Enercalc and Retain Pro

[Structures33]

Hey all - I think the new Enercalc has been previously discussed here... and while I really hate the new version, that's not why I'm writing today.
The old Enercalc had a retaining wall function and I used it often. If you have the new version, you know that it does not have retaining walls anymore. I have not bought Retain Pro yet (advertised w/ Enercalc now) and have not done so because the new Enercalc was so disappointing. However, I just realized that they are designed by two different companies.
I do plan to demo the software but I'm looking for your thoughts, opinions and experiences with Retain Pro.
Thanks

 

[PEinc]

RetainPro is written by Hugh Brooks. Enercal is written by his son, Michael Brooks. Call them for better info. I have spoken to both. They are both very helpfull.

 

[NKT]

I use RetainPro version 6 frequently. It is a quirky program with numerous bugs, a somewhat cumbersome user interface, and ugly / hard to interpret reports.

The positive side is that it allows me to quickly arrive at a workable design for a retaining wall - about 15 min start to finish to design geometry and reinforcing for a typical cantilever wall.

But... the program has so many bugs that I don't feel 100% comfortable trusting the results, so I end up doing the final design iteration by hand once I arrive at a workable design with RetainPro.

 

[PEinc]

The current Retain Pro is Retain Pro 2007, last updated on April 2008. Version 6 may be very different from the current version.