TOPS Pro Software FAQ

Yes.

You can create your own report templates in MS Word or Excel, then use the “Export to MS Office” function in TOPS Pro to export your solution’s graphics and statistics. 

For more detailed information regarding creating your own MS Word and Excel templates, see the TOPS Pro User Guide, Chapter 18.

In TOPS, the 3D graphics images can be saved in many different formats. For high quality images, we recommend saving as a vector file (.WMF). The vector file can be scaled to any dimension without losing resolution.

To save the graphics as a vector file, right-click on the image and go to Save Image → WMF,  or use the Export menu and select WMF.

1. Open the Tools menu and select Configuration.

2. Click on the Reports tab.

3. Change the Printer Pen Width to a number larger than zero (the default setting). The larger the number, the thicker the lines.

Note: This only affects printed output. The Print Preview and other on-screen drawings will still appear with normal (one-dot width) lines.

You can easily print various types of databases from your TOPS Pro software. For example, you can print out your database of custom shipcase styles, pallets, or products.

To do so, go to File → Print Databases, and then select the option for the database you want to print.

There are multiple ways you can go about changing the logo used in your reports, and the exact process depends on what version of the software you are running.

We recommend you consult this document:

TOPS – Changing Logo In Reports

TIPS:

• Make sure the image is saved as a bitmap file (.bmp)
• Make sure the image is no larger than 256 x 256 pixels, and is 256 color.

Absolutely! Follow these instructions to change TOPS’ output to fractions:

1. Open the Tools Menu and select Configuration.

2. Click on the Numeric tab.

3. Use the checkboxes under “Output Fractions On” to adjust the points at which you would like to see fractions instead of decimals.

All fractions will be to the nearest 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64.

Note that this will only change the output and display of a value. The numbers that are stored and manipulated are the actual decimal values – not their “nearest fractional” equivalents.

Hint: You can also input fractions when entering in your parameters, and TOPS will automatically convert the value to its exact decimal equivalent, just as if you had typed in the decimal value in the first place. Simply hit the spacebar and type the fraction after the whole-number portion of the number. That is, the value “4 1/8” becomes 4.125 after leaving the field. However, values imported from external sources must be in decimal form for TOPS Pro to recognize them.

Follow these instructions:

1. Open the Tools Menu and Select Configuration.

2. Click on the Numeric tab.

3. Under the Decimals heading, change the appropriate numbers as needed.

Note: Adjustments to these values only change the output and display of the numbers. The numbers stored and manipulated are their actual decimal values – not the “rounded” display equivalents.

Yes! 

To change the default units used in your TOPS Pro solutions, use the following steps:

1. Open the Tools Menu and select Configuration.

2. Click on the Dimensions tab.

3. Under the “Unit Defaults – Display Units” box, you can choose from the following options: English, Metric, English (Metric), or Metric (English). The final two choices display both options in the results, with the second option in parentheses.

Note: Regardless of your settings here, you can still toggle between English and Metric values in each stage of your package design parameters. And, before printing you have another opportunity to choose whether to see the printout in English or Metric.

TOPS Pro currently offers 18 different languages, including English, Japanese, Spanish, Finnish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, German, and more. In addition, each language is fully configurable, so if you do not like the text that you see, you are able to change it. The Text Modification dialog box allows you to perform language editing.

To choose a language, open the Tools menu, click Language, and then select your language.

To change individual text strings, open the Tools menu, click Language, then select Edit. Then, locate the string you want to change using the drop-down lists and enter your desired text in the New String field. Click the Update button to complete the change.

To change your Color settings, open the Tools menu and select Color Selection.

NOTE: Color changes are specific to each user name, not each analysis!

Yes!

You can define your own box styles, dividers and pallets from the Define menu options in TOPS Pro. For dividers, we also have a special tool you can use to create new dividers “on-the-fly” when looking at your shipcase solution screen.

In the TOPS Configuration program, the Define menu provides a wider range of things you can define, such as papers, board combinations, flutes and environmental factors. These factors, which influence box compression or box strength results, are all fully configurable.

TOPS Pro Config allows you to set up defaults for creating & printing reports: for example, if you always want to use a particular report layout with certain images or statistics in each area. (You can always change these settings “in the moment” if needed.)

To access these settings, launch Config.exe, login, click on Setup Defaults, and then choose Print on the left. 

You will see that each default layout and area is determined by entering a specific letter. Use the link below to open a document which explains what letters to use in each field in order to get the default settings that you want.

