National Masonry Design Programs is proud to announce the official release of Masonry Analysis Structural Systems (MASS^TM) Version 3.0.

Major Changes in MASS Version 3.0

The major changes are listed below while the full list of changes can be found on the MASS website here as well as in Section 1.6 of the MASS help files.

Design Codes and Standards

As mentioned above, Version 3.0 adapts all masonry design procedures from Version 2.2 to using current design standards. Two papers outlining these changes were published and presented by Dr. Drysdale, Dr. Banting, and David Stubbs at the recent 13^th Canadian Masonry Symposium hosted by the Canada Masonry Design Centre (CMDC) and Dalhousie University. These papers can be found here (Part 1: Non-Seismic Changes) and here (Part 2: Seismic Changes). With the exception of seismic minimum reinforcement requirements, all of the changes within the current scope of MASS are considered non-seismic. The next release of MASS which is already in development will increase this scope to include higher levels of ductility performance, as well as the rest of the newly added CSA S304-14 Chapter 16: Special Provisions for Seismic Design.

New Project File Format

In an effort to reduce confusion around which projects have been designed in accordance with which codes and standards, the project file format “.masonry14” was created which designs exclusively to the current standards. MASS Version 3.0 can still open old projects, however upon opening them, you will be prompted to “Save As” a “.masonry14” project as the design results may be affected. An article explaining the difference and compatibility can be found online here.

Additional Bug Fixes

As software issues are discovered, they are posted on our “Known Bugs” page which is linked from the MASS website homepage and kept up to date. There was one bug recently discovered internally at the CMDC what was also present in Version 2.2 which was re-compiled at MASS Version 2.2.1 and included in the Version 3.0 download. An explanation of the bug can be found here and a Version 2.2.1 explanation can be found here.

How to upgrade

Step 1: Open the Notification email and follow the link to the MASS Upgrades page:

Didn’t receive the email? Check with your admin staff or local IT professional who may be in charge of software licensing for your company. Only MASS website account holders or manually assigned users will have been sent the notification email. In the event that you require access to the download but someone else in your office was sent the email, simply using a forwarded copy with the credentials included is enough to access the download (Note that this does not require the account password or other more sensitive information such as address. We do not save or even have access to payment information)

Step 2: On the MASS upgrades page, select the option to download MASS Version 3.0.

Step 3: Copy and Paste your email address and corresponding serial number and clock “DOWNLOAD” to begin the download:

Note: Even a change of one typed character is the difference between the download working and not being found in the database. Please double check your entries or copy and paste from the email notification which has been pulled form the same database.

Step 4: File will begin downloading:

For most web browsers, the keyboard shortcut CTRL + J can be used to open the list of downloaded files.

Step 5: While the package is downloading, it is highly recommended that all existing versions of MASS be uninstalled prior to installing MASS Version 3.0. For assistance on how to uninstall programs, click here.

Step 6: Once the file has finished downloading, the directory can be extracted and opened to show the following files:

After uninstalling all prior versions of MASS (including Version 2.2), run the “setup.exe” file to install MASS Version 3.0.

There is also a video available on the downloads page outlining the same process for MASS Version 2.0 which is essentially unchanged. For assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the authorized MASS technical support provider, Canada Masonry Design Centre.

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.