag data will be lost.
A new project is created by choosing the New command on the Project Menu or by pressing the New Project button on the program tool bar. Project descriptive information is modified by choosing the Edit Project Description command on the Project Menu, or by pressing the Edit Project button on the program tool bar. Project data is saved by choosing the Save command on the Project Menu or by pressing the Save Project button on the program tool bar. This not only saves the project description information, but also saves all unit tags associated with the project.
The control-menu box in the upper left corner is used to resize, move, maximize, minimize and close the main program window. The title bar lists the name of the E-CAT program, the current project name, the current tag name, and the name of the current window. In Figure 1, for example, the title bar shows that this program is
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The menu bar lists pull-down menus available in the program. Each menu contains a list of commands that can be used to perform specific program tasks. Menus will be discussed further in sub-section B below. The tool bar contains command buttons which can be used as short cuts to commonly used menu commands. Contents of the tool bar will be discussed further in sub-section C below. The working area contains input data for the current unit tag. In the example in Figure 1, inputs are shown for a sample Rooftop unit selection. A selection or performance run is made by first entering the appropriate information on the input screen and then pressing the Calculate command button. Contents of the working area are discussed further in sub-section D below. Control Menu Box Menu Bar Title Bar Tool Bar
Working Area
Calculate Button
Status Bar
The Calculate button is used to start selection or performance calculations for the current tag. If any items on the input screen are specified as Auto-Select, the program will perform a selection to choose equipment which satisfies specified equipment requirements. If no input items are specified as AutoSelect, the program will perform performance calculations for the unit and operating conditions specified.
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The status bar displays useful information concerning the input item on which the cursor is currently located, or general information concerning the status of the current task. When entering numeric data, for example, the status bar will list the maximum and minimum limits for the input as well as the current default.
The File Menu contains options for modifying printer controls and for exiting from the program. The Project Menu contains options for creating, opening, saving and deleting projects and modifying project descriptive information. The Tag Menu contains options for creating, opening, saving, printing and deleting unit tags within the current project. The Drawing Menu contains options for displaying or printing Certified Drawings and Templates. The View Menu contains options for displaying output for the current tag and for viewing and changing the current program option settings. Option settings allow the user to switch between English and SI Metric units of measurement, and to turn on and off the tooltips feature for the tool bar. The Report Menu contains options for generating program reports. The Help Menu provides access to the program on-line help system. Note that the [F1] key can also be used to display help messages for specific program inputs and options.
Figure 2. Program Tool Bar Project Tool Bar Buttons: The first group contains four buttons which are used to perform tasks related to projects. Buttons in this group are standard for all E-CAT for Windows programs. Working from left to right in this group, the buttons are used to:
Create a new project. Open an existing project. Save the current project. Edit the current project description.
Tag Tool Bar Buttons: The second group contains five buttons which are used to perform tasks related to unit tags. Buttons in this group are standard for all E-CAT for Windows programs. Working from left to right in this group, the buttons are used to:
Create a new tag. Open an existing tag. Save the current tag. Edit the current tag description. Print the current tag.
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Click on the check box. Enter text in box. Click on down arrow at right end of input item. Then click on desired item in list. Enter desired numeric value.
Numeric Inputs
Required Airflow.
Unit Tag Performance Output Report - Screen Format Unit Tag Input Report Submittal Summary Report Schedule Report
For each report, its contents, how it is used and how it is generated will be discussed in a separate subsection below.
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How To Use E-CAT for Windows A. UNIT TAG PERFORMANCE OUTPUT (INPUT) REPORT
The Unit Tag Data report provides all input and output data for a tag in a simple list format. The input data section of this report documents all user inputs for the tag. The output data section lists all calculated selection and performance results. This report is useful for documenting inputs and outputs in a simple fashion so that the selection run can be duplicated at some point in the future, and for documenting the run when resolving questions about results. There are two ways to generate a Unit Tag Output report in an E-CAT for Windows program:
Pressing the Print Tag Button on the Tool Bar. At any time, pressing the print button in the group of tag buttons on the tool bar will generate a Unit Tag Data report for the current tag. If the current tag has not yet been calculated, the report will only list input data. Choosing the Print Option on the Tag Menu. At any time, choosing the Print option on the Tag Menu will generate a Unit Tag Data report for the current tag. If the current tag has not yet been calculated, the report will only list input data.
