The known bugs page was formerly hosted here and has since been moved to the MASS software documentation site:

Known Bugs in MASS

For questions about specific bugs, or to report a bug, contact mass@canadamasonrycentre.com

In any windows architecture application, there is a limit of 10,000 GDI objects. Internally, there a number of these crated with every design and population of each results screen. Unfortunately, there are a number of these that are not properly “cleaned up” so using the same MASS window for an extended period of time will trigger this crash.

The release of MASS Version 4.0 has mitigated the problem but there are always residual GDI objects between every design. Our recommendation in dealing with this issue is to regularly save your work.

A full video demonstrating this and how to check your GDI object status is shown below:

This issue is most likely to occur when designing a shearline or multi-storey shear wall module as these assemblage options coordinate the creation of several shear wall elements internally, triggering the creation of additional GDI objects.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact MASS support.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all. CMDC is the authorized service provider for the MASS software which is a joint effort of between CCMPA and CMDC.

Update for MASS Version 4.0 Release: Online Activation functionality has been restored.

Update (May 16th, 4:00PM EDT): The MASS website access has been restored.

Update (May 15th, 3:15PM EDT): Access to the MASS license service provider’s server has been restored and all activation support is back online. The software website is still not back online.

Earlier this week, CMDC received a notification from our hosting provider that the server used to host our software license web service has been decommissioned and everything migrated to a new server. CMDC was given no advanced warning that this migration would occur. While all information has been properly backed up and transferred intact, there are some additional network connections that must be completed before the MASS website and activation web service is back online.

As a result, the entire MASS website, where all purchases, license renewals, activations, and supplementary support material is offline while this gets sorted out. All links to the web service through our database software are also offline until IT support is able to restore the connection. As a result, all activations and activation support is unavailable until further notice and CMDC will not be able to assist. All existing copies of MASS that have already been activated will continue to function normally. In the almost nine years of developing and supporting the MASS software, this is our first significant period of downtime and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

This post will be updated with any new information as it becomes available.

We appreciate your patience as we get our services back up and running. CMDC is making every effort to get things back up and running as quickly as possible. If you have any further questions, please feel free to call or email our office using the contact information at the bottom of this page.

What’s the difference? How can old projects be opened/converted? Which format should you be using? Continue reading for quick answers to all of your questions.

What is the difference?

While from a software perspective, they are nearly identical, there are some key differences between “.masonry” and “.masonry14” projects which can be summarized in the image below:

The old “.masonry” projects are saved and used in Versions 2.2 and older, designing in accordance with the 2004 CSA standards.

New “.masonry14” projects are saved and used in Versions 3.0 and newer, designing in accordance with the 2014 CSA Standards.

That’s it! They are structurally the same file but with different Windows File Explorer associations, meaning if you double click either type of project, it will be opened with the corresponding version of MASS. The icon has also been slightly redesigned but more on that further below. A more important item of concern is MASS Version compatibility.

What about compatibility? Can old .masonry projects be opened using newer versions of MASS?

Yes! When opening an existing project, only the .masonry14 projects are shown by default. This can be changed by changing the file type displayed in the bottom right corner of the “Open” display window and changing the selection to “S304.1-04 MASS Project (*.masonry)“

Making this change will allow older, existing .masonry projects to be displayed and selected for opening. Once a project is selected, the following warning is displayed:

Upon clicking yes, the existing file can be “Saved As” a .masonry14″ project with the same assemblage inputs. The project will then be opened and run using the new “.masonry14” file type.

Note: The same action can be performed when it comes to opening “.masonry14” projects with MASS Version 2.2. Simply change the selection from showing S304.1-04 projects to S304-14 Projects and then, when prompted, “Save As” a .masonry project to continue working on it.

How to tell the different file types apart

The easiest way to tell if a project is saved using the newer or older format is by the file extension. If these are not displayed, the file type can be found by right clicking on a project and selecting “Properties”. There are also slight differences in the icons so that different project types can be identified if several of each are contained in the same folder, pictured below.

