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Every Calcs.com project has an optional button in the sidebar called ‘Project Defaults’. These are a set of default/preset values that new calculations you create inside of that project will refer to. For example, you might wish to set an absolute deflection limit that all new beams would default to. You can also edit load combinations in this area. You can still override any of these defaults in a specific calculator by selecting the field in question and manually typing over it. These defaults are purely to save you time, and you don’t need to use them if you don’t want to. If you copy a project, any project defaults will be copied along with the calculations. N.B. Your project defaults will change if you change your preferred building standard. So for example, US project defaults look different to AU. An example of a project default in a beam calculator. When you click on the field, you can see the projectDefault reference calling back to whatever value you set in the project default for that project.

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Which Project Defaults field feeds which calculator default

Project Defaults contains several height-related fields, and each one feeds a different kind of calculator. Two in particular get confused:
  • Story Height: floor-to-floor. In US projects, this is what Wood Column (and similar column/post) calculators pull for their default Column Height (L), and what Wood Shear Wall pulls for its default wall height. It is not the clear ceiling height.
  • Headroom: floor-to-ceiling (the clear height). This value is stored in Project Defaults for reference, and some calculators in other regions use it (for example, AU timber columns default to Headroom). US wall calculators such as Wood Shear Wall use Story Height, not Headroom.
The two fields are independent. Changing one does not update the other. Project Defaults showing Story Height and Headroom fields for top floor and lower floors
If your Wood Column or Wood Shear Wall default height looks too tall, it isn’t a bug. It’s pulling Story Height (floor-to-floor), not Headroom (floor-to-ceiling). For a member designed to a clear ceiling height, type the desired clear height directly into the height field on the calculation sheet. That overrides the Project Defaults value for that sheet only, without touching the project-wide default.

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In this section

Set Up Project Defaults and Site Parameters

Enter the project address to pull wind, seismic and snow data automatically, and configure building codes and site parameters.

Link Project Defaults to Calculators

Use reference IDs to link project defaults into calculators, and pull in custom loads you defined earlier.

Project Defaults Cheat Sheet

A quick-reference guide showing how to use projectDefaults(), with examples and a full list of all accessible Project Default values.

Project Defaults for the United States

Set US Project Defaults: design criteria and deflection limits, building geometry, default roof, floor and wall loads, and custom load combinations.

Project Defaults for Australia and New Zealand

Every Calcs.com project has a button in the sidebar called ‘Project Defaults’. These are a set of default/preset values for the country code in ques…

Project Defaults for Europe

A comprehensive guide to setting up project defaults for European design standards, including deflection limits, load combinations, and building geometry