Pressing the Print Button on the Output Screen. When the output data screen is displayed, press the Print command button to print a Performance Data Summary for the current tag. Choosing Submittal Option on the Report Menu. At any time, choose the Performance Summary option on the Report Menu. A list of previously calculated and stored tags will then be displayed and you will be asked to choose the tags to be printed. Data for each tag will appear on a separate page. Note that when the Report Menu is used to generate this report, tags included in the report must previously have been calculated and stored.
C. SCHEDULE REPORT
The Equipment Schedule report provides input data and calculated performance data in an equipment schedule type of format. The report is typically generated so it can be included with submittal documents. The most important feature of this report is that its format and content are entirely controlled by the user so that format and content can be tailored to the needs of your customer. The Equipment Schedule report can only be generated by choosing the Schedule option on the Report Menu. When this option is selected, a list of previously calculated and stored tags will be displayed and you will be asked to select the tags to be included in the schedule. Once data for these tags is displayed, you will be given the opportunity to customize the content and appearance of the report. Specific features provided for customizing the format and content of this report are listed below. Readers should note that any changes to the report format are stored and remain in effect until changed again by the user. Therefore, once you create a customized report format, it will become the default format for subsequent reports that you generate.
Choosing Report Orientation. The report can use a column-oriented format in which data for tags are listed in separate columns and each row contains data for a different input or output item. The report can also be row-oriented, with data for tags listed in separate rows and each column containing data for a different input or output item. To change the report orientation, press the Transpose button on the report tool bar or choose the Format Menu and then change the orientation setting in the Format dialog box. Note: When using column oriented format, set the printer orientation to portrait. When using a roworiented format, set the printer orientation to landscape. You should change the printer orientation
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Showing and Hiding Data Items. The user controls all data items included in the report. Normally it is not necessary to list every input and output item generated by the program on submittal documents. Instead, items included in the report are tailored to your customers needs. To show or hide data items, first press the Format button on the report tool bar or choose the Format Menu option. Next, select items by clicking in the Show column of the desired data items on the Column Parameter window. Specifying Order of Data Items. Data items in the report can be displayed in any order desired. Again, this allows the format of the report to be tailored to your customers needs. To change the order of data items, first press the Format button on the report tool bar or select the Format Menu option. Then specify the desired data item order number in the Order column on the Column Parameter window. Adding User-Defined Data Items. Certain items such as unit quantity and remarks are useful to include in an Equipment Schedule report, but are not automatically provided by the program. These items can be added to the Equipment Schedule report via the User Data Item feature. To specify your own additional data items, first press the Format button on the report tool bar, or select the Format Menu option. On the Column Parameter window which appears next, scroll to the bottom of the data item list. Up to five user-defined data items can be added. Click on the Show column of the desired user data item and specify the heading for this data item. After exiting from the Column Parameter window, scroll the report to the user data items you activated and enter the data you wish for each of the tags included in the report. Note that each user-defined data item will be marked with an asterisk. A note at the end of the Equipment Schedule report will explain that this item is user-defined. This is done to clarify which items in the report are computer-generated and which are user-defined.
Changing Row Height and Column Width. Any column width or row height in the report can also be changed. This feature allows you customize the schedule to adjust the amount of information provided on a single page or to provide more room to display information in a particular cell in the table. To modify a row height or column width, first position the cursor on the dividing line between columns or rows until the cursor changes appearance to become two parallel lines. Then use the mouse to drag the border of the row or column until the desired row height or column width is reached.
B. Templates
If the E-CAT program has CAD templates available, you can access them by choosing the Templates option on the Drawings Menu. [Note that templates may not be available in all E-CAT programs]. You must have the Carrier Submittal Drawing Viewer installed in order to access templates. You may view or print selected templates. You may also export the templates in DXF electronic format for use in CAD program applications.
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