I’m trying to run the PreVABS tutorial: https://wenbinyugroup.github.io/ivabs/ref/prevabs/contents/tutorial.html
I prepared the (4) input files per instructions:
baselines.xml
box.xml
layups.xml
MaterialDB.xml
When I run the command “prevabs -i box.xml -h -v”, I get the following feedback and the attached log file.
box.log
========================================
PreVABS 1.6.0
(For VABS 4.0 and SwiftComp 2.1)
========================================
[info] - prevabs start (2026-04-13 09:56:59)
[info] - reading input files
[info] - reading main input file: box.xml
[info] - reading materials file: prevabs-1.6.0.build20241118-windows-portable\MaterialDB.xml
[error] cannot find layup: layup1
[error] cannot find layup: layup2
[error] cannot find layup: layup2
[info] - reading input files – done[info] - building the shape
[info] - building the cross section, step 1
[info] - building component: walls
The error message “cannot find layup: layup1” is a bit misleading. Evidently, the mechanism itself isn’t working, not just the layups. This is likely a PreVABS 1.6.0 syntax change. Workaround by putting file contents directly into box.xml rather than referenced externally.