Above are the old and new icons side by side. While it is not a huge difference, the change was meant to add a subtle cue to help differentiate old vs. new projects.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all. CMDC is the authorized service provider for the MASS software which is a joint effort of between CCMPA and CMDC.

While there is no way around satisfying the minimum steel requirements in the CSA S304, there is a clause that can be taken advantage of that is not used by MASS. By following the procedure outlined in this article, beams can be designed within the restraints of the CSA standards while also containing less than the minimum reinforcement area as prescribed by clause 11.2.3.1. This often overlooked clause can be very helpful when it comes to masonry beam design, especially those that would seem at face value to be the easiest to design due to nominal loads and short spans.

July 2020 Update: This clause has been incorporated into the release of MASS Version 4.0.

Disclaimer: This post is exclusively intended to provide insight into the approach taken by the MASS design software in interpreting a CSA S304-14 code compliant design. It is up to the professional discretion of the designer to input an appropriate layout, boundary and loading conditions, interpret the results, and determine how they should be incorporated into their designs. As per the end user license agreement (and also recommended within PEO’s guidelines for using engineering software), a tool cannot be considered competent and reliance on a tool does not relieve the user of responsibility.

To jump straight to a summary further down the post, click here.

The smallest beams with only nominal loading can also be the trickiest to design. One of the reasons is the need to satisfy minimum reinforcement ratio requirements in S304-14: 11.2.3:

Currently in the MASS software, all beam designs not meeting ρ_min in clause 11.2.3.1 will fail moment and deflection design, shown below in the simplified moment results tab:

While these designs are failed before attempting an incrementally larger design with more reinforcement, there is an option at the engineer’s disposal outside of MASS: invoke the mighty power of clause 11.2.3.2 which often goes overlooked.

There was some initial due diligence behind including this clause in the MASS software. It was not included as programming costs would be very high. The change would involve functionally designing two beams; the first being the actual beam used for the design, and the second beam being the theoretical beam containing one third less reinforcement which would be used to resist the factored moment. While at first glance, it might seem acceptable to instead ensure that the beam has additional moment resistance by factor of 4/3. However, while it is very close, there is not quite a directly proportional relationship between a beam’s moment resistance and its longitudinal reinforcement area so this approach would not adequately reflect the phrasing of clause 11.2.3.2.

How to use this clause

There are two different approaches that can be taken to satisfy clause 11.2.3 and design a beam that contains less than the required reinforcement ratio, or ρ_min,  of clause 11.2.3.1:

Method 1

Compare the area of reinforcement to the area required by analysis increased by one third

Method 2

Compare the factored load to the load resisted by the beam if the reinforcement area were reduced by a third

Unfortunately, there is no way around completing a separate analysis to determine “the area of reinforcement required by analysis” quoted directly from the standard. Since the minimum reinforcement is a function of loading, one cannot be solved without assuming the other. Method 1 is likely more intuitive as it returns an alternative minimum reinforcement area to clause 11.2.3.1. However, Method 2 can be more straight forward to calculate as there is no need solve a quadratic or cubic function.

Method 1: Comparing areas of reinforcement

The approach taken in method 1 is to answer the question: “How much reinforcement is required in this beam design?”. This can be expanded to “What area of steel results in factored moment being equal to moment resistance?”. For beams with compression steel or intermediate steel which may not necessarily be yielding, it is likely easiest to solve for this value using a spreadsheet and GoalSeek or Solver since a simplified expression would likely require finding the roots of a cubic function and would also rely upon an assumed strain profile if the steel is yielding. Minimum reinforcement failure messages do not tend to present themselves for beams with several layers of steel so this article will focus on the simple beam designs where these issues arise.

The area of steel required, or A_sreq, can be solved for using force and moment equilibrium for any beam configuration where the beam’s moment resistance is equal to the maximum factored moment (M_r = M_f). The expression below can be used calculate this minimum area of reinforcement for beams with only tension reinforcement:

Note that this expression is only applicable to beams that exclusively contain primary tension steel to resist flexure (ie. no intermediate or compression steel). This formula also assumes that the tension steel is yielding which is a requirement in clause 11.2.2. Also, while the area of reinforcement required is typically a function of a beam’s moment resistance, it is possible that other factors such as cracking and deflection may govern the design and as such, should never be assumed to be satisfied and always checked manually (in addition to using this formula).

