Work Environment - data exchange

The main tool in the workspace is the 'Data Exchange' function. Here, you have various options for saving, loading, and managing individual settings. The options are very extensive, which is why the dialog box may seem very complicated at first glance. However, once you understand the possibilities, a wealth of options for organizing your data opens up for the user.

Starting the data exchange takes a relatively long time because the program has to read a large amount of data and organize it in a tree structure. However, this tree structure makes the mountain of data very manageable.

The left side of the dialog box always displays the current program settings. The right side of the window may be empty if you haven't selected a workspace yet, or it may display the most recently used workspace.

The topmost layer displayed on both sides of the dialog box is called the work layer. There are usually two work layers on each side with the same label. These work layers differ only by the letter preceding them. This can be an 'E' or an 'I'. The 'E' stands for settings, and the 'I' for icon bar. Since an icon bar can change with the settings (see Favorites), you can also save the icon bars in a workspace.

If you expand the tree by clicking the plus sign, you can find up to four levels of the tree. As described above, the top level of the tree is called the 'Working Level'. Some model areas can be found here, but there are also working levels that cannot be clearly assigned to a model area. The next level is the 'Function Level'. Here you will find functions such as 'Tenon', 'Purlin Input' or 'Wall Finishes'. The next level is the 'Group'. However, these groups do not necessarily have to exist. These are the groups that you can create yourself when saving settings, but are not required. The lowest level contains the individual settings. This could be a saved '4x4 Tenon', but also a rafter setting or '11.5 Masonry'. If a setting is set as a favorite, this will also be displayed.

As mentioned above, the left side of the dialog box always shows the current program system settings. On the right side, you see either an empty list or the workspaces of a workspace. Above this large right-hand field, there is a line that displays the path and name of the current workspace, if any. The last directory in this path corresponds to the workspace. The name of this directory is the name of the workspace. To select a different workspace, click the browser icon at the right end of this path display.

A dialog box opens with a tree element that displays all directories on the hard drive (and possibly the network). If you have already selected a workspace, the cursor will be on the last used workspace in this tree. You can generally place workspaces anywhere you want, but they are intended to be saved in the 'Workspaces' directory on the current system. To make it easier to select other directories instead of searching for them in the tree, there are large buttons at the top of the dialog box. For example, it might be useful to save a workspace with all current settings in the current project so that the settings used remain with the project.

To create a new directory in which you might want to save a new workspace, you can use the button below the tree. This directory will then correspond to the new workspace. The name of the directory is the name of the workspace. The "Apply" button at the bottom of the dialog box selects the selected directory or workspace and closes the dialog box. This workspace then becomes the current workspace. Since the program must analyze the workspace data, if it already contains any, to build the tree structure, it may take some time until the main data exchange dialog box is available again.

With data exchange, you can save data from the program system as a workspace, or you can load data from a workspace into the program system. For both cases, there is a cruder but faster method and a more detailed but somewhat more complex method. The quick method is the one you should use for your daily work. The somewhat more complex but more detailed method should be used for detailed maintenance of workspaces.