Word add-in · included at no extra cost
Your results in your own Word template, and they update when the model changes.
Drop a saved model on the Calculations pane in Word. The program calculates it in the background and inserts the report as a linked block. When the model changes, the block is marked out of date and updates in place, and the rest of your document stays as it was.
Free download · first hour free · €100 welcome credit when you register · then pay per use · no credit card · Windows
The add-in installs into one shared folder, whichever Struct4U programs you install.
Install, insert, update.
Three steps, and the report you insert is exactly the DOCX output of the program.
- 1
Install
The add-in comes with XFEM4U, XFrame2D, XBeam2D and XConstruct. Word gets a Struct4U tab.
- 2
Insert
Open the Calculations pane and drop one or more models on it. Each report goes in at the cursor as a linked, protected block.
- 3
Update
Change a model and its block turns Out of date. Click Update, or Update all. Opening the document asks first.
An update replaces the contents of the same block, so bookmarks into it survive.
Linked, not pasted.
A pasted screenshot is out of date the moment the model changes. A linked block knows where it came from.
Pasted into Word
- Goes stale when the model changes, without telling you.
- Has to be redone by hand for every revision.
- Is a picture: you can’t search it or refer into it.
A linked report block
- Knows its model by a fingerprint of the model’s contents, not by the file date.
- Keeps your page numbering, bookmarks and cross-references through an update.
- Is never refreshed silently: a checked and signed report doesn’t change under its author.
4.2 Steel frame, grid line 3
The calculation below is linked to the model.
| Model | State |
|---|---|
| hall.xfem | Up to date |
| portal.xfr2 | Up to date |
| beam-B1.xbe2 | Up to date |
| end-plate.xcst | Up to date |
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Up to date | The report matches the model as it is now. |
| Out of date | The model has changed since the report was inserted. |
| Model missing | The model file is no longer where the block recorded it. |
| Model locked | The model file is there but can’t be read: it is open elsewhere, or you have no access. |
| Needs attention | Almost always a block copied inside Word. Only the original can be updated. |
Source: the Word add-in pages of the four manuals, September 2026.
What you need.
| Word | Microsoft Word for Windows, the desktop version. Word for the web and Word for Mac can’t load the add-in. |
|---|---|
| Programs | XFEM4U 2027.5, XFrame2D 2027.8, XBeam2D 2027.7 and XConstruct 2027.5 or later. |
| Runtime | .NET Framework 4.8 and the Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office runtime. The installer adds the Office runtime if it is missing. |
| Licence | Included with pay-per-use and with every licence (Basic 2D, Advanced, Premium), at no extra cost. Each insert or update is a normal calculation run of the program. |
| Language | The add-in follows Word’s interface language: Dutch in a Dutch Word, English in an English one. The report inside follows the program’s language setting. |
XFEM4U · XFrame2D · XBeam2D · XConstruct
Stated in the manuals, section Limitations.
Where it stops.
- Word for Windows only: not Word for the web or Word for Mac.
- One calculation at a time per Word session. A calculation that runs longer than 10 minutes is stopped, and the document is left unchanged.
- A report block is protected. To edit its text, Unlink it: it becomes ordinary text and is never updated again.
- A block copied inside Word can’t be updated. Insert the model a second time instead.
- Blocks can’t be reordered from the pane: remove one and insert it again where you want it.
Questions
01Does the add-in cost extra?
No. It is included with pay-per-use and with every licence: Basic 2D, Advanced and Premium.
02Does it work with all four programs?
Yes. It takes XFEM4U (.xfem and the older .xfr3), XFrame2D (.xfr2), XBeam2D (.xbe2) and XConstruct (.xcst) models, so one document can hold reports from all four.
03What goes into the report?
Exactly the DOCX output of the program, with what the model’s own output selection asks for. To change it, set the output selection in the program, save the model and update the block.
04Does it update without asking?
Never. You click Update or Update all, or you answer Yes when an opened document asks. If an update can’t finish, the existing report stays as it was.
05Can I edit the text of a report?
Not while it is linked, because the next update would overwrite your edits. Unlink the block to turn it into ordinary text you can edit.
Write the report once. Keep it current.
The add-in comes with every program. Download free and register in the program: you get €100 of pay-per-use credit as a welcome gift.