The units of each input are shown below as well as the derivation which can be expanded.

Method 2: Comparing Loads

Rather than ask the question, “What is the minimum area of reinforcement needed?” for a beam design, the other way to approach satisfying clause 11.2.3.2 is to assume that the area of steel present is equal to the minimum allowable and determine the largest possible factored moment that the assumption is valid for. Since this clause takes loading into account to evaluate minimum steel, rather than use a load to check the area of steel, method 2 involves using an area of steel to check the load. As mentioned earlier, this method may appear less intuitive as it is not as simple as comparing the reinforcement present to another minimum value. However, the steps used to determine the maximum allowable are the same as those used to calculate the moment resistance of any other beam design which is why method 2 may be preferable.

The table below shows a summary of the maximum allowable factored moments resisted by beams which contain less reinforcement than allowable by clause 11.2.3.1 for four possible beam geometries:

Maximum applied factored moment for a beams having less than the required reinforcement ratio in accordance with S304-14: 11.2.3.1 to satisfy S304-14: 11.2.3.2

Disclaimer: These values should not be relied upon as part of the design process. They are meant to illustrate the concept that very low areas of reinforcement may be acceptable, depending on the applied loads. The full cross section should be analyzed by the engineer by hand (or other tool) to check these requirements in a way that is applicable to the situation.

As stated under the simplified method 1 expression earlier, although the area of steel  required is typically governed by moment resistance, it is possible that other factors such as cracking and deflection may govern the design and as such, should never be assumed to be satisfied and always checked manually. 

Note that for designs using 2 No. 10 bars in tension (same bar area as 1 No. 15 bar), the placement is affected as the distance from the compression face of the beam is slightly further away from the vertical centroid of the bars. This change increases the moment arm separating the coupled internal forces and slightly increases the maximum allowable moment for these designs. The lower (and more conservative) values are shown in the table for simplicity however the comparison can be expanded below.

Final Summary

All hope is not lost when a beam design fails due to not satisfying minimum steel using MASS, which only checks against CSA S304-14: 11.2.3.1. It is possible to satisfy minimum reinforcement requirements by instead using clause 11.2.3.2 by approaching the design in one of two ways:

• Method 1: checking bar area against one third greater than the area resulting in M_f being equal to M_r
  • This can be done quickly for beams with only primary tension reinforcement using the following expression:

• Method 2: checking factored moment against moment resistance for a beam with a third less steel than what is actually present within the beam.
  • This can be quickly checked by comparing the factored moment to the maximum allowable moment in the table below:

Disclaimer: These values should not be relied upon as part of the design process. They are meant to illustrate the concept that very low areas of reinforcement may be acceptable, depending on the applied loads. The full cross section should be analyzed by the engineer by hand (or other tool) to check these requirements in a way that is applicable to the situation. Regardless of which method is used, it is up to the designer to ensure that in addition to satisfying the minimum reinforcement requirements in S304-14:11.3.2, all other provisions must be considered and independently verified. The guides in both methods are based on the area of reinforcement being governed by applied bending moment at any section within the beam which is not true for all cases.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all. CMDC is the authorized service provider for the MASS software which is a joint effort of between CCMPA and CMDC.

As mentioned in our Activation Guide, the easiest way to activate MASS is online. If you have internet but the online activation is still not working, you can quickly solve this by following our online activation troubleshooting guide.

Offline activation starts the same way as online, simply enter your serial number and make sure that it appears in green text.

The “Computer ID” will appear once you select the “Offline activation” option. This is generated by MASS and is what differentiates computers based on hardware and software information. In Versions of MASS older than 2.2, it would change for users who upgraded their operation system but were still using the same computer. Versions 2.2 and newer have been changed so that fewer people would have to explain to us that they are using the same machine, despite MASS thinking the user was trying to use their license on a new computer. As per the end user license agreement (EULA), each MASS serial number can be activated on only one machine.

