WinTower FAQ

1. What is WinTower?

Please see the product description page.

2. How do I get started working with WinTower?

There is a comprehensive tutorial with several examples of different types of typical structures in the user manual. Please see sections 7 and 8 of the manual.

3. Is there a graphical user interface for building the geometrical model?

No, all data is entered with a text editor into plain-ASCII definition files. Although this approach may present a small obstacle in the beginning many engineering-oriented users find it easier and more effective to work with these files very quickly after starting.

4. The ASCII files seem awfully complex!

They may seem to be complex at first sight because of their size but a closer look of the contents reveals that the definitions are in fact quite simple and the longer definitions consist of several blocks of similarly structured data.

For more information on the definition file syntax, please refer to section 7 of the user manual.

5. Why can't I select analysis, dimensioning and visualization?

The mathematical tower model is built iteratively starting from the initial simple definition file. The software then builds a more detailed model of the tower (during "modelling"). This automatically generated data is essential for the subsequent steps in the design process. That is why the analysis, dimensioning and visualization buttons are enabled in the order of the required workflow.

For more details on the typical workflow with the software, please refer to section 5.1 of the user manual.

6. How do I use the tools in the visualization window?

The "visualization window" is actually a separate piece of software, the MicroStation CAD-package. The sheer volume of its' complexity and functionality makes it impossible for us to include instructions of its' use in the WinTower manual.

MicroStation is shipped with its' own excellent user manuals that you should refer to. For more information on MicroStation you can also see the manufacturer's (Bentley systems) home pages.

7. Which MicroStation versions are supported?

The visualization module was originally designed for MicroStation 95. It is, however, certified to work with the following later versions too: The V8-version and later are not supported and the visualization tool will not function at all with them. We have no plans to port the product to MicroStation V8 at the moment.