TOPS Pro Default Print Settings

1. Login to TOPS Pro Config.

2. Under the Supervisor heading, click Login and use the password “tops software”.

3.  Then, again under the Supervisor heading, click Configuration.

4. Click on the Global tab.

5. Under the User Login heading, check the box for User Passwords.

Ever tried to stack cups? Some cups will stack very closely together; others will barely fit into one another. Pitch is the distance by which a cup sticks out from the cup underneath it. The more it sticks out, the greater the pitch. A pitch of zero assumes that the tubs/buckets are not nested at all.

When designing a CASY item or tray, there is a box labeled “Cell Size” in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. This is where you will enter your dimensions.

However, notice that there are no units listed. This is because Cell Size is not used to indicate specific measurements, but rather relative dimensions. This is useful because it means you can apply the same CASY style to multiple product sizes in your TOPS analyses. The CASY Style shape will “wrap” around whatever item it is used on, and the size denoted in the design sequence will be the actual size used. We recommend using dimensions that are close to the true-to-life dimensions, but it is not necessary to be exact.

The “secondary pattern” is used to create pallets that are non-homogenous; i.e., where all of the layers do not use the same pallet pattern. The “secondary pattern” is a second pallet pattern that you “borrow” layers from and substitute into your primary pallet pattern solution. Follow these instructions to use the Secondary Pattern feature:

1. Scroll through your solution list until you find the pallet pattern you want to use as the secondary pattern. Click to select it.

2. Open the Edit menu and choose Select as Secondary Pattern.

3. Now scroll through your solution list until you find the pallet pattern you want to use as your primary solution. Click to select it.

4. Open the Edit menu, select Layer Parameters, then check the boxes under “2nd Pat” for whichever layer(s) you want to use the Secondary Pattern.

5. You should now see the mixture of pallet layers. Note that the statistics will not be accurate for alternating layer unitloads, but will reflect the original unitload before mixing the layers.

*NOTE: Secondary Pattern is only designed for use with non-multi-dimenstional patterns.

After you have calculated a pallet load, click on the Unitload window to highlight it. Next, go to the Edit menu, and click on Layer Parameters (alternatively, click the green shortcut button for Layer Parameters). Here, use the checkboxes to add what you like to your layers or pallet patterns- pads, slipsheets, caps, and trays.

The Modify tool is an extremely useful feature, used for making your own adjustments to the pallet pattern solutions TOPS generates for you. There are many different tools available to you on this screen. For example, you can rotate products, move them around manually, change the colors, and more.

For a detailed explanation of the “Modify” tool, please see the TOPS Pro User Guide, Chapter 5.

*Note: The “Modify” feature also exists at the Shipcase solution level, allowing you to change arrangements of products inside a case!

(2L + 2W) (W + H)

TOPS Pro uses the McKee Formula to do compression analyses.

The McKee formula uses three laboratory tests performed on board components – the edge crush test (ECT), ring crush test (RCT), and/or kellicut to derive compression strength.

You can read more about this calculation in this document: Stacking Strength in TOPS Explained.

To perform a Stacking Strength analysis in TOPS:

1)   Create your analysis in TOPS Pro and calculate. Be sure to enter a Weight parameter for your shipcase or for the products going into the shipcase.

2)   Next, on the UnitLoad Solution screen, click on the “Strength” button or go to Tools → Stacking Strength.

3)   Enter the parameters for your Stacking Strength analysis and click Calculate.

For more detailed information on our Stacking Strength tool, please see the TOPS Pro User Guide, Chapter 9. 

TOPS Pro estimates the weight of a newly designed carton/case or a packed carton/case as follows:

For Cartons: {((Length*Width*2) + (Length*Height*2)) + (Width*Height*2))/144} * {(Caliper/.024*100)/1000}

For Shippers or Intermediate Packs: {((Length*Width*2) + (Length*Height*2)) + (Width*Height*2))/144} * {(Caliper /.018*100)/1000}

For Corrugated cases: {((Length*Width*2) + (Length*Height*2)) + (Width*Height*2))/144} * {(LBSper1000ft2) / 1000}

The following command line parameters work with TOPSPRO.EXE, CONFIG.EXE and VIEWER.EXE.

-DBPath=”C:\APPS\TOPSPRO\DATA”: Overrides any entries in the INI file.

-ini=”C:\WINDOWS\TOPSPRO.INI”: Use the specified INI file instead of the default TOPS.INI in the Windows Directory. Avoid sharing INI files.

-u “User Name”: Automatically login under the name “User Name.”

-a “Analysis Name”: Bring up the specified analysis. Approved analyses are opened first (if there is one).

-print: Auto-print and exit. Used with –a.

-printcs: Auto-print package profile and exit. Used with –a.

-viewcs: Auto-view package profile. Used with -a.