Step 1: Send MASS Support the required information

Once MASS has generated your Computer ID, you will need to contact MASS Support and provide all of:

1. Your name (ie. Brad Crumb)
2. Email address (ie. bcrumb@canadamasonrycentre.com)
3. Serial number (ie.BHHI0C0I00A1F1GC8F822M1JGWZSJ6C)
4. Computer ID (ie.5552YMSM/0A+)

Remember, Copy and Paste is your friend!

If possible, copying and pasting before sending is the best way to transfer the serial number and computer ID to reduce the odds of a typo during transfer. If any character is missing or slightly off, the activation code will not work. You can copy the Computer ID by selecting it and right clicking. It can be impossible to tell an O from a 0, or a l from an I or a 1!

Step 2: Receive Activation Code and Activate

Once you have sent all the required information, you will be given the “Activation Code” which you can enter below the computer ID to complete the activation process. If you look next to “License status”, you will know that MASS has been successfully activated if you see “MASS will expire ____” with a future date listed.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all. CMDC is the authorized service provider for the MASS software which is a joint effort of between CCMPA and CMDC.

If you can read this article but MASS thinks you don’t have internet, there are two things you can do to get around this issue. While either one should work on their own, we’ve outlined 2 just in case.

October 2016 Update: Windows 10 users must jump straight to option 2. Since the initial publishing of this article, there have been many cases of users not having success after attempting option 1

First of all, this article is for those who have tried to activate online and gotten an error message about not having an internet connection. More general activation questions are answered here on our quick activation guide. If you can’t get an internet connection through other programs other than MASS, you may need to activate offline.

This page will help you if you have seen either of the 2 following error messages

MASS not being able to connect to the internet is a result of your computer trying to protect you from malicious software infecting your computer. We should say that there is absolutely nothing malicious within MASS that you need to be worried about. By default, Windows is suspicious of programs contacting servers outside of your own office which is why you need to take an extra step in allowing that connection. Option 1, outlined below, is the easiest and fastest way to restore that connection.

Note: You only have to follow this procedure once to activate. you will not have to do this each time you wish to use MASS

Option 1: Run MASS as an Administrator

Even if you are using your own personal computer where you have full access to all files and operations, you still need to manually do this for Windows to allow MASS to have internet access. To do this, simply find MASS in your Start menu, right click, and select Run as Administrator

This will launch MASS with full administrator rights which will allow it to reach our server to activate. You will not see anything different when MASS opens however, you will be able to activate online. Click here to return to the general activation guide for an online activation walk-through.

Option 2: Add a Windows Firewall exception

This option will target the root of the problem rather which is that the reason MASS is unable to connect to the internet is because Windows Firewall is blocking the application. Individual programs can be allowed through in the Control Panel which will be explained below. Note that administrator privileges are required so if you could not follow option 1 because of a lack of user permissions, you will not be able to follow option 2 either.

Click on the tabs from left to right to go through the steps required to add the exception.

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions at all. CMDC is the authorized service provider for the MASS software which is a joint effort of between CCMPA and CMDC.

In order to be able to activate MASS, you need to know your serial number which starts with the letter B and is 31 characters long.

The example used here will be: BHHI0C0I00A1F1GC8F822M1JGWZSJ6C

You can find it on your MASS website dashboard (link will open in a new tab). Don’t have a serial number? You can purchase yours on the MASS website store by clicking here.

If you have an internet connection, the easiest way to activate is Online

If you’ve already tried to activate online and it didn’t work, click here. If you don’t have any internet connection at all, click here.

For an online activation, all you need to do is enter your serial number and click Activate.

Once you have clicked Activate, a form will open requesting your information. Enter this all in and then click Submit.

You’ll know it worked if you see the following before the Serial Number Registration window is closed

If you are getting a message saying that you don’t have an internet connection but you can still receive emails and view web pages, you aren’t alone! Click here to quickly get around this error.

When you are taken back to the main Registration Key Code window, you’ll notice that next to License status, it will list an expiry date. At this point, you are activated and can close the window. The welcome screen will show your updated activation status the next time you launch MASS as well.

No internet? No Problem!

