NFPA Link

[texie]

After all the fits and starts over the years with the various electronic PDF and/or app based versions of the NEC, here we are in 2023 and now the only electronic version is the new NFPA Link. I have a trial version and have say there is a lot to like here. Browser based online and can be used off line as well if you download the standard(s) you need. I really like that you can access all NFPA standards as I need more than just the NEC (as many of us do) and also previous editions of standards. And the price seems right (for now?).
What say you guys that are passionate about electronic editions?

 

[brantmacga]

The 2020 wasn’t available as a pdf either. I scanned my hard copy and made my own pdf.

I really prefer using the pdf reader in my iPhone/iPad/Mac. My problem with using the online version is that I’m frequently in areas with poor cell service. But if the new NFPA link has an offline version, I may give it a try.


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[tom baker]

How did the scanned copy work with the thinner paper?
What did you use to scan it?

 

[brantmacga]

How did the scanned copy work with the thinner paper?
What did you use to scan it?

I bought the loose leaf version and ran it through the self-feed scan tray of an HP all-in-one. I could load about 50-70 sheets at a time. Anything more than that and it would jam.

The all-in-one I have at the office I think is an HP 8710; you can output scans as a pdf directly to any folder on the network.

Once I had it all scanned, I used Adobe to combine all of the scans; that was easy, it was the bookmarking of each article that took the most time. I used the OCR feature in Adobe to clean up the scan and make it searchable.

It took me a week or so I think to do it. I would just let it run whenever I was in the office. It took probably a solid day to do the bookmarking. It wouldn’t be worth having though without doing that. The other nice thing I can bookmark certain pages i visit frequently as a “favorite”; like ampacity tables.

Whenever I’m quoting text from code here in the forum, I’m just copy/pasting from the pdf on my phone.


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[don_resqcapt19]

How did the scanned copy work with the thinner paper?
What did you use to scan it?

Mine had a gray tint on the pages because of the thin paper.

 

[Steve16]

I hate the tables in nfpalink. Too hard to see and scroll through them.

But it's a great tool to have in the field as an inspector. So many guys saying something is code that isn't and it's so nice to pull up the code article quickly and show them.

They have the nfpa free access as well and upcodes has the nfpa with your state specific amendments

 

[mayanees]

After all the fits and starts over the years with the various electronic PDF and/or app based versions of the NEC, here we are in 2023 and now the only electronic version is the new NFPA Link. I have a trial version and have say there is a lot to like here. Browser based online and can be used off line as well if you download the standard(s) you need. I really like that you can access all NFPA standards as I need more than just the NEC (as many of us do) and also previous editions of standards. And the price seems right (for now?).
What say you guys that are passionate about electronic editions?

I like it allot. I work for an Engineering firm and they currently don't reimburse the $99/year Link subscription fee because they subscribe to MadCad. But that's gonna change because Link is so useful. It's searchable, and gives access to so many standards, and even different editions.
I'm definitely sold on NFPA Link. I use it for NFPA 70, 70E and 70B.

 

[Christoph]

I am finding a lot of words missing in the 2017 Edition of the NEC. An example is 250.86 Ex. 3. It is missing critical information, almost as if they were working on it and never finished it. Does anyone else have this issue?

 

[Fred B]

Liking "LINK". For basically the price of a single book gaining access to all the NFPA books. With the Basic NEC I created an "off line" availability give me ability to get code when in low or no service areas. Also can compare directly multiple yrs of codes that sometimes gives insight in a code section that has question marks (we're on an older version) but sometimes the newer version clarifies the wording to help.
Looking at the life at life safety codes, NFPA 101, also can give additional requirement and insights to consider in setting up a space electrically.

 

[infinity]

How does the offline access work? This has always been my issue with online versions when in areas with little to no internet access.

 

[Fred B]

How does the offline access work? This has always been my issue with online versions when in areas with little to no internet access.

basically there is just the option given to "Make available off line" it will the download it into your device, then when you don't have service it is then still available on that device.

 

[infinity]

basically there is just the option given to "Make available off line" it will the download it into your device, then when you don't have service it is then still available on that device.

So in your opinion would that be almost the same as if you had the PDF installed on your device? The older NEC versions that I have in PDF format are on my mobile devices and are searchable.

 

[Fred B]

So in your opinion would that be almost the same as if you had the PDF installed on your device? The older NEC versions that I have in PDF format are on my mobile devices and are searchable.

Basically, but only through the "LINK" app, not a pdf reader. So it is never "shareable" like a PDF. Gets you to buy into the NFPA Link yes, but they do provide a good value, especially if you use multiple documents.

 

[NEC_NERD]

I've been using it for a while now and have 2017 2020 NFPA70 available for offline use, plus NFPA72. We'll worth the money. Highly recommend.