Technical Support
Disclaimer! This page is outdated and is under review.
Interacting with OLI Technical Support
OLI Systems, Inc. has been providing software for the chemical industries since 1971. During that time, technical support has been a primary focus. To help facilitate the user interacting with OLI’s technical support document, there are some things that the user should know.
There are many tools to interact with Tech Support. These tools are:
- Live phone support
- E-mail support
- Web based support
- Web based knowledge base
- Web based live training & support
- Off-line web based training
- FTP Site to upload and download files
Before contacting Tech Support, the user should be prepared to send the files that are causing the problems. These files are different depending on the program being considered. Sending the files may also cause some virus protection programs to strip the files from E-mail.
OLI File Structures
OLI Analyzers
The files used by the OLI Analyzers are binary files. Some of these files may cause a virus protection alert when being E-mailed to OLI. This situation will be discussed later in this document.
| Program | File Extension |
| OLI Studio(contains Stream, Corrosion and EVS) | .oad |
For versions before 3.0 there are four (4) Analyzer programs. Each has its own file extension. You will need to turn on File Extensions in Windows. See the Appendix on how to turn on the extensions.
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| Program | File Extension |
| Stream Analyzer | .sta |
| Program | File Extension |
|---|---|
| Stream Analyzer | .sta |
| Corrosion Analyzer | .cra |
| Lab Analyzer | .laa |
ScaleChem
ScaleChem has several files that are of importance. One of the files is a binary file (SCA) and is most commonly sent for technical support. Other files are text files and they may be required occasionally.
Table 3 ScaleChem Files
| Extension | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| .sca | Binary | Primary ScaleChem file |
| .osc | Text | Primary output file |
| .dat | Text | Brine data input to solver |
ESP
ESP creates two classes of files. The first set is for the chemistry model. The second set is for the process model. All files are text
Table 4 Chemistry Model files
| Extension | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| .mdl | User input | Model definition file. This file contains the user’s input chemistry |
| .mod | Generated/modifiable | This is a text version of the chemistry model. It can be modified by the user |
| .dbs | Generated/non-modifiable | This is the numeric version of the database. It can not be modified by the user. |
Table 5 Process Model files
| Extension | Class | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| .bin | Output | This is the stream output file. This file generates the stream listings | |
| .bre | Output | This is the block report file. The block reports come from this file. Also, this file is used to Restart multistage unit operations | |
| .bou | Output | This is the block output file. The process trace listing (the order of blocks) is found in this file. All the stream and block information is stored in this file. Rarely sent to OLI | |
| .TEA | Output | Tear Stream restart file. This is available only in ESP v7.0.30 or later. Rarely sent to OLI |
OLI Databook Structure
The OLI Databooks are a series of 39 files for each databook. The first three characters of a databook must be unique in a folder and must not be the same as any database stored in the following folder:
C:\Program Files\OLI Systems\ESP X.X\Databanks
Assuming that the default installation folder is c:\Program Files and X.X is the current version number.
As an example, we will look at the structure of an OLI database NASALTS
NASALTS is a collection of 39 files.
Table 6 OLI Database Structure
| File | Type | File | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASVP.RAW | Vapor pressure raw data | NASALTS.SYN | Species Synonyms |
| NASSYN.NDX | Index to synonyms | NASALTS.STR | Species Structure |
| NASSTRU.NDX | Index to structures | NASALTS.SOU | Species solubility data |
| NASSOU.NDX | Index to solubility data | NASALTS.SOR | Species source data |
| NASSOR.NDX | Index to sources | NASALTS.REF | Reference data |
| NASSOLU.RAW | Solubility raw data | NASALTS.REC | Database record structure |
| NASREF.NDX | Index into references | NASALTS.RDX | Redox data |
| NASMATS.NDX | Index to material code symbols | NASALTS.NDX | Index of allspecies |
| NASMATN.NDX | Index to material code numbers | NASALTS.MAT | Material codes |
| NASMATC.NDX | Index to material code charges | NASALTS.ION | Ion Codes |
| NASLID.NDX | Index to lattice identification | NASALTS.INT | Species interaction data |
| NASIONS.NDX | Index to ion code symbols | NASALTS.EQS | Equation types |
| NASIONN.NDX | Index to ion code numbers | NASALTS.DOC | Reference data |
| NASACTI.NDX | Index to activity interactions | NASALTS.DIC | Database structure file |
| NASFORM.NDX | Index to formulas | NASALTS.DDB | Pure component data |
| NASEQS.NDX | Index to equations | NASALTS.COP | Coprecipitation data |
| NASDENS.RAW | Density raw data | NASALTS.CND | Electrical Conductivity data |
| NASDENS.NDX | Index to density data | NASACTI.RAW | Interaction raw data |
| NASCP.RAW | Heat Capacity raw data | NASINT.NDX | Index of interactions |
| NASCAS.NDX | Index to CAS numbers |
As you can see, some files are named NASALTS (e.g., NASALTS.DIC) but others are named with only the first three letters – NAS (e.g., NASREF.NDX). This is important if you send the files to OLI for analysis.
To send the files to OLI, you first need to search for all the files. Using NASALTS as a reference, the search would be
NAS*.*
This may return more than 39 files. This is allowable, please place all the files into an archive such as WinZip and send them to OLI.
Aspen HYSYS
Aspen HYSYS files have an .hsc file extension. This file should be sent to OLI. If you have a private databank, this also needs to be sent to OLI, see OLI Databank Structure above.
Aspen PLUS
Table 7 File types required by OLI
| File Type | File Extension |
|---|---|
| OLI Chemistry model (Wizard) | .cwa |
| OLI Chemistry model (standard) | .mdl and .mod |
| OLI Generated Chemistry | .dbs |
| Aspen Backup file (flowsheet) | .bkp |
Note: you need only send either the Wizard files or the Standard files, not both.
If you have a private databank, this also needs to be sent to OLI, see OLI Databank Structure above.
Unisim Design
Unisim Design files have an .usc file extension. This file should be sent to OLI. If you have a private databank, this also needs to be sent to OLI, see OLI Databank Structure above.
Chemistry Wizard (Non-Aspen PLUS)
Table 8 Stand-alone Chemistry Wizard files
| File Type | File Extension |
|---|---|
| OLI Chemistry model (Wizard) | .cwa |
| OLI Generated Chemistry | .dbs
|
If you have a private databank, this also needs to be sent to OLI, see OLI Databank Structure above.
File Uploads
With recent increases in security, sometimes it is impossible to send the required files to OLI. If this happens please use the following web site: http://support.olisystems.com/upload.aspx
Live Phone Support
OLI Systems, Inc. is located in Northern New Jersey, United States. Our office hours are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time (New York).
Our phone numbers are:
Support: 973-539-4996 extension 24 (USA) Fax: 973-539-5922 (USA)
E-mail Support:
You can contact OLI via E-mail for a variety of reasons. The Emails are on the main OLI website www.olisystems.com and on the support website support.olisystems.com
Web Based Live Training and Support
OLI Systems has partnered with AQSim to use Microsoft’s LiveMeeting facility to conduct live training. To use LiveMeeting, you will need to check to see if you can support the plug-in for Internet explorer.
FIRST TIME USERS: Install the Windows-based Meeting Console before your meeting: http://r.office.microsoft.com/r/rlidLiveMeeting?p1=7&p2=en_US&p3=LMInfo&p4=DownloadWindowsConsole
This will allow you to use the LiveMeeting facility.
Occasionally you will need to use OLI’s teleconferencing facility. OLI will supply the phone numbers as required.