We’ve always had the option of activating offline because not every computer has internet and even for the ones that do, there can be problems that come along. Click here to jump to the Offline Activation guide. Please be advised that this involves contacting MASS technical support so activation may not be possible outside of regular business hours.

Still looking for answers?

Please do not hesitate to call or email CMDC for all technical and non-technical software inquiries. Among all of the many cervices provided by CMDC, timely and effective technical support is always just an email or phone call away!

While the majority of our users are using MASS trouble-free, we get calls and emails from time to time about crashes that usually have a simple fix. These steps will get you back up and running as quickly as possible.

1. Uninstall MASS (including old versions you may still have) then reinstall

You can view installed programs and select MASS to uninstall through the Control Panel. Once you have MASS uninstalled, you can then reinstall the newest version which will hopefully solve your issue. Note that uninstalling and reinstalling MASS will not affect your activation so you do not need to worry about having to reactivate.

Click here for help uninstalling programs

Image source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17421/windows-free-up-drive-space

2. Try running MASS as an administrator or with administrator rights.

While this might not be an option for someone working within a large company who may have to go through their IT department, users using MASS on their own computers can run MASS as an administrator to see if that solves their issue. If the problem is solved then you know that user permissions were causing the problem.

3. Contact MASS Support

Unlike many companies who will try and divert you to their self-directed online support, we actually encourage everyone to just call or email when something comes up. We don’t want you wasting time when someone can get you on your way in no time at all!

Click here to visit the CMDC contact page (CMDC is the authorized support provider of the MASS software)

Click here to visit the MASS website contact support page

There are different types of crashes that can happen when using MASS. An important detail to note or pass along to myself or Luisa is what you were doing immediately before MASS crashed on you. Were you just opening the software for the first time? Were you trying to print? Did you open your 101st shear wall in the same project file? These details are very helpful in getting you back up and running as quickly as possible.

Bonus: Specific MASS crash you might be dealing with

Does this look familiar? It appears when first clicking to launch the MASS software.

This is an error that some users experienced after using MASS Version 2.2 having to do with the “Recent Projects” pane added to the left hand side of the welcome screen. What is happening here is MASS is trying (unsuccessfully) to load up the list of most recently worked on projects. The fix is fairly simple: Go to the location of the Recent Projects file and delete it, resetting the reference and solving the crash. The one downside of this fix is that your list of projects will be cleared, as if you were running MASS for the first time.

To find the file, go to your user folder (bcrumb in my screenshot below) and open the MASS folder where you can find and delete Recent.txt.

Once that folder is deleted, you should be good to go!

For all other inquiries, please to not hesitate to contact us!

The issue here is that for some reason, Firefox really enjoys adding “.txt” to the end of your installer file, replacing the original “.msi” file extension.

There are 2 ways to fix this

   1. Remove the “.txt” from the filename in windows explorer

Simply remove the “.txt” by right clicking, selecting “rename” and then press enter to save your changes. To start, go to the folder where MASS was downloaded.

Right click and select “rename”

Remove the “.txt” that appears at the end

File extensions not appearing for you? Go here to find out how to display them.

You will be asked about changing the file extension. Click “Yes” to continue.

Once you’ve changed the file type, you should notice that the icon will have changed. You can now double click to run the MASS installer.

   2. Download MASS using a different Web browser

You can get Chrome here. There are lots of other browsers out there so you can take your pick. Give Internet Explorer a try if you have it installed as it comes by default on most computers.

edit: some users still have this issue with chrome. You may have to go with option 1 where you delete the .txt file extension.

So why is this even an issue?

I can’t say for sure but if I had to guess, I would say that it is their way of adding another layer of security to keep you from accidentally downloading a virus or some other form of malware onto your machine. After all, you might know that National Masonry Design Programs is a trustworthy software provider (It definitely is!) but Firefox lacks the same outstanding judgement and intelligence so it adds the “.txt” to help keep you safe.

edit: It has come to my attention that some users are having the same issue with Chrome so you may need to get rid of that .txt regardless.

Credit: http://shoze.blogspot.ca/2011/06/brorwser-wars.html