CIVIL DESIGNER 6.4 HAS MORE FOR ALL! The much anticipated Civil Designer 6.4 has recently been placed under the spotlight with rigorous testing by the software developers. According to Vincent Bester, Chief Executive Officer of Knowledge Base, the soon to be released version has something in store for everyone. "We have listened to our clients and have been able to add some great new functionality to all the modules. This will help to increase productivity and enable engineering designers to have more time to add their own personal touches to their work." "The new and upgraded features deliver a much wider range of design and business benefits to engineers and designers alike. By listening carefully and analysing client comments, we have been able to provide an unmatched design experience in the upcoming version," explains Vincent. The 6.4 functionality was introduced by means of an in-house training session to the Knowledge Base Training, Sales, Marketing and Support Divisions. These training sessions were conducted by Roads expert Dawid du Toit, Water expert Kosta Tutunovic, Survey & Terrain expert Alasdair Craig, Sewer & Stormwater expert Johan Swart, and AllyCAD expert James Fife. "In the Roads module I concentrated more on enhancing the user friendliness of the program in order to allow our clients to get the most out of this already feature packed module. Enhancements were made to the Design criteria function to suggest transition curve lengths to the client if and when required. In addition to this, I have added a Pipes database that will allow clients to enter additional services to be displayed when designing and plotting long sections and I've also added an option to model vertical curves as circular curves instead of parabolic curves to accommodate for the increasing use of the Roads module when doing railway design," says Dawid. Civil Designer 6.4's improved water module now includes multiple pipe layer functionality, allowing the capture of pipe layer data according to dimension and material. Data presentation has also been enhanced allowing the user to define and sort information in a spreadsheet format. Text settings on nodes can now be adjusted individually so that they do not interfere with the visual design. With regard to the program's Sewer functionality the new version is equally impressive. "We have now included the erf-connections functionality to the Sewer module. Users can now graphically insert erf connections using the familiar Sewer user interface while the program automatically indicates the lowest point on each erf. The Erf connection database can then be analyzed to report results and warn the user where erf-connections are unable to drain to the main line. The sewer network can be altered graphically in the Vertical Alignment view while erf connections are displayed on the plan layout and Long section drawings," notes Johan. Johan is also responsible for developing a graphical user interface for a full SWMM5 analysis that clients can run after a network has been designed using the existing storm module. "We've added the Wallingnford Modified Rational runoff calculation method for our UK clients. In addition to this, I've added the Modified Puls reservoir routing method as another option to the existing continuity method for reservoir routing calculations. Sub-catchments can now graphically be added or deleted which means that the sub-catchment areas will automatically be calculated and added to the area field for affected nodes."   Another powerful feature that has received special attention is the newly developed Strings application for Platform design. The Strings tool has been enhanced to facilitate easier design. It works in a similar way to a 3D polyline in that it consists of a sequence of 3D points called vertices. It also differs from polylines in that multiple strings have an effect on each other in a hierarchical manner and it is this hierarchical structure that defines the String's dynamic nature. "We enjoy the Strings functionality because it can be used to design complicated terraces. Strings are ideal for designing parking areas, curved dam walls, berms and channels with complicated benching. The hierarchical nature of Strings means that a designer can change his design by simply moving a corner of the terrace, grading a string or surface, or moving the entire terrace without having to re-generate all the affected strings. The affected strings and toe points will then automatically be re-calculated," explains Survey & Terrain software developer, Alasdair Craig. A great deal of time has been spent on the soon to be released Civil Designer 6.4 version and users can expect increased functionality and optimised user friendliness like never before. The general consensus from both developers and internal stakeholders is extremely positive. James Fife: Software Developer, AllyCAD "Many of our clients have asked to be able to clip and rotate bitmaps. We have worked hard to achieve this new functionality in AllyCAD 3.5 and I know that they will be pleased." Alasdair Craig, Software Developer, Survey & Terrain: "3D-Strings have taken our earthworks platform to a new, interactive, dynamic and conceptually based product. The offering is fantastic!" Dawid du Toit, Software Developer, Roads: "The new road analysis routines really push Civil Designer to the next level and will make it even more difficult to do with out." Johan Swart, Software Developer, Sewer & Stormwater: "We are completely user focused so when we were approached to build in erf connection analysis, we sat down and did it. The new version is sure to deliver on the user's expectations." Reece Hanning, National Sales Manager: "The new version of Civil Designer has proved once again why we are the number one choice in infrastructure design software in Southern Africa". Brett Rowbotham, Software Development Manager: "I am extremely proud of the sterling effort that our developers have put into Civil Designer 6.4. The long hours have paid off and we know that our clients will enjoy the program as much as we have enjoyed developing it." The new version is likely to be released in the early half of 2006 and users can be assured of many new surprises in store. The Development Training Team: From left to right: Alasdair Craig - Software Developer, Survey & Terrain; Dawid du Toit - Software Developer, Roads; Kosta Tutunovic - Software Developer, Water; James Fife - Software Developer, AllyCAD and Johan Swart - Software Developer, Sewer & Stormwater.   Block I, The Terraces, Steenberg Office Park, 1 Silverwood Close, Tokai 7945. Tel: +27 +21 701-1850 Fax: +27 +21 701-1822 Web: www.knowbase.co.za Email: info@knowbase.co.za