Frequently Asked Questions

This article lists some common errors and how to troubleshoot them. If you're still having problems, please don't hesitate to contact us!

Support Location Outside Beam (or Column)

You'll get this error if you have specified a support location less than 0 or greater than the length of your beam or column. Double check the length of height of the member you're designing and the support location table (which should be right next to it).

Unstable Support Configuration

Double check the support table for the beam or column you're designing. If you're using a pinned connection you need a minimum of 2 supports. If you're using a fixed connection you can get away with 1.

Check Load Locations

Loads must be placed greater than 0 and less than the length or height of the member in question. This error might also appear if you click out of the load entry table before finishing entering. Simply check the load location columns to double check they're filled out and located along the length/span of the member you're designing.

Linked Sheet Has An Error

This occurs when you have another calculation connected to this one using our load tracking feature. Check the loads section of this calculator to see which connected calculator has an error and navigate to that calculator via the sidebar to fix the issue. Once the upstream issue is resolved, any linked downstream calculators will automatically recalculate.

Cannot Reference Invisible Widget

If you see this error please file a ticket with us and include a PDF copy of the calculation in question. It simply means the calculator is trying to reference a field that is currently hidden (which we don't allow for transparency's sake). We endeavour to catch all of these but every now and then we miss one so we'd appreciate your help finding any extras!

Unexpected Error

We will try as hard as we can to avoid showing you this error as we know it's annoying (and not helpful) but if you do come across this error, try undoing the last thing you did to see if you fix the issue. If you think it's our fault, please file a support request with us and let us know what you were trying to do so we can fix it as soon as possible!