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can be saved for later use. It is also possible to change units and decimals on a workshect <br />without saving a custom units set; changes to units and decimals are always included in <br />saved worksheets and runs. In addition, BehavePlus includes a helpful Units converter <br />tool (Section 5.5). Specifics of units and decimal features are described in the following <br />sections. <br />Because of issues that can arise due to round off and unit conversions, some basic chang- <br />es have been made to decimal handling in Version 5.0. We recognize that there is some <br />awkward behavior in decimal display resulting from program design decisions that were <br />made years ago, but this cannot be changed without a major redesign. <br />BehavePlus calculations are performed in what we call native units, the units of the pub- <br />lication that describes the mathematical model. This explains some of the behavior that <br />might seem odd. For example, Rothermel's model uses fuel load in lb/ft'- and fuel model <br />parameters are stored in those units. The default display units are tons/ac. The 1-h fuel <br />load for fuel model 5 is stored internally as 0.046 lb/ft', which is equivalent to 1.00188 <br />ton/ac. <br />Most users will use the same units set (our English or metric or their custom set) for all <br />of their runs and will not switch back and forth between units sets. We have attempted to <br />make the units and decimal handling easiest for the largest user group. <br />5.1 Input Variable Decimals <br />Prior to Version 5.0, decimal display of input variables was determined by the setting in <br />the English, metric, or custom units set. Because the program uses values that are visible <br />on the worksheet to make the calculations, there were occasional problems with round off <br />and misinterpretation. Decimal display of input variables is now determined by the values <br />entered by the user. The greatest number of decimal places (precision) entered for a vari- <br />able determines the decimal display on output tables. In the example in Figure 22, one <br />of the values entered for dead fuel moisture was 9.25% (two decimal places) so all of the <br />dead fuel moisture values on the output table are shown with two decimal places. (This <br />example simply demonstrates the way that the program handles decimal display; a mois- <br />ture value to that precision is not meaningful.) Similarly, a value of 6.5 mi/h was entered <br />for midflame wind speed, so all of the wind values are shown on the table to one decimal <br />place. <br />30 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-249.2010 <br />